Today I’m going to focus on Christian music. Great hymns and worship songs have been like balm for my soul this week. Martin Luther once said, “Beautiful music is the art of the prophets that can calm the agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us.”
I want to thank Mark Jackson for providing several of the items on this list.
CityAlight. CityAlight is a music ministry from St. Paul’s Castle Hill, a church in Sydney. The vision of CityAlight is to write songs with biblically rich lyrics and simple melodies for the Christian church to sing. Songs in the GBC Songbook include “Grace” and “Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me”.
Getty Music. You’re probably quite familiar with Keith and Kristyn Getty since we sing several of their songs in our Sunday gatherings. Many of their songs can also be found on their YouTube channel.
Grace Music. Grace Music is a ministry of Grace Immanuel Bible Church in Jupiter, FL. You can listen to an extensive number of hymns and songs on their website.
Hymnary. Hymnary is an online database of hymns, hymnodists and hymnals hosted by Calvin College’s Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The searchable database contains over one million hymn tunes and texts. Another excellent resource that includes Scripture references, history behind the music, as well biographies of hymn writers.
Sing! 2020 Conference. The 2020 conference website has highlights from last year’s conference that several from GBC attended. Scroll down until you reach the “Sing! Conference Highlights” section.
Sovereign Grace Music. Sovereign Grace Music has been instrumental in bringing biblically sound music to the church over the past 20+ years. We have recently added songs to the GBC Songbook such as “A Christian’s Daily Prayer” and “Behold Our God”.
Norton Hall Band. Norton Hall Band is a group from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. They perform modern renditions of many classic hymns.
Sandra McCracken. Sandra is one of my favorite Christian artists. I listen to her Psalms album most weeks. I’ve recently been enjoying her 2016 album, God’s Highway, especially the opening track, “Steadfast”. Listen to more of her work here.
Andrew Peterson. Another favorite. I listen to Resurrection Letters Volume 1 and The Burning Edge of Dawn regularly.
Matt Merker. Matt Merker writes Christ-centered songs for churches. He’s currently the Director of Creative Resources for Getty Music. Craig and I attended a workshop he lead on worship service planning at a 9Marks Weekender in Washington, D.C. a few years ago. We sing a few of his songs at GBC, including “A Christian’s Daily Prayer” and “He Will Hold Me Fast.”
Congregational Singing at Capitol Hill Baptist Church. Nineteen recordings of the roughly 1,000 person congregation at Capitol Hill Baptist Church lifting up their voices in praise.
Finally, here are three songs you might enjoy.
“It Is Well With My Soul” from Audrey Assad’s album Inheritance.
The Nashville Studio Singer Community performs “It Is Well With My Soul” as a virtual choir.
“Father, Let Your Kingdom Come” from The Porter’s Gate.