Our family is very familiar with scripture songs to help hide God’s word in our hearts, but the work of Bible StorySongs is new to us.  Rather than setting scripture to song, two mothers set out to set lessons and concepts from scripture to familiar, old-fashioned tunes that many of us are already familiar with.  It’s been 15 years since these ladies (now grandmothers) started their work, and they’ve written 300 songs, many of which are awaiting production.  It’s my prayer that they will be equipped to complete this work – our family has been blessed by their efforts.

We recently received a copy of Matthew, Volume 1 –  Jesus Christ is the King: Chapters 1 – 8 to review through the TOS Homeschool Crew.  A cheerful ensemble of children’s voices complete with musical accompaniment sings the 30 short songs included on the CD; the entire CD length is 55 minutes.  I’m very pleased with the production quality – it’s excellent and very professional.  Each of the songs elaborates or explores a theme, phrase or verse that is found within the first eight chapters of the book of Matthew.  The note liners don’t provide information on the performers or musicians, but do include the complete lyrics for all of the songs.

One of the features of the CD that I enjoyed the most is that these aren’t simple ‘one-dimensional’ children’s songs; many feature rounds and beautiful harmony.  On some tracks a children introduces the concept that the song will be exploring.  My oldest daughter Kaelynn (five-years-old) was telling me all about “Immanuel”.  “Do you know what Immanuel means Mommy?  It means God with us!  Jesus is God with us!”  Thank you Bible StorySongs! 

Matthew, Volume 1 is a mixture of songs that could qualify as instructional, devotional, fun, and praise-oriented.  This might sound corny coming from an adult listening to a children’s music CD, but I found myself lifting my hands in worship as I sang along with some of the tracks.  It’s that good.  In fact Matthew, Volume 1 was a 2005 – Gospel Music Award Contender in the Best Inspirational Song category.  The songs are catchy too, being set to traditional tunes, it’s easy for the songs to get stuck in your head.  A song about the lineage of Jesus running through your head all day is a good thing.  These are classic songs for your children to listen to while running around the living room dancing; at the same time they’ll be absorbing facts and insights from God’s word.

I’m thrilled to have found this collection of CD’s and I hope that it continues to grow.  Current discs include David, The Bible, Moses, Vol. 1, Moses, Vol. 2, Moses, for Young Singers (a short compilation from the two previous albums), Matthew, Vol. 1, Matthew, Vol. 2 and Matthew, for Young Singers (a short compilation from the two previous albums).  Real Player samples can be found online for each CD at Bible StorySongs when you click in the desired album.

Bible StorySongs also offers sheet music downloads (for guitar), coloring songbook downloads, and puzzle page downloads.  There are currently six full length CD’s available, and if you order directly through them there are volume discounts starting at 2 CD’s and up on their ordering page.  Their CD’s are also available for instant download through the iTunes store, and all of their products can be found at The Old Schoolhouse Store for U.S. customers only.