Review: His Kids United Christmas Vol. 1

The “His Kids United Christmas” album contains 12 Christmas songs featuring the voices of children. I consider this CD a blend of traditional and contemporary music. The CD includes some traditional Christmas carols with traditional sounds that will bring back memories of Christmases past, as well as some new songs with lyrics about today’s Christmas traditions, all while still pointing to the same ancient true meaning of Christmas – the Savior born in Bethlehem. While some songs are slower paced, many of the songs have a nice upbeat sound that makes you want to move, dance, and tap along to the music. After the tracks were finished playing, I wanted to turn the CD on again to listen to it some more. The lyrics are powerful and will inspire listeners to let their light shine and share the true light and love we celebrate at Christmas.

Click here for a free download of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” 

Disclosure: I received a free digital download of this album as part of the His Kids United Christmas Vol. 1 blog tour with Cross Focused Reviews.

Creation Rap

I came across a fun song today to teach children about God's creation. The song is actually a rap that goes through each of the seven days of Creation from the book of Genesis. I think boys especially would enjoy this one.

Click here to preview the song at HaveFunTeaching.com.

Disclosure: The Have Fun Teaching website has offered a free song download to bloggers who create a post about their website. Click here for more information.

#KidMin Music

Music is a wonderful teaching tool for people of all ages. The catchy tunes and lyrics stick in the mind and heart for years to come. Especially for children, music can be an effective way to teach biblical truths and encourage Scripture memory.

But if we're not careful, it could become bad theology. I've heard some interesting lyric mix-ups from children of my church:

• "I will not forsake you" has become "I will never save you"
• "You washed my sin away" has become "You washed my zit away"
• "I am a friend of God" has become "I am afraid of God"

Needless to say, the messages they heard were not the messages that had been intended.

I like to use videos with the song lyrics shown on the screen, which is good for older children, but for pre-readers, this still doesn't help much. I think it is important to talk with the kids about the meaning of the lyrics, explain any unfamiliar words or concepts, and define pronouns in the song. This could be as simple as the leader summarizing the meaning of the upcoming song briefly between songs during music time.

Whether you use pre-recorded music or live singers, make sure that the words are clearly expressed and pronounced. Don't let the music drown out the message.