Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs

Thank you for coming to check out my music! I love to write for the good of the church and the glory of God. You will find free hymns and published anthems available on this page. For starters, I invite you to watch this lyric video of O Lord of Love, released in 2024 by The Wilds for Thanksgiving.

Free Hymns

These hymns are free for you to use in your local church. Click on any hymn title in this section to download a copy.

Download Hymn Sheet
Download Piano Lead Sheet
Download Guitar Lead Sheet

New Choral Anthems (2025)

The Wilds Christian Camp recently released their newest album, and I am thankful to have written lyrics for two of their songs. For those interested in listening to the songs, you can purchase the album by clicking here. Music directors and pastors will also like to know these songs are available as choral arrangements and free congregational hymns. I will post the links to both resources below. I am pleased with the variety these two songs offer, as I will explain below.

Who is Like the Lord Our God?

This song is very much hymn of adoration, focusing on the objective character of our God and his redemptive work. It focuses on how each person of the Trinity works in the act of redemption, first with the Father’s plan of working a new creation by transforming our lives, then with the Son’s work of healing the spiritually blind by giving us eyes of faith, and finally with the Holy Spirit who sheds his light abroad on our hearts to bear his fruit and love each other. I knew the theme of the album was going to be focused on light, and so I tried to capture the work of the Godhead through the images of light we see in Scripture that relate to each person. Our response to such glorious redemption should be to go and tell others of the light we have seen in the gospel. I hope this song motivates campers this summer and all who hear it to go and tell the story of God’s salvation.

In the Morning

They say in the writing world that authors like to enter into the conversation with other works of the past, drawing on similar storylines and plots and allusions, while also adding an original contribution to great bodies of literature. I strive to do the same in my hymn-writing. My first song with the Wilds was entitled “Holy Bible, Book Divine” (you can check it out here), a clear reference to an old hymn from the early 1800s. “In the Morning” takes its cues from the African-American spiritual, but then develops each stanza’s lyrics.

I love this fresh take on a well-known classic, and I believe it will refresh your devotional life. It is quite different from “Who Is Like the Lord Our God?” in that it focuses on the personal, subjective side of our faith. We find this balance in the Psalms; God’s people worship him with objective praise for who he is and what he has done, yet at other times they often cry out to him in very personal language. May this song personally strengthen your faith in and desire for Jesus in the morning, when you are alone, and when you come to die.

We’re Better Together

No, I didn’t write a song entitled “We’re Better Together.” But the collaborations on this album made me think about a song I once heard. These days most of my movie watching revolves around the choices of my children, who are in their toddler and elementary years. In Valentines episode of “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” the main characters sing a song that has the lyrics, “We go together like cookies and milk.” It’s all about their friendship and the joy they share together. I must say the same can be true about collaboration in the music world. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with Matt Taylor and the fine team he has formed for these albums. Matt wrote the music for both of these songs, and they were arranged by Brian Buda and Richard Nichols. The vocals were provided by a quality ensemble of singers, and his wife Christy sang a spot-on solo for “In the Morning.” Beside the musicians I am also grateful for the work of Airborne Studios, Reba Snyder in production, and Matt’s assistant Mikayla Gordon. It is hard for most people to comprehend the amount of work that goes into producing this kind of music, but so many eyes and ears and voices have contributed to these works. What makes this so special is that each individual contributes out of their own strengths, making the sum greater than the parts. And I am thrilled at the outcome. We are better together by God’s grace, and I hope you enjoy what you hear because of it.

Published Anthems (2024 and beyond)

I’m grateful to have works published by Shawnee Press, Lorenz, The Wild’s Music, and Fred Bock. I also have forthcoming titles with The Wild’s, Shawnee Press, and EasyChoirMusic.com. You can purchase the titles listed below by clicking on the the title, or visiting their publisher websites, or on Sheet Music Plus by clicking HERE.

O Lord of Love

I love to find new ways to challenge and expand my writing abilities. In a session on songwriting, one group of songwriters shared how they often take familiar rhyme schemes and patterns from old hymns and use them as the template for a new song. I decided to try out this method using the rhyme scheme of Amazing Grace, and the result was the text to O Lord of Love. This song could just as easily be sung to the tune of Amazing Grace.

Surprisingly, the church does not have many hymns on the theme of God’s love. Even fewer have any practical applications for how we should respond to God’s love. My desire with this text was to collect as much scriptural truth as I could about God’s love and meditate on it in one song. I also wanted to bring the point home with a prayer for God to change us through his love. I hope this song encourages you to not only delight in God’s love, but to respond to it with greater devotion.

I am grateful to Matt Taylor for the beautiful music and to Brian Büda for the moving arrangement. You can download the free hymn or purchase the choral anthem here. This anthem was selected for Editor’s Choice by JW Pepper. The Wilds released a lyric video of this song for Thanksgiving 2024, which I invite you to watch below.

Comforter and Keeper

This song is a piece that was accepted by Fred Bock several years ago, but due to Covid is just now coming into print. It addresses a theme rarely written about in hymody or choral music, the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Christians have so many good gifts of grace given to us through the work of the Holy Spirit, the chief of which is to reveal Christ to us and draw us deeper into our relationship with him. I pray this song will open your eyes and draw you to worship the risen Christ through the work of the Spirit.

It was a joy to collaborate on this song with my friend Dan Mattix. He created the ideal arrangement for this touching piece. You can purchase the choral anthem here. This anthem was selected for Editor’s Choice by JW Pepper.

Come Find Rest

This song was recently released on The Wild’s 2024 summer album Look To Christ (you can check it out here). I have often found myself running on empty and in need of rest. The Christian’s only true source of rest is found in Jesus Christ, who alone can restore us and strengthen us to live faithfully for him in this journey of life. We often think other things in this life can refresh us, like entertainment or social engagements or favorite hobbies. But apart from Christ, all these things come up short and leave us feeling empty. Instead, what we often need most is a few quiet minutes of prayer, an encouraging time in the Word, and a good nap. I hope the message of this song encourages you to find your rest in Jesus.

A big “thank you” to Matt Taylor for the appropriately restful music and to Faye Lopez for the gentle arrangement. You can download the free hymn or purchase the choral anthem here. This anthem was selected for Editor’s Choice by JW Pepper.

How We Thank You, Jesus

Released on The Wild’s 2023 summer album Let the Church Rejoice, I was privileged to collaborate with Matt Taylor. He took my poetic meditation on Isaiah 61:1-3, the same passage Jesus quoted from when he took up the Isaiah scroll at his hometown synagogue in Nazareth, and wedded it with a beautiful melody. We can never say “thank you” enough to Jesus for his work of salvation on our behalf. You can purchase the album here. You can also download the free hymn or purchase the choral anthem here.
The Wild’s produced a beatuiful lyric video of this song, released for Thanksgiving in 2023, which I invite you to watch below.

Join in Heaven’s Praise
This song is also a collaboration with Matt Taylors on the Let the Church Rejoice album. I know of a lot of Christians who have experienced immense struggles with feeling alone in this world. My desire in this text was to highlight the everlasting communion all saints enjoy before God, even when we feel alone. We are gathered together with God, his church, and his angels in heaven’s praise.

You can purchase the new album here. You can also download the free hymn or purchase the choral anthem here. This anthem was selected for Editor’s Choice by JW Pepper.

God Indescribable

I’m excited to share this single released with a lyric video from the Wilds.

Some songs come quickly, others come after a lot of time and hard work. This song was five years in the making, but I’m so thankful for how it turned out!

I tried to capture the heart of Psalm 36:5-6:
Your steadfast love, O LORD,
extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like
the mountains of God;
your judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast you save, O LORD.

Nature’s trio of oceans, mountains, and heavens sing the praise of God’s incomprehensible wisdom, righteousness, and love. You can download free hymn sheets for congregational use or purchase the choral anthem here. The single even got it’s own cover album art as you can see below. I love it!

His Countless Scars

The Wilds published “His Countless Scars” on their album with full orchestration. It fits well with the Christmas season, as it traces the life of Christ from the cradle to cross.

These lyrics were especially personal for me, because we all bear scars (both external and internal). The scars of Christ remind us God has a sovereign purpose for every scar. The scars of Christ won our salvation! We tend to want the scars to fade away, but praise God Christ’s scars don’t. Instead, they prove we are forgiven. There’s a mysterious beauty in that truth.

All I Need [click HERE for more info], arranged by John Purifoy, published by Shawnee Press

Come, Adore the Newborn King [Click HERE to listen], arranged by Faye Lopez, published by The Wilds Christian Camp

We Remember Christ [click HERE for more info], music and arrangement by Robert Sterling, published by Shawnee Press

Promise After Promise [click HERE for more info], arranged by Jesse Bullard, published by Shawnee Press

Songwriting Resources

Ever wanted to write a song? You’ll need more than a pencil and a napkin! One of my passions is to provide music with substantive yet singable lyrics for the church. If you are interested in songwriting, I’d encourage you to check out my video, “Crafting Poetic Lyrics,” below. Feel free to contact me if you are interested in further feedback on your church music lyrics.

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