New Hope Oahu ‘Scripture Songs’ Review

New Hope Oahu
Scripture Songs
(Dream Label Group)

New Hope Oahu has kept shelves stocked with a brand new worship music release on a nearly annual basis. Since 2013, the megachurch ministry, pastored by popular author Wayne Cordeiro, has released five congregational albums featuring spirited praise. Now they’ve released their latest, Scripture Songs, which as you might guess features 11 songs rooted in familiar biblical passages.

“Jeremiah 29:11 (A Future & A Hope)” kicks things off with a lively refrain reminding listeners of that oft-quoted passage about God’s protection and provision. From there, the subjects change without a clear, discernable path, other than the aforementioned source material. Other familiar chapters and verses turned into song include Psalm 23 on “I Am Not Alone” and 2 Chronicles 7 on “If My People Pray”.

Half of the songs here are unsurprisingly taken from the psalms, and the album’s highlight comes from this batch. “Psalm 63 (Steadfast Love)” takes the beautiful prayer found in the scripture and sets it to a lovely refrain that sounds straight from a Brooke Fraser release. The psalm itself is already popular and potent, but this song breathes new life and perspective with vocal takes that trade off.

Overall, Scripture Songs has plenty to offer like NHO’s other releases and fans will find their handful of favorites in the bunch. But it’s also not hard to imagine how much stronger the overall package could be if focused on a specific theme or batch of biblical passages from the same book.

–Matt Conner