Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions

by Kenneth W. Osbeck

This revised best-seller is an inspiring daily devotional based on 366 great hymns of the faith. Contains a portion of the hymn itself along with suggested Scripture readings, meditations, and practical applications.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Christian, Devotional, Christianity, Christian Living, History

397 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

A native of Michigan, Kenneth W. Osbeck entered the world on December 13, 1924. A World War II veteran, he earned a Master of Arts degree from the University of Michigan. He was well-known for his sixteen books related to hymn stories and music ministry, and he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Cornerstone University. He taught music and fine arts for 35 years on the faculty of Cornerstone University and the Grand Rapids School of the Bible and Music. He served as minister of music in seven churches in the Grand Rapids area, and he directed music for the Children's Bible Hour, Youth for Christ, the Radio Bible Class, and Diadem Records.

After he retired from teaching, he and his wife, Betty, traveled extensively for many years presenting over 600 dramatized hymn story programs.

His books about the stories behind our hymns will live on as a memorial to his love for God and our worship of Him. His books included 101 Hymn Stories; 101 More Hymn Stories; the best-selling Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions; Hallelujah, What a Savior!; 25 Most Treasured Gospel Hymn Stories; and Joy to the World.

Reviews

[The Celtic Rebel (Richard) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have used this book as part of my daily reading for the last few years. I love learning about the history and the meaning of each song, and then using the scriptures included to learn how to apply that to my daily life. Kenneth W. Osbeck is one of the best at exploring these songs. Simply great.

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

My dad was a hymn lover and my Christian college sang only hymns so I have had a wonderful musical heritage. But since most of the churches I have attended in the last 40 years have focused on choruses, I’ve had to depend on my daily quiet time to get my hymn fix. I usually sing from my hymnal, skipping the songs I don’t know (I don’t read music). But when I found Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories in our seminary library, I decided to sing every one of the entries by looking them up on YouTube. What a fun experience!

Osbeck includes lots of fascinating stories about the hymn writers and gives important context for some of the songs followed by a brief devotional thought. Each month has specific themes such as songs of Thanksgiving in November or God’s love in February.

I enjoyed revisiting old favorites as well as learning almost fifty new-to-me tunes. Another plus was discovering some really fine singers on YouTube. (Michael Lining Music, Acapeldridge) Highly recommended.

[Albert Y. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's an excellent book. I stumped onto this book some 10 years ago and found it an encouraging read to this "singer off the stage" me. It's a book on more than music, more than biography, more than history of missions. I'd gone through the book 3 times/years to make sure that I got to every story.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many of these hymn-centered devotionals with accompanying scripture references for edification and encouragement were excellent. However, the inclusion of The Star Spangled Banner and other American songs marred the overall book. Some of the scripture references were misprinted too, sadly.

Those caveats aside, I'm sure I'll read this one again. Maybe in the next decade.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great yearly devotional with hymn stories and verses that go along with the hymn!

[Michael Toleno · Rating 4 out of 5]

This should be required reading for worship leaders and team members! As the title says, the book contains 366 individual stories about great examples of Christian hymnody. We have so many (thousands!) of deep, thoughtful, meaningful, poetic, articulate, worshipful songs from the past several hundred years, but in many churches, tragically, most of our "worship" songs are shallow, folksy, overly repetitive, trance-like, arguably unscriptural, illogical, and mundane. Would that our modern church appreciated the great hymnody that has been passed down to us but is now being lost! I withheld the five-star rating only because, by its nature, the book is difficult to read straight through, but in its defense, it was not intended to be.

[Steve Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is generally a good devotional, especially for those who are musically inclined and love learning about some of the stories behind the hymns of the church. One caveat, though. When writing about some of Charles Wesley’s hymns, the author refers to some events that happened to John Wesley as if they happened to Charles. This causes me to wonder how accurate he is in the details of some of the other hymn stories.

[Alfred · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good devotional. I am not into music but this devotion enriched my devotional life all year. I like it so much that I bought it as a present for three people and am going to use it again next year! I start my day with this devotional and have used it to discipline my journaling. ALthough it was written almost 50 years ago, it is timeless. I wish it was on Kindle!

[Bryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wouldn't recommend this book as a daily devotional. The parts where Osbeck talks about how a hymn came to be are interesting and edifying, but his commentary on the text of the hymns is largely fluff.

[Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set aside for now.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is great to know the stories behind these well loved hymns.

[Uwabo]

I want to ask if I can found a copy of this book in French language. Thanks

[Walkeo · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the more interesting daily devotionals I've read...though it did take four years to finally finish! Some wonderful hymns and stories neve heard before. Will likely dust it off again someday.

[Gracie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great history and context for when these hymns were written and I love that there is a line or two of the melody at the bottom of each page so you can get a glimpse of what it sounds like.

[Gregory Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome devotional. Between this book, http://cyberhymnal.com and iTunes, I have learned to appreciate the timeless classic hymns of the faith. People like Fanny Crosby, Charles Wesley, and Isaac Watts now have a deep place in my knowledge of sacred music. Great book and I highly recommend.

[Frode · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this as a daily devotional in 2015. It is the second time I have read through the book in a year. It is easy to read and has interesting background information on the hymns and their authors as well as the hymn texts and a couple of lines of music. I would not use it as my only devotional, but it was nice to read in conjunction with the Scriptures and my other reading. Each entry is a page, and the hymns are grouped loosely according to the church calendar.

It is New Year's Eve 2021, and I read this book again, now for the third time. It is still good.

[NancyInWI · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved using this book for daily devotionals this year.Every day the story behind the hymn and its writer along with all the words ho the hymn and a portion of the music. If I was unfamiliar with the hymn I would look it up on Amazon and play the sample. Always such a comfort before bed. I will miss it this year.

[Andy]

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[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellant devotional book .

[Shelley Waller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this! I have added it to my quiet time and enjoy playing part of a new hymn each day.