Bill Anderson delivered a stirring, moving rendition of “The Old Rugged Cross.” The country music singer gave a delightful performance, singing an old, classic church hymn. The hymn is, of course, one that is near and dear to the hearts of many. Watch the short but powerful clip to hear Bill sing “The Old Rugged Cross” and to listen to his moving words about the hymn following his performance.

Hymns are wonderful, marvelous, and sadly, very underutilized pieces of music. They are elegantly and beautifully written, perfectly capturing and describing the Lord’s love, grace, mercy and faithfulness. When it comes to church music, nothing else can or ever will top those old, familiar hymns we all know and love.

Many churches have started to move away from or have already completely abandoned the hymns, choosing instead to fill the worship portion of their Sunday morning services with contemporary Christian music. While those tunes are often powerfully written and beautifully performed, I think we can all agree that “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” “How Great Thou Art,” “Amazing Grace” and many, many others are impossible to best.

In a clip posted on YouTube, Bill performs another of those unbeatable, beloved and iconic hymns: “The Old Rugged Cross.” Bill’s performance is powerful and heartfelt and may even cause you to shed a tear or two. He sings with so much emotion and feeling, making this one performance you’ll want to watch and listen to repeatedly.

Following his performance, Bill shared how one specific part of the hymns connected with and struck him, showing him just how great God’s love for us is. But he was not the only one moved by the lyrics to “The Old Rugged Cross.” Jason Crabb and others in the audience shared what that song means to them and how it perfectly and accurately describes God’s love for everyone and our great reward that awaits us in heaven.

Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”