Reviewed by Anne Boling for Readers' Favorite

I was eager to delve into "101 Hymn Stories: The Inspiring True Stories Behind 101 Favorite Hymns" by Kenneth W. Osbeck because I grew up in a traditional church that sang hymns. Today I admit I enjoy worshiping with contemporary music but the old favorites still stir my heart. Many of today’s contemporary songs are actually traditional hymns set to current music. There is a unique and heartwarming story behind many of the hymns, some of which I had heard before and many that were new to me. Among my favorite stories in this book are: 'Blest Be The Tie That Binds' by John Fawcett. Fawcett was a Baptist minister serving a small penniless congregation in North England. After several years Fawcett was offered a position at a larger church. As moving day approached the pastor and his wife realized they did not want to leave. 'Blest Be The Tie That Binds' was a poem written by Fawcett expressing his love for his congregation. 'Great Is Thy Faithfulness' was written by Thomas O. Chisholm and was written in response to Chisholm’s “morning by morning realization of God’s personal faithfulness.” 'Rescue The Perishing' was written by Fanny J. Crosby. Ms Crosby was nicknamed the queen of gospel song writers. Although she was blind she wrote over 8,000 hymns. When speaking to a group of men she felt there was someone there who needed to be rescued. She asked the crowd if there was a boy among them who had wandered away from home and his mother’s teachings. She asked that boy to see her. A young man came forward and admitted he had promised to meet his mother in heaven but he had wandered away from her teaching. After they prayed together he told Ms Crosby that he would be meeting his mother in heaven.

The hymns in this book have touched the lives of many. The words came from the heart of the authors as they allowed the Holy Spirit to lead them. Kenneth W. Osbeck offers readers a look at the story behind each of these old favorites. It is obvious that he spent much time researching and organizing the hymns. The message in these hymns has great depth and still warms hearts. Pastors will find this book invaluable for their inspiration and sermon material. Osbeck not only included the story behind the hymn but included a full copy of the lyrics and music. I very much enjoyed this book. Kudos to Mr. Osbeck.