Walking with the Wise – Our Newest Kids’ Album

m4285-00-21_lI’m thrilled that our latest kids’ album, Walking with the Wise, is finally available. This is the third Sovereign Grace kids’ album, the second being To Be Like Jesus (June 2009), and the first, Awesome God (Aug. 2004).

Walking with the Wise contains 13 songs based on different verses from the book of Proverbs. Titles include W-I-S-D-O-M, Make Me Wise, A Good Friend, Lazy Bones, A Cheerful Heart, and All Ears.

While the number of “worship CDs” for children has increased exponentially in recent years and may have reached a saturation point, many of them assume that kids are already Christians. One of our aims in making kids’ albums is to help parents raise children in the “discipline and instruction of the Lord.” We write most of the songs in a way that proclaims truth rather than simply being an expression of a child’s heart.

This approach can make the album sound less “worshipful,” but in the long run, we think it better represents what’s happening when kids sing. They’re memorizing words that will hopefully influence the way they view God, themselves, and the world. While there’s certainly a place for kids singing songs of praise to God directly (Mt. 21:16.), music is also a tool to teach teach kids truths about God, God’s Word, how we’re relate to him and each other, and most importantly, who Jesus is and what he did to rescue us from our sin.

For example, here’s verse 1 from Mark Altrogge’s song, “Where It All Begins,” which teaches about the fear of the Lord (Prov. 1:7).

When others try to draw you in
So you would join them in their sin
The fear of God will keep you safe
And give you strength to run away

Here’s another sample from a song Stephen Altrogge and I wrote called, “To Tell the Truth,” based on Prov. 12:19 and Prov. 25:18.

A little lie seems harmless like ordinary words
But lies we tell to others are like a sword that hurts
When someone tries to tell me that covering up’s okay
Don’t let me be dishonest, help me to humbly say
To tell the truth is what I want to do
Because You love the lips that speak the truth
To tell a lie leads me away from You
So help me, God, to tell the truth

Whenever we produce an album for children, it’s easy to drift into rules and moralism. “Be this way and you’ll be a Christian boy/girl.” We may teach kids what’s right and wrong, but they won’t necessarily see that they need a Savior. So even on an album based on Proverbs, we’ve looked for ways to direct little hearts and minds to the gospel.

This is the chorus to Zach Jones’ song, “I Don’t Have to Hide,” taken from Prov. 28:13:

Blessed is the one who fears the Lord and admits his sin
Blessed is the one who trust the Lord, who alone forgives
Jesus died so I don’t have to hide anymore.

Another example is “Who Can Say,” based on Prov. 20:9:

Who can say, “I have made my heart pure
I am clean from my sin”?
No one’s blameless in God’s holy eyes
That’s why the Savior came
Jesus, Jesus, only You did everything right
Jesus, Jesus, died and rose
So we could have new life

While our kids’ albums are mainly for 6-10 year olds, younger and older kids, and even adults enjoy them. It’s a good thing, because I know some moms (including my oldest daughter) who have been hearing To Be Like Jesus in their car for a year now.

I was grateful for the input of Mike Bradshaw, children’s ministry pastor at my church, who suggested some creative dialogue and musical ideas that made Walking with the Wise more engaging than our previous children’s albums. Right now Mike is in the middle of leading “Summer Celebration,” an event for about 500 6-10 year olds, incorporating many of the songs from Walking with the Wise.

The CD contains lead sheets, guitar charts, and accompaniment tracks to all the songs. We want to make it as easy as possible for you to put these songs to use. You can buy the CD for $12 from the Sovereign Grace online store, or download the MP3 album for $9. You can also hear samples at the Sovereign Grace Music site, and download a free song, Lazy Bones.

Whether you use Walking with the Wise for Vacation Bible school, summer camp, children’s ministry, family worship time, or just singing in the car, we pray these songs will help kids appreciate the precious truths of God’s Word and point them to Jesus Christ, our great Savior.

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7 Responses to Walking with the Wise – Our Newest Kids’ Album

  1. melinda pino/bush June 23, 2010 at 2:40 PM #

    We’re so excited about using this new CD in our children’s ministry worship! Thanks for working so hard to put this together and ALL the kids at Palm Vista thank you too.

  2. lisa June 23, 2010 at 4:53 PM #

    I just love you guys at Sovereign Grace and the way you make these albums!! Thank you for including the gospel and making these CDs appropriate to give as gifts to Christian children (and adults!) AND to unchurched children. Thanks for producing music that is fun, engaging, and memorable, and that makes much of Jesus!

  3. Cristian June 23, 2010 at 9:15 PM #

    Thanks so much for this new CD; sheer quality as always…

    (Now, am I doing something wrong or is there something else to do to download the whole album for $6? I can only see it at $9…)

    • Bob Kauflin June 23, 2010 at 10:00 PM #

      Cristian, my mistake. I went on the site yesterday and thought I saw it for $6. Apparently, it’s $9. Sorry about the bad info…I changed it in the post.

  4. Cristian June 23, 2010 at 10:05 PM #

    Thanks for clarifying, Bob. $9 is ok anyway ;-)

  5. Dallas Mora July 22, 2010 at 4:36 PM #

    Hey just got your cd in the mail! I’m excited about listening to it. My assistant, Adrian, and i should have a video review up in the next couple of weeks!

    God bless!

  6. Angelica May 7, 2013 at 9:26 AM #

    We use these songs every Sunday combined with Orange-252 Basics lessons.

    The children love the songs and the actions:
    https://www.youtube.com/user/mbradshaw19801980?feature=

    or
    http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=0BF00MNU

    Also, we are studying about Paul this month and our theme is about friendship.
    Before the teaching section we took photos of the children in pairs (friends) dressed up and at the end of the song A Good Friend (the whispering part) we put the kids photos. OMG! All of them were whispering (or trying to) and so happy with the .

    This CD is really a blessing and adults love too!

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