Rebel to Redeemed…Sharing HIS Kind of Love
While by My Sheep was a traditional German carol by Nach Friedrich von Spee. The hymn was written in 1623 and known as Als ich bei meinen Schafen wacht. Hugo Jüngst arranged the text to a traditional German melody. Theodore Baker translated the carol into English.
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A Christmas Carol was written and composed by Charles Ives in 1897. The song appeared in his collection 114 songs which was published in 1922. He self-published these never before seen songs. By the early 1920s, he decided to publish more than 150 abandoned compositions. Charles Ives was born in 1874 in Danbury, Connecticut. His love of music was inherited […]
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I’m familiar with the song This Ole House, but knew nothing of it’s origin. Only when researching the story behind another song, did I discover the story behind this song. The song was written by Carl Stuart Hamblen, who was the author of Until Then and It Is No Secret {What God Can Do}. Hamblen and his friend and fellow […]
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It Is No Secret, was written by Craig Stuart Hamblen, who also wrote Until Then. Hamblen was the son of a Methodist minister and is considered one of radio’s first “singing cowboys”. He lived a life of “destructive behavior” before attending a Billy Graham crusade in 1949. He met Rev. Graham when he appeared on Hamblen’s radio show. He was […]
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The song Through It All was written by Andráe Crouch and is his biography and testimony wrapped up into one. Andráe Crouch was born on July 1, 1942 in Los Angeles, California. He experienced devesating loss when he lost his father, mother and brother all within two years of one another. He said, “Probably the hardest time in my life…Just […]
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There’s a sweet, sweet Spirit was written by gospel songwriter Doris Mae Akers. She was born in Brookfield, Missouri on May 21, 1923. She was one of ten children and developed an interest in music at an early age. By the age of six, she had taught herself to play piano by ear. She wrote her first song, “Keep the […]
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Pastor Louis Giglio and singer Chris Tomlin discussed writing a song which would help people who were walking through the valley of grief and loss. In a 2011 interview Chris Tomlin shared, “”We were sitting across a table at lunch one day and he said, ‘Man, I feel like there needs to be more songs for people who are really […]
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You Are My King {Amazing Love} is a contemporary song that has become very popular. The song talks about God’s amazing love for us, how we are forgiven, and how Jesus is our King and he loved us enough to die for us on the cross. This sacrifice is the amazing love the song refers to. The song was written […]
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Holy Ground is a song that once again shows the power of God. Geron Davis was nineteen years old when his minister father ask him to write a song for the new building their church was dedicating in Savannah, Tennessee. Weeks before the dedication his father asked him to write a song and Davis kept meaning to, but either inspiration […]
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Lord Lift My Feet on Higher Ground was written by Johnson Oatman, Jr. Oatman was born on April 21, 1856 in Medford, New Jersey. He was a businessman and wrote over 5,000 hymns in his spare time. He did not begin writing hymns until he was 36 years old and was never paid for more than $1.00 for any of […]
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Moment by Moment was another hymn written by Major Daniel Webster Whittle. He is also the author of I Know Whom I Have Believed. Ira Sankey recounted that while at the World’s Fair in Chicago, Rev. Henry Varley stated “I do not like the hymn, I Need Thee Every Hour. I need him Moment by Moment.” Major Whittle was impressed […]
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I Know Whom I Have Believed was written by Major Daniel Webster Whittle. Daniel Webster Whittle was born on November 22, 1840 in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts. He was named for the politician and founder of the dictionary, Daniel Webster. Whittle was very religious as a young man and worked as a cashier for Wells Fargo Bank. In 1861, he joined […]
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Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus is another hymn where God used a tragedy for his good. In 1858, Dudley Atkins Tyng, an evangelist and abolitionist, had just finished preaching at a successful mission in Philadelphia. Tyng visited his farm, where he reached his arm out to pat a mule. This mule was working on a machine that shelled corn […]
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Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus is another hymn that was born out of tragedy. The lyrics were written by Louisa M.R. Stead in 1882. Louisa Stead was born in 1850 England. In 1871, she came to the United States and settled in Cincinnati, Ohio. She had hoped to become a missionary but was prevented by ill health. In […]
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We’re Marching To Zion is sometimes referred to by it’s opening line, Come We That Love the Lord. The hymn was written by Isaac Watts. Watts was an English minister, hymnwriter, theologian and logician. He wrote over 750 hymns and is known as the Father of English hymnody. Marching to Zion may have been based on Jeremiah 31:6, “Arise ye, […]
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The Solid Rock or My Hope is Built on Nothing Less was written by Edward Mote. He was a pastor at Rehoboth Baptist Church in Horsham, West Essex, England. Mote was born in 1797 and trained to be a cabinet maker. At the age of 50, he entered the ministry. When offered the church building as a gift, Mote replied […]
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William Walford was a simple uneducated wood carver with a great memory. He spoke and wrote poem in his England home and shop. He was so in tune with God and scripture that he was often asked to speak at his Congregational Church and share a sermon. The word of God overflowed through him and came out in his poetry. […]
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Trusting Jesus was written by Edgar Page Stites. The music was written by Ira D. Sankey. Edgar Page Stites was a direct descendant of John Howland, one of the Mayflower passengers. Stites served in the Civil War before becoming a riverboat pilot and later a missionary to churches in South Dakota. The poem first appeared in the newspaper. The poem […]
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Praise to the Lord the Almighty is a hymn based on Joachim Neander’s German hymn “Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren”, published in 1680. Neander was born in 1650 Bremen, Germany. In his youth, he lived on the wild side before attending a local service and listening to a visiting preacher. He adopted the beliefs of the Pietist […]
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Safe in the Arms of Jesus was written by Fanny Crosby. On April 30, 1868, William Howard Doan, a composer and friend of Crosby’s knocked on her door. He said, “Miss Fanny, I have exactly forty minutes before my train leaves for Cincinnati, and I must take that train.” He explained he wanted a new hymn next month when he […]
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