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"Greater Is The Cross" by Ginny Owens: When Shame Loses Its Grip


Your worst day doesn’t define you anymore 

Some songs ease into their subject. “Greater Is The Cross” by Ginny Owens, Josh Bissell, and The Church Will Sing doesn’t. It opens with a list that most of us recognize all too well: “words that we have spoken, promises we’ve broken, the roads of wrong we’ve chosen.” No softening, no spin. Written as a modern hymn for the Church, the song refuses to rush past the weight of sin and shame before getting to the good news. That order matters because you can’t appreciate a debt canceled if you’ve never looked at the debt itself and its possible consequences. 

Ginny Owens - Greater Is The CrossAnd the debt here is clearly named: “great the guilt that finds us, the grip of shame that binds us.” Most of us know that grip of shame. Maybe you’re still feeling it today. But the song doesn’t stop at the diagnosis. “A Lamb once bound reminds us of the joy we’re holding to.” The chorus sums it up in five words: “greater is the cross of Christ.”

The apostle Paul wrote something similar to the Romans: “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God doesn’t wait to show his love for you after you cleaned up, or once you earned it. He showed His love while you were still in your mess. 

What does that mean for you today? It means the accuser who is reciting your offenses doesn’t get the final vote. You can turn in repentance instead of spiraling in shame — two different responses, and only one of them sets you free. Mercy has already defeated what guilt keeps trying to revive. 

So, stop trying to carry what Christ has already paid for. Wake up today and breathe like a forgiven person, because that’s exactly what you are. “Now we wake each day forgiven, and breathe the air of freedom.”

(Related scripture: Romans 5:8; Romans 8:1; Colossians 2:13-14)

Background:

A collaboration between Josh Bissell, Ginny Owens, and The Church Will Sing.

“Greater Is The Cross” came from a desire to give the Church a clear, singable reminder of the finished work of Jesus. It was written as a modern hymn for anyone who knows the weight of sin, shame, regret, broken promises, and roads they wish they had never taken.

The song begins in the honest place of confession. It names the reality of human failure without softening it or rushing past it. But the heart of the song is not guilt; it is grace. The debt was real, but through Christ, it has been canceled. The shame was real, but because of the cross, it does not get the final word.

As the song prepared for release, Josh Bissell was invited to join Ginny Owens and The Church Will Sing in carrying this message to the Church. The collaboration reflects the heart of the song itself: a shared declaration that no sin, compromise, or record of wrongs is greater than the saving work of Christ.

At its core, “Greater Is The Cross” is a song of repentance, assurance, and hope. It reminds believers that those who belong to Jesus are not defined by their mess, but by His mercy.

Release date: June 12, 2026

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