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Hymn Writers

Album: 18: A Time of Discovery

Episode: 242

Lesson/Theme: Christian composers; the importance of singing hymns.

Bible Verse: Psalm 96:1-2

Characters: Lucy, Whit

Writer: Phil Lollar

Sound Designer: Bob Luttrell

Original Air Date: September 4, 1993

Last Air Date: November 20, 2008

Description:
Another Kids Radio program called "A Moment in Time" is premiering, and it looks at important historical events. Whit, the host, informs us that the topic of this program is hymns. The guests are three people who wrote some of the greatest and best-loved hymns. First, we go to Wittenberg, Germany, in the year 1517. There, we meet the author of the hymn "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" Martin Luther. The hymn was an anthem for the Reformation, which was brought about when Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the church at Wittenberg, one of the most significant events in church history. Next, we go to Ashtabula, Ohio, in the year 1876 to visit a remarkable musician named Philip Bliss. He wrote some of the church's most memorable hymns. Bliss was a contemporary of the great preacher D. L. Moody and wrote many of his hymns for Moody's evangelistic crusades. We hear the story behind perhaps his most famous hymn, "My Redeemer." Finally, we move to Connecticut in the year 1915 to visit with the most prolific hymnist ever, a lady known as "the Queen of Hymns," and "the Happiest Creature in all the World," Fanny J. Crosby. Fanny shares snatches of just a few of her more than 8,000 hymns. She wrote classics such as "All the Way My Savior Leads Me," "Rescue the Perishing," and "Blessed Assurance." As "A Moment in Time" concludes, we understand why the Bible says we should speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.

Questions:
Why did Martin Luther nail the 95 theses to the church door at Wittenberg? Why was Fanny J. Crosby known as “the Happiest Creature in All the World”? Why is it important for us to sing hymns? Do you sing them in your church?