Israel & New Breed – Jesus At The Center

Israel Houghton started his career in 1997 with the release of his first album Whisper It Loud, credited as Israel & New Breed.  He has 17 albums credited to his name, some under Israel Houghton and some under Israel & New Breed.

Houghton received 19 prestigious awards for his work.

Check out my reviews of In Jesus’ Name, Friend of God, and Going To Another Level.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Israel-and-new-breed-jesus-at-the-center-live-lyrics.

Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site!  Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.  I strongly encourage you to consider the potential blessings and dangers of this artist‘s theology by visiting Resources.

1. What message does the song communicate?

Jesus is the most important being in existence.  He is eternal, Creator, and greater than any other pursuit.  Israel & New Breed asks us to pray that we surrender to Christ’s ways for every decision we make, knowing that eventually, every knee will bow and confess Jesus as Lord.  Israel & New Breed also briefly mention (though not in the “official” lyrics) that there is strength, alleviation, and redemption in the name of Jesus.

Side Note: Those who are annoyed by massive repetition may want to skip Bridge after a while.  The same four-line chunk appears 17 times throughout this song.

Score: 10/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

The entire song is Biblical.

[Intro]

Line 1: The idiom “at the center of things”, according to Merriam-Webster, means “closely involved in things that are happening”.  This applies to Jesus!  Not only did He create the physical universe (John 1:1-3, 1 Corinthians 8:6, Colossians 1:15-16, and Hebrews 1:2-3), but He entered into our world as one of us (John 1:1, John 1:14, Romans 8:3, Philippians 2:5-8, Colossians 1:15, 1 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 1:2-3, Hebrews 2:10, and 1 John 4:2).  However, in Chorus 1, Israel & New Breed explain what they mean by “Jesus at the center of it all”.

Line 2: Repeats line 1.

Lines 3 and 4: Jesus is eternal (John 8:58, Colossians 1:13-17, and Hebrews 13:8).

Line 5: Jesus!

[Verse 1]

Lines 1-5: Repeats Intro.

[Chorus 1]

Line 1: All things are rubbish compared to knowing Jesus (Philippians 3:8-10).

Line 2: As stated in my commentary on Intro, line 1, this explains the meaning behind “Jesus at the center of it all”.  Namely, that He is sovereign over creation (Genesis 1:1, Deuteronomy 4:39, Deuteronomy 10:14, Joshua 2:11, Nehemiah 9:6, Psalm 29:10, Psalm 45:6, Psalm 50:7-15, Psalm 93:1-2, Psalm 115:3, Psalm 135:6, Isaiah 43:13, Isaiah 45:9-10, Isaiah 46:10, Lamentations 5:19, Daniel 4:35, Romans 9:19-21, Ephesians 1:11, Hebrews 1:8, James 4:15, Revelation 4:11, and Revelation 20:11).

Lines 3 and 4: Essentially repeats Intro, line 1.

[Verse 2]

Line 1: The context shifts from the universe to us.  Though the line says “my”, if you listen to the song, Israel & New Breed adds “pray these words” before opening with this section, indicating that Israel & New Breed desires all to pray “Jesus be the center of my life”.  Israel & New Breed wants us to surrender to Christ’s will (Psalm 43:5, Isaiah 64:8, Matthew 10:38, Matthew 11:28-30, Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34-38, Mark 10:28, Luke 9:23, Luke 14:27, John 15:1-11, Romans 6:13, Romans 12:1-2, Galatians 2:20, Philippians 2:5-8, Hebrews 11:6, James 4:7-10, and 1 Peter 5:6).

Line 2: Repeats line 1.

Lines 3-5: Though this repeats Intro, lines 3-5, the context shift in line 1 changes the meaning of this phrase.  Though I initially thought this unbiblical, that our sin plagues us from completely allowing Jesus to take center stage in our lives (Psalm 14:1-3, Psalm 53:1-3, Job 15:14, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Jeremiah 17:9, Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, and 1 John 1:8-10), Israel & New Breed states that we should pray that Jesus would be the center of our lives from cradle to grave.

[Chorus 2]

Lines 1 and 2: Repeats Chorus 1, lines 1 and 2.

Line 3: Repeats part of Chorus 1, line 3.

Lines 4-6: Repeats lines 1-3.

[Bridge]

Lines 1 and 2: Israel & New Breed declares before the entire world that they will surrender to Jesus (see Verse 2, line 1).

Lines 3 and 4: See Intro, line 1.

Lines 5-16: Repeats lines 1-4.

[Verse 3]

Line 1: The church consists of the entire collection of Christians (1 Corinthians 10:17, 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, and Ephesians 4:1-16), who chose to yield to Christ (see Verse 2).

Line 2: Repeats line 1.

Lines 3 and 4: Borrows from Romans 14:11 and Philippians 2:10-11.

Lines 5-8: Though the word “Jesus” is repeated eight times, Israel & New Breed add additional phrases to the “official” lyrics, including:

• There’s power in the name of Jesus (Mark 16:17, Luke 10:17, Acts 3:6, Acts 3:12-16, Acts 4:30, Romans 10:13, and Philippians 2:9-11)
• Sing that name tonight
• Healing in the name of Jesus (Matthew 9:12, Mark 2:17, and Luke 5:31)
• Salvation in the name of Jesus (John 14:6 and Acts 4:12)

[Outro]

Line 1: Repeats Intro, line 5 three times.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Unbelievers will likely conclude that Israel & New Breed believe that Jesus is central to our existence and how we ought to conduct our lives.

Score: 10/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies Jesus as the center of everything.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Israel & New Breed’s Jesus At The Center is wonderful.  It reminds us that Jesus is the most important relationship we possess and that everything we do should be oriented around His will, glorifying Him.  Unbelievers should find little to no issues interpreting it.

This song’s bloated Bridge makes it more difficult to recommend for corporate worship; However, those who disagree with me on that point or could eliminate refrains should consider it.

Final Score: 10/10

Artist Info

Track: Jesus At The Center (Live) (listen to the song)

Artist: Israel & New Breed

Album: Jesus At the Center

Genre: Gospel

Release Year: 2012

Duration: 9:36

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