God-Centered Worship Posted September 23, 2025 By JasminPatterson_NRT, Staff Reviewer
What You Need to Know GRAMMY Award-winning worship artist Chris Tomlin recently released The King Is Still The King, his 18th studio album. The 16-track album, which was inspired heavily by the book of Psalms and emphasizes singing God's Word, features lead single "How Good It Is," title track "Still The King," and collaborations with fellow Christian artists Phil Wickham ("He Has Done Great Things"), Ben Fielding ("The First Hymn"), Aodhán King, Jamie MacDonald and CalledOut Music ("My Father's World").
What It Sounds Like The King Is Still The King features songs of worship packaged in a diverse range of sounds. Some songs feel like the joyful, uptempo first song to kick off a church service ("How Good It Is," "Rivers of Joy," "That's Who He Is"). There are the peaceful and reflective worship ballads that are theologically rich in content ("The First Hymn," "Coming Soon"). There are the church anthems that I know congregations will easily latch onto and begin passionately singing as a mighty chorus of God's people praising Him ("Doesn't He," "Jesus Saves"). There's even a prayerful song of hope and declaration to anchor your heart and soul in God's care and His power when the world feels tumultuous ("My Father's World"), accompanied by a beautiful string arrangement.
Spiritual Highlights This album is so godward, which I realize seems like an obvious thing to say about a worship album, but it's true. Tomlin has been open about sharing that so many of the lyrics come right from the book of Psalms in Scripture. He says, "As worship leaders, I think we should use as much of God's word as possible. So much of this album is singing God's Word back to Him." Over the past several years, worship music has rightly expanded to encompass the full range of topics we can sing to God about in worship and prayer, just as we see in the Psalms. However, in my view, songs written and sung directly to God about His character have become somewhat unbalanced.
It was refreshing to hear song after song on The King Is Still The King exalt God for His attributes, creating space for the listener to truly reflect on who God is, what that means for our lives, and to worship Him in response. In one way or another, each song emphasizes God's character as savior, king, Lord, the one who does good things for His people, and so on. I found Bible passages (like Ephesians 1:19-23 or Colossians 1:15-20) about the authority, sovereignty, power, and majesty of Jesus coming to mind often as I listened to this album.
Best Song The King Is Still The King is an album that once again makes it difficult for me to choose just one favorite song. So, I'll give you two.
As a worship leader, "Doesn't He" was the song that immediately stood out to me as one I can't wait to incorporate into my worship song rotation and introduce to my community. It's about how God is the only one worthy of our worship and He deserves our praise in every moment and every season. The chorus is so singable that you will catch it and sing it back to God right away. I can see this one becoming a congregational anthem for the church.
"Help My Unbelief" is inspired by the biblical story in Mark 9:14-29, which recounts a father's interaction with Jesus as he sought help to heal his son from an evil spirit. The lyric is a prayer that brings our questions and needs to God, trusting that He can help and that anything is possible for Him. At the same time, though, it confesses the places in our hearts that struggle to believe and asks Him to give us faith. Part of walking with God is learning to worship and cry out to Him in moments of weakness and doubt, mixed with faith, and "Help My Unbelief" captures that reality so well.
Final Word The King Is Still The King is one of Chris Tomlin's best collections of songs--godward, scripture-rich, passionate, and singable. This project will surely ignite renewed love for God, fresh enthusiasm in worship, and create many staple songs for both personal and congregational worship.
Buy the album on Apple Music or stream it on Spotify.
