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Our Hymns, Our Heritage: A Student Guide to Songs of the Church
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.
286 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 7, 2022
18 people are currently reading
163 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 4, 2023
This wonderful hymnal would make a great addition to any Christian home! Whether it is used for family worship, homeschooling, personal devotions, or any sort of discipleship, it is a wonderful resource for all ages! It is written specifically with children in mind, but adults will benefit greatly as well. I especially loved that the author's wrote this for children and they don't shy away from teaching some of these theologically weighty topics and songs.
"If we teach our children mediocrity, they will love what is mediocre. If we teach them what is excellent, even if difficult, they will love what is excellent. The goal of this hymnal is to provide children with the best music that has been composed for them to sing praise to God." -David and Barbara Leeman
Let us take our children seriously! I love this so much as it has been so important to me as a Christian parent to not shy away from teaching theologically rich songs and truths to my children, even when others may scoff or think it too weighty for them to understand. I am building a foundation for them now, so that when they are older they will understand and have the truth etched into their hearts. That way they will be without excuse. We can be teaching our babies and toddlers so much more than just, "Jesus Loves Me" (which is an important truth to teach, but it is only a small part of truth).
I love this book so much and so many of the hymns in it are dear to my heart. Each page is a hymn with a section about the author of the lyrics. There is a section under that about the history/author of the tune and a section about what the hymns are saying and what it means for us when we are singing it. It brought so much more meaning to me to read some of the stories behind the hymns I love so much. I also loved that some of the newer hymns from the Gettys were included along with a section on African American spirituals.
"If we teach our children mediocrity, they will love what is mediocre. If we teach them what is excellent, even if difficult, they will love what is excellent. The goal of this hymnal is to provide children with the best music that has been composed for them to sing praise to God." -David and Barbara Leeman
Let us take our children seriously! I love this so much as it has been so important to me as a Christian parent to not shy away from teaching theologically rich songs and truths to my children, even when others may scoff or think it too weighty for them to understand. I am building a foundation for them now, so that when they are older they will understand and have the truth etched into their hearts. That way they will be without excuse. We can be teaching our babies and toddlers so much more than just, "Jesus Loves Me" (which is an important truth to teach, but it is only a small part of truth).
I love this book so much and so many of the hymns in it are dear to my heart. Each page is a hymn with a section about the author of the lyrics. There is a section under that about the history/author of the tune and a section about what the hymns are saying and what it means for us when we are singing it. It brought so much more meaning to me to read some of the stories behind the hymns I love so much. I also loved that some of the newer hymns from the Gettys were included along with a section on African American spirituals.
October 13, 2025
Partial Read for TMU music and arts class.
I really enjoyed this little handy book!
It contains easy-to-read lyrics of (I think) 150 hymns. Its targeted age is children, but I found it really helpful, especially cause I'm a music noob.
I really enjoyed the bio for each author and the story behind it. I learned something I hadn't heard before in every one!
I also loved hearing about how the words were set to music, as most of them started off as poems. I've always been interested in that part, but I've never had the chance to learn about that side of it.
I really enjoyed this little handy book!
It contains easy-to-read lyrics of (I think) 150 hymns. Its targeted age is children, but I found it really helpful, especially cause I'm a music noob.
I really enjoyed the bio for each author and the story behind it. I learned something I hadn't heard before in every one!
I also loved hearing about how the words were set to music, as most of them started off as poems. I've always been interested in that part, but I've never had the chance to learn about that side of it.
September 14, 2022
I thoroughly enjoyed regularly reading through the history and content of so many hymns. It truly was a worshipful read. A few realities stuck out:
1. Many wrote the most joyous and trusting words in the midst of such dark times.
2. So many hymns were written so that children would sing and know glorious truths.
3. In contrast to so much modern music, lyrics were theologically rich and weighty. These songs taught as much they encouraged.
1. Many wrote the most joyous and trusting words in the midst of such dark times.
2. So many hymns were written so that children would sing and know glorious truths.
3. In contrast to so much modern music, lyrics were theologically rich and weighty. These songs taught as much they encouraged.
May 8, 2025
I absolutely love the Leeman’s Christmas carol Advent devotional, so when I found out that they had also released a book on general hymns, I snapped it up! (And then I read that they’re releasing another one this summer!)
A hymn or spiritual on one page, a short devotional with the history of the song on the other. Page after page of absolute gold. You’ll learn the tragic stories behind Children of the Heavenly Father and It is Well with My Soul, and be uplifted by the inspiring stories behind Holy, Holy, Holy and How Great Thou Art. Old favorites like Be Thou My Vision are covered, as well as newer hymns by the Gettys and others.
The hymns are categorized by types, with chapters on Advent and Christmas, Lent and Holy Week, Thanksgiving, etc. as well as general chapters on the attributes of God and our response.
Pros: This book is a super easy, quick read that will enrich your devotional life and add new meaning and depth to the hymns you sing on Sunday. While some are old favorites we’ve all known and loved, others were unfamiliar to me. I even found new favorites!
Cons: There’s nothing for cons, other than the fact that the book is designed for family devotional time. While some of the reflections are geared more towards kids, it is still deep and full of gospel truth. I used the book for my personal devotional time, but it probably would be most effective in a group setting.
Bottom Line: An easy-to-read enriching devotional on the hymns that are tightly wound through our church history.
A hymn or spiritual on one page, a short devotional with the history of the song on the other. Page after page of absolute gold. You’ll learn the tragic stories behind Children of the Heavenly Father and It is Well with My Soul, and be uplifted by the inspiring stories behind Holy, Holy, Holy and How Great Thou Art. Old favorites like Be Thou My Vision are covered, as well as newer hymns by the Gettys and others.
The hymns are categorized by types, with chapters on Advent and Christmas, Lent and Holy Week, Thanksgiving, etc. as well as general chapters on the attributes of God and our response.
Pros: This book is a super easy, quick read that will enrich your devotional life and add new meaning and depth to the hymns you sing on Sunday. While some are old favorites we’ve all known and loved, others were unfamiliar to me. I even found new favorites!
Cons: There’s nothing for cons, other than the fact that the book is designed for family devotional time. While some of the reflections are geared more towards kids, it is still deep and full of gospel truth. I used the book for my personal devotional time, but it probably would be most effective in a group setting.
Bottom Line: An easy-to-read enriching devotional on the hymns that are tightly wound through our church history.
December 6, 2023
I read this one throughout the year. It’s “A student guide” but I thought it was wonderful for adults too. I plan to incorporate this into our homeschool one day. I loved reading the stories of how the text and tunes were created and that it has the melody printed too. I dusted off my piano skills and played some that I didn’t know. There’s something special about singing songs that other saints have been singing for hundreds of years.
January 3, 2024
This is BY far my favorite hymn book ever. I think I would like to use it to teach a history and geography of hymns class someday. Love this book.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews