My Favorite Hymn

I was asked recently to name my favorite hymn.

That's hard for me. I love scores of hymns, and to list my top 5 or top 10 is much easier than my very favorite.

But I'd have to say, based on all of the songs I've been singing and leading others to sing for the last 30 years or so, my favorite would be a relatively new hymn, written in 2005. It's call "The Power of the Cross" and was written by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend. Here is the last stanza:

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering
I am free.
Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love. 


This, the pow'r of the cross:
Son of God—slain for us.
What a love! What a cost! 
We stand forgiven at the cross.

What an incredible set of words, yes? "Death is crushed to death" alone can change someone's perspective! 

To find out more about this powerful song, check out Getty Music. And if you are looking for an arrangement to use in your church, I'd suggest this version from Praise Charts which you can hear on itunes. 

Here's a hint--which may or may not work in your church--when we sing the words "I am free" I blow up the text a little and put just that phrase on the screen with an exclamation mark instead of a period. I have the guys sing it up an octave and it really helps explode that life-changing truth.

Hope that serves you. Oh... and while you're here, can you identify your single favorite hymn? Leave it in the comments below!