Book Review: My First Hymnal edit. by David Johnson, from Concordia Publishing

Having been raised around The Missouri Synod of the Lutheran Church, I am very familiar with Concordia Publishing and their excellent catalog on religious books and items.So when I was offered this book to review, I knew it would not be very far off from the Anglican faith we are raising Kiddo in, and might be a great resource for us as a family!

Synopsis: The dilemma we’ve faced is how to bring children into the worship life of the LCMS (Lutherna Church, Missouri Synod),” said the editor of My First Hymnal, David Johnson. “With this book, we’ve taken the hymns loved by all generations and combined them with realistic artwork that tells the story of the church and Jesus’ love. This is something that all children can take to church and say ‘This is my hymnal.’”

Johnson and the music department of Concordia Publishing House surveyed parents, teachers, and educators to choose the 52 hymns that appear in My First Hymnal. “These are songs that are easy to remember with language that shows God’s love for children and speaks to His relationship with them through Jesus’ grace and forgiveness.” The content is appropriate for children up to age 10.

Johnson encourages families to use this book as a devotional resource at home, as an important way to prepare children for Sunday morning worship, and equip them to use the full hymnal and benefit from it. “Parents can help children memorize psalms, prayers, and portions of the liturgy,” he said. “Each bit of text or hymn stanza in the book connects with the artwork on the page, so that even small children can understand and have the words of the Church in their mouths at a very early age.”

Review: Yes, this IS a Lutheran based hymnal, and as such has some prayers written by Luther, that are featured in the Lutheran faith. BUT the rest of the hymnal features songs, prayers and psalms, that are featured in any of the Catholic faiths, and some Baptist ones. It really is a great primer for using at home with your children.


My First Hymnal features beautiful illustrations that highlight the colors, seasons, and symbols of the Church Year. Kiddo was quickly entranced with them!  The book starts with a wonderful, easy to understand, map of the Church Year. It has to be the simplest way I have ever seen it described and perfect for a preschooler!

As you can see above, by using simple illustrations, it is easy to follow along! The book then features popular Psalms from the bible (8, 23 46, 51, 121, 150) that kids should learn and know. Prayers are next, including morning and evening prayers, confession/absolution, the Apostle's Creed and the Lord's Prayer. The last section is the hymns. They are sorted by church season and aspects of the Church, and are notated on the top, which one.

Songs included are: O Come O Come Emmanuel (Advent), Angels We Have Heard on High (Christmas), As With Gladness Men of Old (Epiphany), On My Heart Imprint Your Image (Lent), All Glory Laud and Honor (Holy Week), I Know That My Redeemer Lives (Easter), Holy Spirit Light Divine (Pentecost), Someone Special (Holy Trinity), What a Friend We Have in Jesus (Jesus), A Mighty Fortress is Our God (the Church), Go My Children with My Blessing (Baptismal Life), and I am Jesus; Little Lamb (Heaven).


As you can see this is a fairly rounded hymnal, that will be a great resource for your kids! If you teach Sunday School, it's a very good primer for teaching all year long as well! I highly recommend it as a Baptismal gift, and for any young child!




About the Publisher: Concordia Publishing House is a not-for-profit publishing company and the official publisher of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. The company offers more than 8,000 products for use in Christian congregations, schools, and homes. Visit CPH on the Web at http://www.cph.org.