HymnTalk with Melody Kneezel

Ready to talk about victory today? I know I am. This is one of the most encouraging and uplifting hymns I've done so far. I don't think it is quite as popular of a hymn, and I've never given it much thought before, so I was surprised by how much it inspired me this week. I hope you'll enjoy listening to Faith Is the Victory.

How perfect to talk about rising from the dead on Halloween, am I right? But in all seriousness, it is sweet to spend some time in an atypical time of year celebrating Jesus's resurrection with the most classic Easter hymn ever known to humankind, Christ the Lord Is Risen Today.

Get ready for a bonus episode in which I majorly nerd out on why this tune is so musically wonderful and satisfying. We talk about all those nerd terms I learned in my choral music college days like text painting, motifs, and form, but, like, in ways that are fun and engaging. Hope you enjoy our Good-Friday-in-October bonus episode, Were You There.

Get ready to nerd out on some history of hymnody, and how Isaac Watts pioneered a whole bunch of it, including several minutes of me being a total dweeb about poetic meter. I imagine normal people may find this boring, but I find it FASCINATING! Feel free to fastforward if you're bored to tears. ;) We also talk about these powerful lyrics, how they bring us to a place where we have to make a move and change, and the impact of that move - the single most important thing we can do with our lives is to follow Jesus. He DEMANDS our life, our soul, our all. Thanks so much for listening!

When I was writing this one, I knew it was going to be a long one. Whew! But I just couldn't cut anything. This hymn is CHOCK FULL of scripture, and it has so many beautiful and important things to reflect on about Jesus's sacrifice. What is propitiation? If you don't know, you're gonna find out! What lame joke did Melody and her college choir director make at exactly the same time while working on this hymn? You'll know! And, BONUS,  Ryan recorded an awesome arrangement of the hymn - we all knew he could beatbox, but whoa, we've been missing his mad skillz on this podcast in the past, and he's about to get attacked with requests! Thanks so much for listening to HymnTalk!

Oh goodness. This hymn has a great backstory. The essay that inspired it totally blew my mind. I've been meditating on it for days and days and days! Enjoy Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, and don't forget that when we focus on Him, everything else just doesn't matter as much. 

What does it mean to abide with Jesus? And what does it mean when we ask him to abide with us? Let's talk about some of my favorite poetry ever - Abide with Me.

Thanks for listening to HymnTalk! This week, we're talking about Softly and Tenderly, a sweet invitation hymn about the patience of Jesus as he calls us to himself.

We're back with a full episode! Undoubtedly one of the most beloved hymns of all time, this week we talk about How Great Thou Art. Thanks for listening!

Hey there! It has been a while since I've been able to upload an episode of HymnTalk, and this short bonus episode explains a little more of why. Get excited for HymnTalk to return regularly now! Thanks for listening!