Matthew, Volume 1

The songs on this 55 minute CD teach Bible truths and character values found in the first eight chapters of the gospel of Matthew. The album includes 30 original songs with topics like: Old Testament prophecies fulfilled by the birth of Jesus, John the Baptist, God's well-speaking at Jesus' baptism, the nine blessings in the Sermon on the Mount, and child-friendly versions of the Lord's Prayer and the Golden Rule. Other songs address the teachings of Christ regarding praying, not being anxious, giving, and how to treat others. Musical genres found on this CD range from the ancient tune "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming" (with new lyrics from the Christian adage: Seek First the Kingdom) to "La Cucaracha" (You are the Salt Of). Three songs (Blessed the Poor in Spirit, Look at the Birds of Heaven, and You are My Son, the Beloved) were on the GMA/DOVE award ballot for Most Inspirational Single of 2005. The vocal presentation includes rounds, counterpoint, harmony, and syncopation; a challenging variety that children love. The singers are kids who actually learned and enjoyed these songs in a Vacation Bible School setting. Learning the Bible can be as easy as learning a song! This discovery was the motivation to begin Bible StorySongs. The "singing grannies", Paula King and Catherine Walker, put Bible verses, facts, lists, stories (anything they wanted kids to remember) to favorite familiar tunes in the public domain. Employing public domain tunes which uniquely match the feeling of the Bible stories makes many of the new songs quite easy to learn. The flow and style of the music assists in the crafting of the lyrics, often taken directly from Bible verses. This simple formula worked! The hundreds of kids they taught in summer Bible Camps quickly answer Biblical questions by singing snippets of songs, and still remember them today as adults. This time-tested positive result and the urging by many to preser