Lift High the Cross

We just learned about the hymn In Christ Alone My Hope Is Found.

Another famous hymn is Lift High the Cross, written by George Kitchin in 1887.

Kitchen lived in England, where he was working for the church.
This song is used a lot as a song for the Easter time of year.


(from: wikipedia - lift high the cross)


Lift High The Cross - John Birkhead

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Divine Comedy - Inferno

In Christ Alone My Hope Is Found

We just learned about the hymn Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.

Another famous hymn is In Christ Alone My Hope Is Found written by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend in Ireland in 2001.

The writers Getty and Townend both grew up in Ireland. Both of their fathers were church leaders, and they both grew up learning music.
They met in 2000 and decided to work together to write a song with a new sound that helped tell the story of Jesus.

With their song they wanted to write something that people liked to sing, so that in church people would worship together and help them grow as a congregation of Christians.


In Christ Alone - HD - KeithandKristyn Getty

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Divine Comedy

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

We just learned about the hymn What a Friend We Have in Jesus.

Another famous hymn is Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, also called The Heavenly Vision, written by Helen Lemmel in 1922.

Helen Lemmel was born in England, and moved to America when she was 12.
She was the daughter of a pastor, and grew up learning music and studying the Bible.

Helen heard a poem called "Focused" that was written by Isabella Lilias Trotter.
After she read it, she went right awand wrote the music for this song, and other verses to make the hymn.


(from: wikipedia - lilias trotter)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Medieval Inquisition

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

We just learned about the hymn Crown Him with Many Crowns.

Another famous Hymn is What a Friend We Have in Jesus written by Joseph Scriven in 1855, with the music written in 1868 by Charles Crozat Converse.

Scriven was born in Ireland in 1819, and when he was 25 years old he moved to Canada.
His mother stayed back home and got very sick, so he wrote her a poem called "Pray Without Ceasing".

Converse was born in Massachusetts in 1832, and wrote many church songs.
He read Scriven's poem and came up with the musical tune for the hymn and renamed it What a Friend We Have in Jesus.
A lot of famous musicians like Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, and Aretha Franklin all made recordings of themselves with this hymn.
It has also been translated into other languages, like "Itsukushimi Fukaki" in Japanese, "Yesus Kawan yang Sejati" in Indonesian, and "Yeshu kaisa dost pyara" in Hindi.


(from: wikipedia - what a friend we have in jesus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Dominican Order

Crown Him with Many Crowns

We just learned about the Come Thou Font of Every Blessing.

Another famous hymn is Crown Him with Many Crowns written in 1851 in England.

The first 6 verses of the song were first written by Matthew Bridges who was a priest from Essex England.
Later on a different priest named Godfrey Thring added 6 more verses for a total of 12.

The music for the tune came from a song called Diademata by Sir George Job Elvey, a musician from England.
Diademata comes from the latin word for crowned or haloed.


(from: wikipedia - crown him with many crowns)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Orthodoxy

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

We just learned about the famous hymn How Firm a Foundation.

Another famous hymn is Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing written by Robert Robison in England in 1757.

Robinson was born in 1735 in England.
He had a tough time as a kid, after his father died when he was little.
His uncle paid for him to go to school, and when he was 14 he moved to London to go get a job.
He later moved to Cambridge where he became a Pastor and had a big family with 12 kids.

The hymn Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing was about the book of 1 Samuel chapter 7, when God helped protect his people from others who wanted to hurt them.

The music for the hymn is called "Nettleton" and people think it was written by the famous music writer Asahel Nettleton.


(from: wikipedia - come thou font of every blessing)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Heresy

How Firm A Foundation

We just learned about the hymn Jesus Paid it All.

Another How Firm A Foundation written by John Rippon in England in 1787.

Rippon was born in 1751, and gre up to be a minister, where he wrote many hymns for his church that were later shared with the world.

This hymn was put in part of a book called A Selection of HYmns from the Best Authors.


(from: wikipedia - john rippon)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Rosary

Jesus Paid it All

We just learned about the When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.

Another famous hymn is Jesus Paid it All written by Elvina Hall and John Grape .

This hymn is about Jesus paying the price so all the bad things people do are forgiven by Jesus if they believe in him.

It was written in 1865 by Elvina Hall, and the music was made by John Grape.
Elvina was sitting in church one day and while she was listening to the sermon she wrote the words on the back of a hymnal. After church she gave the lyrics to her pastor.
That same week the organist John Grape wrote some new music for another song and shared it with the pastor.
The pastor liked the lyrics from Elvina and the music from Grape, so he put them together for the hymn.


(from: wikipedia - jesus paid it all)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Franciscans

When I Survey The Wondrous Cross

We just learned about the hymn Blessed Assurance.

Another famous hymn is When I Survey The Wondrous Cross written by Isaac Watts, in England 1707 AD.

Watts was born in England in 1674 AD, and grew up to be a minister.
He wrote around 750 hymns, and some people called him the Godfather of English Hymnody.

One difference for this hymn was that while most hymns used words from Psalms or other books of the Bible, this hymn uses the ideas from the Bible but doesn't use the actual words.

The tune of the hymn was written by Edward Miller, and is also called "Rockingham".


(from: wikipedia - when i survey the ondrous cross)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Battle on the Ice

Blessed Assurance

We just learned about the All Hail the Power of Jesus Name.

Another famous hymn is Blessed Assurance, written by Fanny Crosby and Phoebe Knapp in 1873.

Phoebe and Fanny were working together in the church one day, and Phoebe played a tune on the piano.
She asked Fanny what it should be called, and right away she said Blessed assurance; Jesus is mine, which became the first words of the hymn.

Phoebe wrote music for over 500 hymns through her life.
Fanny was blind ever since she was a baby, and she wrote over 8,000 hymns and was sometimes called the Queen of Gospel Song Writers.

She was well known throughout America, and also wrote songs about the Civil War supporting the Union, as she liked Abraham Lincoln and wantd to get rid of slavery.

In 1843 when she was trying to get better education for blind people, she went and talked to the Senate to ask for help.
This was long before women were allowed to be part of the Senate, and in 1843 she was the first woman to speak to the US Senate.


(from: wikipedia - fanny crosby)

(from: wikipedia - phoebe knapp)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Basilica of Saint-Denis

All Hail The Power of Jesus Name

We just learned about the hymn All Creatures of our God and King.

Another famous hymn is All Hail The Power of Jesus Name, written by Edward Perronet in 1779 in England.

Edward Perronet was the son of a priest, and he grew up in England where he worked with some other famous church leaders like John Wesley.
Through the years he wrote a few books of Christian poems and hymns, and Wesley wanted Perronet to be a preacher too.
Edward was always too nervous, but one time Wesley forced him to go up in front of the church and give a sermon.
He went up and told everyone he would give the greatest sermon ever preached, and then he read Jesus' Sermon on the Mount from the book of Matthew.

The hymn "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name" is so famous some people call it the national anthem of Christianity.


(from: wikipedia - all hail the power of jesus name)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Notre Dame de Paris

All Creatures Of our God and King

We just learned about the A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.

Another All Creatures Of our God and King.

In 1225 the old church leader St. Francis of Assisi wrote a poem based on Psalm 148 called the Canticle of the Sun poem.
He writes thanking God for all the gifts he has given us, like the sun, moon, fire and water.

Around 1900 AD a musician in the church named William Draper translated the poem from Italian into English, and wrote the music for the hymn.


(from: wikipedia - all creatures of our god and king)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Decretum Gratiani

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

We just learned about the Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.

Another famous hymn is A Mighty Fortress Is Our God written by Martin Luther around 1527 AD.

Luther was one of the leaders of the early church who started The Reformation, where people wanted to be able to go to different churches and worship God in their own way.

The German name for this is "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott", and when Luther was arrested and put on trial for disagreeing with the leaders of the church, he sang this hymn along with his friends while he was walking into the trial.

It was a very famous hymn during the time of the reformation, as people felt it gave them strength through God.


(from: wikipedia - a mighty fortress is our god)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Teutonic Order

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

We just learned about the Great Is Thy Faithfulness.

Another famous hymn is Praise to the Lord, the Almighty by Joachim Neander.

Neander was a teacher and pastor, born in Germany in 1650 AD.
He wrote many hymns, but this one that he wrote in 1680 was by far his most famous.

Its title in German is "Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren", and in 1863 Catherine Winkworth translated it to the English words we know today.

The hymn was so popular, that in 1725 Johann Sebastian Bach made another song for the church based on the same words and notes.


(from: wikipedia - praise to the lord, the almighty)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Knights Templar

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

We just learned about the hymn It Is Well With My Soul.

Another famous hymn is Great Is Thy Faithfulness by Thomas Chisholm and William Runyan written in 1923 in Kansas.

Chisholm was born in Kentucky, and became a Christian at age 27.
He went on to become a minister and write many Christian poems.
When he was 57 he wrote the hymn Great Is Thy Faithfulness about God's faitfulness during his life.

William Runyan worked for a company that printed hymns, and he came up with music to go with the words.

The title of the song comes from the Bible chapter Lamentations 3:23, where the prophet Jeremiah is sad that Israel is going to have some troubles but he has faith that God will take care of his people.


(from: wikipedia - great is thy faithfulness)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Knights Hospitaller

It Is Well with My Soul

We just learned about the hymn Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty by Reginald Heber.

Another famous hymn is It Is Well with My Soul, written in 1873 by Horatio Spafford.

Horatio was living in Chicago and doing very well as a lawyer for a while, then some very sad things happened to him.
In a big fire in Chicago he lost most of his money, so he decided to move back to England for work.
His family went on a boat ahead of him, but the boat sank and his four daughters died. Only his wife lived.
He got on a boat to go meet his wife in England, and while he was on the ocean he wrote this hymn, to say that even though he was filled with sadness, he could find peace in his soul knowing that God was always there to comfort him.


(from: wikipedia - it is well with my soul)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Third Crusade

Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty - Reginald Heber

We just learned about the How Great Thou Art by Carl Boberg.

Another famous hymn is Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty by Reginald Heber.

When Heber was working for the churches back in the early 1800s, most churches thought people should only sing from the book of Psalms, and without a lot of changes in music notes from high to low.

Heber really wanted people to sing more types of music, so he wrote this song that talks about the holy trinity.
It has been one of the most popular hymns in the world now for hundreds of years.


(from: wikipedia - holy, holy, holy! lord god almighty)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Second Crusade

How Great Thou Art - Carl Boberg

We just learned about the hymn Amazing Grace by John Newton.

Another famous hymn is How Great Thou Art by Carl Boberg, written in Sweden in 1885.

One day when Boberg was walking outside, a huge storm came along with dark clouds, thunder, and lightning.
The storm got over pretty quickly, and then right after there was a rainbow, and birds singing happily.

When he saw the power of the storm and then the beauty of nature after, it gave him the idea for the song.


(from: wikipedia - how great thou art)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: The Prince's Crusade

Amazing Grace - John Newton

We just learned about the sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.

We've learned a lot about what happened in Christianity after Jesus over thousands of years.

Let's learn about some of the famous songs people sing in church called hymns.

One of the most famous hymns is Amazing Grace by John Newton written in England in 1779.

John Newton was born in 1725, and when he was 18 he was made to work on a sailing ship.
When he was young he was not very nice, and said a lot of very mean things to people.

One day when he was on the ship a terrible storm came along and almost tipped the boat over.
He was so scared that he shouted out "Lord have mercy on us!"

Later on when he was back on land, he was happy to be alive, and remembered that he had shouted out to God for help.
So he decided to work to write hymns to help people worship God, and one of those hymns was Amazing Grace.


(from: wikipedia - amazing grace)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: The People's Crusade