Category Archives: Hymn Study

One of the major holidays for the Christian Year is Pentecost Sunday, marking the day when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostolic church.  Luke’s record of that event in Acts 2 describes what happened that day as people had … Continue reading →

Note: Dr. Roff has released an update to this hymn study, enjoy! — ed. Singing the Psalms has long been a distinguishing mark of biblical faith.  It dates from the time of David, the author of half of the Psalms, … Continue reading →

The Bible makes it clear that what the Lord most wants from us is neither slavish obedience to His laws (though a rightly-motivated embracing of His laws is an essential part of biblical religion) nor casual engagement with worship rituals … Continue reading →

Our glorious Christmas and Easter hymns are too wonderful to sing just once a year!  We should find great joy in celebrating these two events of redemptive history many times during the year.  We have more hymns for those two … Continue reading →

America’s National Day of Prayer, now observed on the first Thursday in May, has roots stretching back to the nation’s founding. While not formally established until 1952, the practice of national days of prayer and thanksgiving existed even before the country’s … Continue reading →

One of the best words to capture the essential message of Easter is “Victory!”  By His death and resurrection, Jesus has been victorious over sin. He has conquered Satan, He has conquered the fall, and that will lead to His … Continue reading →

Easter is a time of great joy for believers.  Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is not only an historical event of enormous theological significance.  It is the very center of the unique power of the Christian faith.  Paul made that … Continue reading →

Children find a special kind of joy in the church seasons that are closely connected to the historical events of Jesus’ life and ministry.  When we list those seasons, we can all very quickly think of hymns we learned as … Continue reading →

The Bible has many contrasts, things that are opposite one another, because of the incredibly powerful transformation that comes about as a result of the gospel.  A number of those are found in the Gospel of John, contrasts like life … Continue reading →

Many of our hymns have special stories associated with them.  Some of these from the past have been recorded and passed on to us, like those of John Newton and Fanny Crosby.  We are fortunate to have some from our … Continue reading →