Book Description (Foreword by J. Stratton Shufelt) Excellent for devotional reading, sermon illustrations, and bulletin inserts, as well as for historical or biographical research.
Item Specifications...
ISBN 0825434165 EAN 9780825434167 UPC 000000215113
Pages 288
Dimensions: Length: 9.01" Width: 6.03" Height: 0.85" Weight: 0.85 lbs.
Binding Trade Paper
Release Date Jun 30, 1982
PublisherKREGEL PUBLICATIONS #71
Availability 26 units. Availability accurate as of Mar 22, 2010 10:51.
Usually ships within one to two business days from New Kensington, PA.
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If you ever wondered what prompted a person to write a certain hymn this is the book for you. Great information on each composer.
Eye opening experience Mar 9, 2006
Well, I bought this as a gift to a friend of mine. He is our worship leader and I thought he would be interested. I read parts of the book before I gave it to him and it's really great. When I sing some of these hymns, I sing them with a different attitude. It's amazing how God uses many tragedies to bless so many people. If you know any hymns and wanted to know how, when and why they were written, this is the book. My friend loves it and I think you will too.
Great devotional Feb 2, 2006
I have read at least one of these hymns and the commentary about them, each day for several years with great enjoyment.
Would suggest more about the hymn writers and less other commentary, and perhaps include the music in the future.
Dennis R. in Pasadena
A little disappointing May 15, 2004
The book is worth reading for anyone who enjoys hymns. However, many of the "stories behind the hymns" are nothing more than a brief biographical sketch of the author and composer.
The reason for this is legitimate, of course: no one has a written account of the author's intent when he or she wrote many of these hymns, especially the older ones. There are notable exceptions, of course, such as the story behind "It Is Well With My Soul," one of my favorites.
So my recommendation is thus: take the time to read the book. You'll learn some history, and probably some new hymns as well. But, don't be surprised when all you get at times is a background of the author, not of the hymn itself.
Go beyond praise and worship Jan 30, 2004
When I first became a Christian about 8 years ago, I somehow got the idea that praise and worship music was the truly "spiritual music" - hymns were old-fashioned, and people who enjoyed them did so because they were hide-bound by tradition. If you're thinking this now, please listen to me.
A year or so ago I heard about well-known and respected Christians like John MacArthur and Joni Eareckson Tada talk about how the old hymns were so meaningful to them and really strengthened their faith. That got me thinking: so it's not just stodgy old 80-year olds who love those old hymns. Maybe there's something to them after all.
So I got this book. And I have been so blessed by it. God has shown me that true worship is so much more than just a feeling. He wants all parts of me - my body, my soul, and my spirit - to be involved in worship. So many in churches today are satisfied with getting only their spirits involved; some want their body involved too (lifting hands, etc.); but the truly mature (I am coming to believe) also get their souls (or minds) involved. Your mind doesn't get involved when you just repeat "Isn't He" fifty times; it does when you sing (and really think about) the wonderful words to songs like "O, the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus" or "Blessed Assurance."
Both these songs and many, many more are covered in this book. Get it, sing the songs, think about what Christ has done for you, think about the circumstances of their writing. And take your worship to another level.
