Welcome to the online home of Tim Challies, blogger, author, and book reviewer.
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We are spoiled—spoiled by having so many talented Christian artists creating so many excellent songs. With 2023 now halfway in the books, I decided to make up a list of my favorites from the year so far. Hopefully there’s something here you’ll want to add to your own playlists… He Calls Me Friend by CityAlight As it happens, I am heading to Australia today to spend some time with CityAlight and their church. They have just released a couple of …
Few people have a sweeter and kinder spirit than Joni Eareckson Tada. Few people have suffered longer and more consistently than Joni Eareckson Tada. These two things—sweetness and suffering—do not necessarily go together, but by God’s grace they can and often do. They most certainly do in Joni’s life which is one of the reasons so many of us admire and honor her. One of the keys to Joni’s suffering is singing. As she suffers the effects of her paralysis, …
With due respect to my Reformed Presbyterian friends, I think it’s difficult to make the argument that singing in the local church must not be accompanied by instrumentation. But with due respect to everyone else, I think it’s equally difficult to make the argument that singing in the local church must be accompanied by instrumentation. It seems to me that we have a lot of freedom here—freedom to sing in a way that matches our convictions and freedom to sing …
What would it mean to write hymns that speak specifically to the concerns, challenges, and temptations of your church? Not the global church or the church in general, mind you, but your own local church? What themes would be most important to those people? What truths might they have trouble believing and what doctrines might they have trouble applying to their lives? What temptations do they face that may not be addressed even in the wealth of Christian hymns that …
One quiet evening many years ago, I was sitting on the screened-in porch of our old family cottage when I heard the music of bagpipes. Curious, I followed the sound, which me led as far as I could go, down to the shore of the lake. Somewhere across the water, I could hear the piper playing. The evening was quiet and the lake was still, and the sound carried so well that I could hear every haunting note with perfect …
Hymn Sunday is a collaboration with my friends at Getty Music. I’m pleased to be able to offer you a free song along with the lyrics and sheet music. This song seems particularly well-suited to our times… “What is your only comfort in life and in death?” For centuries, believers have learned the Christian faith beginning with that question. It’s the first article in the Heidelberg Catechism of 1563. Why start there? Because death is our common fate. Unless Jesus …
Some churches sing only old songs—they rely on the great hymns of the faith and add newer selections on only the rarest of occasions. Some churches only sing new songs—they rely on their own songwriters or the Christian top-40 and sing older selections on only the rarest of occasions. I am convinced there is value in deliberately singing both the oldest and the most recent songs (though gladly extend an exception to those brothers and sisters with the conviction that …
It’s good to go to a conference or a concert and to sing with hundreds or even thousands of strangers. There is something majestic and soul-stirring about gathering with other believers and using the common language of song to join together in worship. But I believe it’s far better still to go to a local church—to your local church—and to sing with just the few people who make that church their home. To understand why I believe this, we need …
One of the trends that has swept our society through the past decades is the “funification” of pretty much everything. We have been told and become convinced that everything ought to be fun. I can’t think of a better example than in schools where the rote memorization that was once considered essential to learning was deemed too difficult and unattractive, so was replaced by activities much more enjoyable but much less effective. We can see the theme in media where …
For the past few years I’ve been enjoying the music of CityAlight both on a personal and congregational level (as we’ve added several of their songs to our worship services). They have just released a new album and, to mark the occasion, I asked them (Richard Thompson and Jonny Robinson) a few questions. I’ve interspersed their new songs throughout the interview so you can give them a listen. The album is available now wherever good music is sold or streamed. …