Teaching the Faith at Home: Teaching Hymns at Home

One of the biggest struggles that I hear parents talk about when discussing teaching the faith at home is that they don't know where to start. Pastors are a great help in this. They can give advice and resources for you to use.

In my last post about teaching hymns at home I mentioned a conference that my husband went to in which Pastor Mark Preus taught a sectional about teaching hymns. He wrote an essay for the Classical Lutheran Education Journal that includes a list of hymns that he suggests as a good list to learn. You'll find his list below.

1. Salvation unto Us Has Come, Stanza 1 (3 and 6) – Gospel/Salvation
2. On My Heart Imprint Your Image –Faith/Endurance
3. Christ Alone Is Our Salvation - Gospel
4. My Maker Now Be Nigh / My Maker Be Thou Nigh – Trinity/Creed
5. Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying- Church/Judgment/Heaven
6. These are the Holy Ten Commands - Verses 1,2 and 11, and others as the occasion fits - Law of God
7. Let Me Be Thine  Forever - Trinity/Endurance
8. Jesus Sinners Doth Receive (Stanza 1, "O How Blest,” and Last Stanza) - Repentance/Confession/Faith
9. From Heav’n Above (Stanzas 1,2, and 13) - Christmas
10. We All Believe In One True God (metrical by Clausnitzer) - Creed
11. Our Father, Who from Heaven Above verses 1 and 9, and others as the occasion fits) - Prayer
12. Awake, My Heart, with Gladness (verse 1,2 and 4) - Easter
13.  All Who Believe and Are Baptized - Baptism
14. The Death of Jesus Christ our Lord (Verses 1,2,4 and “A Precious Food...") - Sacrament of the Altar

In his article Pastor Preus cautions us to choose good hymns that teach us good doctrine. Not every hymn teaches Lutheran theology, and so we take care to choose hymns that do when we choose hymns to memorize. This is a good reason to talk to your pastor. He can give you some great advice in choosing hymns to make your own list. Your list won't be long as children love repetition and it will aid in their learning to sing the same hymn for a month or even a few months.

You can read Pastor Preus' full article here.