2023 In Review: Top Songs

Every week at Emmanuel Baptist Church is a new opportunity to glory in the goodness of our God. It is a privilege to guide our church family as we sing songs that teach our minds the truths of God and thrill our hearts with His faithfulness. I think about many different considerations each week, and it is interesting to see what emerges at the end of a year of Sundays.

Here are just a few of the considerations that inform each week’s service:

• What is the theme of the sermon text?

• Are these songs biblical?

• Are these songs pastoral for our specific congregation?

• Are these songs missional in our specific context?

• How are we praising God for His character?

• How do these songs teach us the Gospel?

• How do these songs lead us away from sin, and towards Christ?

• What new songs do I want our congregation to learn?

Prayerfully considering questions like these helps me arrange 4-5 songs each week for our church to sing together. At the end of the year, here are the songs we sang the most:

EBC Top 10:

1. Christ Be Magnified – Cody Carnes

2. His Mercy is More – Matt Boswell

3. Build My Life – Housefires

4. Come Thou Fount – Robert Robinson

5. 10,000 Reasons – Matt Redman

6. Firm Foundation – Cody Carnes

7. Jesus Paid It All – Elvina Hall

8. King of Kings – Hillsong

9. Lord, I Need You – Matt Maher

10. Oh But God – Worship Initiative

Top Hymns

1. Come Thou Fount

2. Jesus Paid It All

3. Glorious Day (One Day)

4. How Firm a Foundation

5. How Great Thou Art

At EBC, we sang 112 songs total over the course of the year. Of these, 62 are recent contributions, and 10 are what I would call “modern hymns.” Fifty were taken from the rich tradition of Christian hymns. I never want us to lose sight of the songs that our church has been singing for generations. Our top song in 2023 was Christ Be Magnified. What an appropriate song to top the list! I pray that Jesus was magnified at Emmanuel Baptist Church in 2023, and that we continue to magnify him for decades ahead.