It can be a real challenge to find worthwhile Bible materials for our children. Most of what's out there is watered-down, overly simplified, or mind-numbingly silly. On the other hand, not all adult products are really suitable for children who are trying to dig in and learn about God's Word for the first time. Enter Sora Colvin's new book and audio combo, Kingdom Songs, which manages to provide an incredible amount of real Bible content in a very child-friendly (and parent friendly!!) format.
Kingdom Songs deals with the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Kings, and 1st and 2nd Chronicles. I have to admit that I was skeptical when I first heard about it - after all, 2nd Chronicles isn't really at the top of my list of books to study with children. Sora recognized that children could have difficulty with some of this material, and God lead her to compose 14 wonderful songs that are packed with Bible truths, key facts, and in many cases the Word of God itself. She then wrote a book that contains the lyrics to each song along with Scripture passages to read and discussion questions to study with your children. The second half of the book contains reproducible maps, puzzles, and attractive, well-drawn coloring pages that are perfect for notebooks. (When is the last time you saw a coloring page of Jehoash?)
These songs are sung simply and sweetly by Sora and a group of children. The music has a gentle, folksy feel to it and the lyrics are very easy to understand. The songs are as follows:
1. God is Your King: the story of Israel's determination to have a king, and of the selection and anointing of Saul.
2. To Obey: the story of the sins of Saul that led to the loss of his kingdom. The chorus contains the verse, "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed the Lord is better than the fat of rams."
3. The Lord Looketh on the Heart: the story of the selection and anointing of David as King. The lyrics include the entire lineage of David all of the way back to Pharez. I am smiling as I type this, because it really is astounding that Sora manages to include this sort of information while keeping the songs very singable and appealing!
4. The Life of David: the story of, well, David! Includes facts that even I didn't know and handles the Bathsheba incident with perfect tastefulness.
5. Psalm 55: the lyrics are taken directly from Psalm 55, which David wrote.
6. David's Prayer: the lyrics are taken directly from I Chronicles 29. These are beautiful and powerful words for all of us to learn!
7. Solomon: the story of Solomon's failure to do what God required of him. This is important because it was a precursor to the division of Israel.
8. Reheboam: The story of King Reheboam and the division of Israel.
9. The Lord, He is God! : key stories from the life of Elijah.
10. Jehoash: the thrilling, intrigue-filled story of Queen Athaliah, Jehoash, and Jehoiada. Don't know the story? Buy Kingdom Songs!!!
11. Hezekiah: The story of King Hezekiah and the attack by Sennacherib.
12. Josiah: the story of the amazing 8 year old king that did great things for God.
13. The List of Kings: The entire list of the kings of the divided Kingdom. I can't honestly think of another way to learn a list like this other than to sing it! This song is included half-way through the album and again at the end, probably because it is the most difficult to memorize. Your children will learn it more quickly because they hear it twice each time they hear the CD.
Trust me when I say you will be greatly blessed by Kingdom Songs. It is a joy to hear my children already singing snippets of the songs after only hearing them a few times. Little 2 year old Sarah is learning "To Obey" and I think that it is so beautiful for her to be hiding these truths in her heart already. I know they will serve her well throughout her life. Even something as simple as playing the CD in the car, or each day at breakfast, or at bedtime, will yield great results very quickly!
