Our Heritage Of Christian Song

Hebrew music, church singing through the centuries, and the contribution of British and American hymn writers are discussed in this book, along with Mennonite hymnology and other music-related information.

Our Hymns, Our Heritage encourages a love and appreciation for the church’s hymns—a significant way to pass the Christian faith from generation to generation. The book features music and lyrics for 121 hymns that every person should know, drawn from a cross-section of styles, themes, and historical eras. The hymns are divided into sections based on the church year, God’s nature and attributes, and our responses to Him. Each hymn is presented on single book spread—the left-hand page gives a brief biography of the text’s author and the melody’s composer as well as a devotional summary to aid singing with understanding. The right-hand page is hymnal-like with the music and stanzas for simple playing and singing. Our Hymns, Our Heritage can be used by parents and educators alike to instill a life-long love for the richness and beauty of hymns.

This essay collection celebrates the richness of Christian musical tradition across its two thousand year history and across the globe. Opening with a consideration of the fourth-century lamp-lighting hymn Phos hilaron and closing with reflections on contemporary efforts of Ghanaian composers to create Christian worship music in African idioms, the ten contributors engage with a broad ecumenical array of sacred music. Topics encompass Roman Catholic sacred music in medieval and Renaissance Europe, German Lutheran song in the eighteenth century, English hymnody in colonial America, Methodist hymnody adopted by Southern Baptists in the nineteenth century, and Genevan psalmody adapted to respond to the post-war tribulations of the Hungarian Reformed Church. The scope of the volume is further diversified by the inclusion of contemporary Christian topics that address the evangelical methods of a unique Orthodox Christian composer’s language, the shared aims and methods of African-American preaching and gospel music, and the affective didactic power of American evangelical “praise and worship” music. New material on several key composers, including Jacob Obrecht, J.S. Bach, George Philipp Telemann, C.P.E. Bach, Zoltan Kodály, and Arvo Pärt, appears within the book. Taken together, these essays embrace a stimulating variety of interdisciplinary analytical and methodological approaches, drawing on cultural, literary critical, theological, ritual, ethnographical, and media studies. The collection contributes to discussions of spirituality in music and, in particular, to the unifying aspects of Christian sacred music across time, space, and faith traditions. This collection celebrates the fifteenth anniversary of the Society for Christian Scholarship in Music.

Finding a way to interest and engage teens in God’s Word has always been a challenge. Our Heritage and Faith Holy Bible for African-American Teens is the perfect resource to help teens learn more about their faith in a relevant context. It focuses on the questions that teens have about their personal faith, their heritage, and traditions of worship. This relevant Bible provides teens with answers that help them understand their African-American Christian roots while learning more about God’s Word. Teens will treasure this Bible as they come to know the roots of their lives, their forms of worship, and their faith in God. Features Include: Complete text of the King James Version, the timeless, beloved Bible translation Introductions to each book of the Bible 16 full-color tip-in pages with photographs and captions Words of Christ in red Innovative Italian Duo-Tone designs customized for guys and girls Presentation pages for gift giving

Our Heritage and Faith Holy Bible for African-American Teens in the New International Version helps teens understand their heritage and enables them to identify and interact with Scripture. Focusing on the traditions of the African-American church, the 106 pages of articles and essays help teens come to know the roots of their lives, their forms of worship, and their faith in God. Photos and illustrations are included on tip-in pages to enhance the teen’s experience of learning about their heritage.