Awesome God – CD Review

  The first time I listened to Awesome God by Sovereign Grace Ministries I was surprised.  Understanding that it was a ‘kid’s’ CD I was expecting the usual sounds that seperate kid’s music from the rest: dramatized voices of furry characters pictured on the front and blings, blongs and whatever other sound effect that can be found that are ‘fun’.  That’s not to be found on this CD.  What I discovered was a project of well crafted songs ranging from upbeat songs, like "Your Love", to soft and reflective songs, such as "Have You Heard?",  that can be enjoyed by all ages.

  What impresses me most about this project is that there is not a single song on the entire project that focuses on ‘me’.  These are not songs that simply tell a Bible story or remind us to be good and smile.  Every song directs our focus to our ‘Awesome God’, even while dealing with who we are and things we struggle with.  For example, in "Sovereign One" we find the lyrics "When I’m all alone and afraid I will trust in You for You watch over my ways….When I don’t get to have my own way I will trust in You for You know what is best".  This project also points out what we have been created for.  "And You’ve created me to worship You and You’ve created me to love You and you have made me to delight in You.  All glory to Your name!"  (Almighty Creator).  In an age where kids are taught that it’s all about them, this is a much needed message, one we all need to be reminded of.

  To be honest, at first I was not entirely impressed.  My preconceived ideas about kid’s songs told me that the content of these songs is too deep for kids.  The more I listened to the CD though, the more I realized that maybe what the problem has been is that we underestimate the ability of kids to understand.  We end up spoon feeding them Bible stories with "feel good, do good" messages rather than teaching them about who GOD is because we think they won’t get it, maybe because we don’t.  This project lays out attributes of GOD in a simple way while still maintaining a spirit of mystery.  On the back cover it states that one of the goals of the project is to express who GOD is in words that kids can understand.  In general I would say they have done an excellent job, although there are some words such as sovereign and righteous that do appear on this project.  These are words that, sadly, the average Christian has trouble understanding and may need some explanation when these songs are introduced.   

  I applaud Sovereign Grace Ministries for the production of this project.  I will be placing it right alongside my other praise and worship CDs.  I will also be introducing some of these songs both to youth and children.  It’s a must for any music leader.