Photo by Colton Duke
McKenna Hixson is a Mormon artist with only a few songs credited to her name. These include:
- Peace in Christ
- Healer
- Strong
- Youth Theme Medley
Although Nik Day wrote Peace in Christ, I could not find a released recorded version under this name.
Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Mckenna-hixson-peace-in-christ-lyrics.
Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site! Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review. I strongly encourage you to consider the potential blessings and dangers of this artist‘s theology by visiting Resources.
1. What message does the song communicate?
We can attain tranquility in Jesus if we:
- Hear about Him from others
- Feel His compassion for us through His sacrifice
- Put His commandments into practice
- Knowing Him personally by spending time with Him
If we do these things, He will also give us:
- Confidence in Him
- Power
- Protection
- Mended hearts
- Dry eyes
Score: 10/10
2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?
The whole thing aligns with Scripture.
[Verse 1]
Lines 1-4: We can find internal peace in Jesus (John 14:27, John 16:29-33, Romans 5:1, Ephesians 2:14-15, and Colossians 3:15) if we:
- First learn of Him from others. This requires us Christ-followers to tell such people about Jesus (Romans 10:14-15).
- Experience Christ’s love through His death for our lawbreaking (John 3:16, Romans 5:6-8, and 1 John 4:9-10).
- Obey His commandments (Matthew 25:34-40, John 14:15, John 14:21-24, John 15:10-14, 1 Peter 1:14-15, 1 John 2:3-5, 1 John 4:19-20, 1 John 5:2-3, and 2 John 1:6).
- Know Him personally (John 15:1-11, Acts 17:27, Romans 8:15, Romans 11:16-24, and Philippians 3:8-10 ).
[Chorus]
Line 1: That is, the hope that we are forgiven for our lawbreaking (Matthew 11:28-30, Romans 5:1-8, Romans 8:24-39, Romans 15:13, 1 Corinthians 15:54-58, and 1 Peter 1:3-6).
Line 2: We rely on Jesus for power when our steam fails (Nehemiah 8:10, Psalm 22:19, Psalm 28:7-8, Psalm 46:1, Psalm 118:14, Isaiah 12:2, Isaiah 33:2, Isaiah 40:29-31, Habakkuk 3:19, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Ephesians 3:16, Ephesians 6:10, and Philippians 4:13).
Line 3: The Son of God is our refuge amid life’s challenges (Genesis 15:1, Deuteronomy 33:29, 2 Samuel 22:3, Psalm 3:3, Psalm 5:11, Psalm 12:5, Psalm 18:1-3, Psalm 20:1, Psalm 27:1-5, Psalm 28:7, Proverbs 30:5, Psalm 33:20, Psalm 34:19, Psalm 46:1-3, Psalm 57:1, Psalms 59:1, Psalm 71:1-6, Psalm 84:11, Psalm 89:18, Psalm 91:1-16, Psalm 115:9, Psalm 121:1-8, Psalm 140:4, Proverbs 14:26, Proverbs 18:10, Isaiah 41:10, 1 Corinthians 10:13, and 2 Thessalonians 3:3).
Line 4: The first part is due to sin (1 John 3:4). The second part repeats the opening lines of Verse 1, line 1.
[Verse 2]
Lines 1-4: This adds additional details to points raised in Verse 1, specifically, the third and fourth points in my commentary. Hixson states that we also find peace with Christ when we:
- Walk and talk with Him (see fourth point in my commentary on Verse 1).
- Live as Jesus did (see third point in my commentary on Verse 1).
As for the third line, Christ fixes our broken hearts (Ezekiel 11:19, Ezekiel 36:26, Jeremiah 31:33, and Hebrews 8:10) and dries our tears (Psalm 56:8).
[Outro]
Line 1: Repeats Chorus, line 1.
Score: 10/10
3. How would an outsider interpret the song?
This song is overtly Christian, using everyday language to describe the benefits of knowing Jesus and explicitly using His title over and over again. The entire song is easy for unbelievers to comprehend, though they will likely interpret “sin” as mere mistakes instead of violating the laws of a Holy God.
Score: 9/10
4. What does this song glorify?
It glorifies Jesus as the One who grants us peace amid chaos, strength amid weakness, and shelter amid life’s storms.
Score: 10/10
Closing Comments
McKenna Hixson’s Peace in Christ is praiseworthy. It is primarily a call to action, instructing us to learn about Jesus, experience His love that surrounds us, and obey His commandments. In doing so, we will receive peace, might, and shelter. This glorifies Him. Unbelievers should have little to no issues interpreting it similarly, though the word “sin” could be explained better from this perspective.
This song is appropriate for corporate worship.
Final Score: 9.5/10
Artist Info
Track: Peace in Christ (listen to the song)
Artist: McKenna Hixson
Album: Peace in Christ (2018 Mutual Album) [Various artists]
Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)
Release Year: 2017
Duration: 3:36
Agree? Disagree? Don’t be shy or have a cow! Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.
Updates:
11/29/2023 – Added disclaimer for this artist’s beliefs based on Mormon doctrine. Thanks to Pastor Carl Fischer’s comments for the reminder.
Comments
Donem Yhomework
The song may seem Christian, just as the Mormons want to be thought of as Christian. Unfortunately, you cannot keep all the commandments, and every one of the Latter Day Saints have been deceived.
Pastor Carl Fischer
On one of your reviews of a Mormon song and writer, you wrote: “NOTE: CHECK YOUR SPAM FOLDER FOR EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS! All comments must be approved prior to posting. Comments outside the scope of Berean Test reviews (especially on artist theology) will be edited and/or deleted. ENGLISH ONLY!”
If this is the case, I can no longer use or recommend The Berean Test to others. I also need to begin to share with others I have recommended your site to your position on these things. If cults can get songs approved by you for Christian worship, that speaks volumes of your knowledge of the Scriptures and what the scriptures teach including discernment. I am very disappointed.
Vince Wright
Pastor Carl Fischer,
Thank you for your comments!
Remember: Even a broken clock is right twice a day. Mormons get things right too, even if they get other things wrong. To claim that that my recommendation for this song for corporate worship is implicit recommendation for all Mormon teaching is a good example of the Guilt By Association fallacy.
My reasoning for my policy on “Comments outside the scope of Berean Test reviews (especially on artist theology) will be edited and/or deleted” is to keep the focus on the lyrics in question. This is The Berean Test’s greatest strength: that we focus on the lyrics to determine if they are Biblical or not. Artist theology is worth discussing, and there was a time where I allowed it. However, people often abused it, leading to arguments and accusations that were neither helpful nor beneficial to the community as a whole.
In hindsight, since this artist is a Mormon, I should have provided my usual “disclaimer” about artists with questionable theology and provided resources for my audience to make an informed decision. I’ll start putting together material and add the disclaimer sometime after Thanksgiving break.
-Vince Wright
Pastor Carl Fischer
Please read the following about what the Mormons believe about Jesus. They do not believe in the Jesus of the Bible.
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/mormons-jesus/#:~:text=Mormons%20talk%20about%20a%20Jesus,atoning%20sweat%20in%20the%20garden.
Vince Wright
Pastor Carl Fischer,
Thanks for this! This will be useful when I add the disclaimer for this artist.
-Vince Wright