Worship and the Heart
“Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name.”
– Psalm 30:4
Each week that we meet together as a locally-gathered body of Jesus Christ, we sing songs
within the worship service. This seems normal if you have grown up within the church, but quite odd if unfamiliar with Christian church services. Why singing?! Music is found in every culture, both globally and historically, and often can be tied to every human emotion - it moves us. It can be found in our cars, at sporting events, restaurants, fairs, parades and shopping centers; but why would a bunch of Christians sing when they gather together?
Commanded To Sing
Since God is the Creator of all things, He is both the inventor of music and the maker of
each one of our voices. This is extraordinary - that He would place music within our world and something within us that would naturally overflow into song. But looking at Scripture, we see something that is even more extraordinary, that God Himself sings!
“The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.”
- Zephaniah 3:17
Even when Christ was on the earth, Scripture notes that He sang with His disciples at the Last Supper.
“And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”
- Matthew 26:30
The bible has over 400 references to singing and at least 50 direct commands to sing; I
think it’s an understatement to say that our Lord cares about singing! These commands to sing never come with a qualification like, “if you feel like it” or “if you have a good voice”. God commands us to sing - period. And being made in His image, singing is evidence showing that we reflect God’s image within us.
Sing Unto the Lord
Therefore, the highest form of singing is done as unto the Lord, which is our musical
worship. We are called to praise Him, worship Him, thank Him and bless Him. Therefore, most of the songs that we sing are directed to God. But we’re also called to declare His wonders, which we do in songs about God - Who He is, what He has done, what He is doing and what He will do.
Singing As A Ministry to One Another
It’s clear that congregational singing amidst the corporate gathering is done unto the Lord,
but at the same time we are also called to sing to one another. Did you know that you have a biblical role as a ‘vocal minister’ amidst the church as we admonish one another through singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (Colossians 3:16)? As we sing to one another, we remind each other of the glorious truths about our God and His glorious works and therefore in turn, we pour out the praise, thanksgiving, glory and the adoration that is due His name. Incredible! And remember, in order to sing to one another, we all need each other (from youngest to oldest!) so that you and I can build up the body in love.
More Than Just Singing
Please pray that as we sing bible-saturated song lyrics, we would all glimpse the great worth of God, His holiness, that He is trustworthy and immensely loving; that our imaginations would be captured with Christ’s beauty, wonders and glories; that we would all taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8) so that our hearts would overflow in the praise and adoration of our God; that the biblically-rich song lyrics would be etched into our memories so that we would be armed with wondrous truths and better equipped to fight the fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12) and all to the glory of our blessed Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord. May He be praised forever and ever!
Looking to Jesus,
pastor jeff
– Psalm 30:4
Each week that we meet together as a locally-gathered body of Jesus Christ, we sing songs
within the worship service. This seems normal if you have grown up within the church, but quite odd if unfamiliar with Christian church services. Why singing?! Music is found in every culture, both globally and historically, and often can be tied to every human emotion - it moves us. It can be found in our cars, at sporting events, restaurants, fairs, parades and shopping centers; but why would a bunch of Christians sing when they gather together?
Commanded To Sing
Since God is the Creator of all things, He is both the inventor of music and the maker of
each one of our voices. This is extraordinary - that He would place music within our world and something within us that would naturally overflow into song. But looking at Scripture, we see something that is even more extraordinary, that God Himself sings!
“The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.”
- Zephaniah 3:17
Even when Christ was on the earth, Scripture notes that He sang with His disciples at the Last Supper.
“And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”
- Matthew 26:30
The bible has over 400 references to singing and at least 50 direct commands to sing; I
think it’s an understatement to say that our Lord cares about singing! These commands to sing never come with a qualification like, “if you feel like it” or “if you have a good voice”. God commands us to sing - period. And being made in His image, singing is evidence showing that we reflect God’s image within us.
Sing Unto the Lord
Therefore, the highest form of singing is done as unto the Lord, which is our musical
worship. We are called to praise Him, worship Him, thank Him and bless Him. Therefore, most of the songs that we sing are directed to God. But we’re also called to declare His wonders, which we do in songs about God - Who He is, what He has done, what He is doing and what He will do.
Singing As A Ministry to One Another
It’s clear that congregational singing amidst the corporate gathering is done unto the Lord,
but at the same time we are also called to sing to one another. Did you know that you have a biblical role as a ‘vocal minister’ amidst the church as we admonish one another through singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (Colossians 3:16)? As we sing to one another, we remind each other of the glorious truths about our God and His glorious works and therefore in turn, we pour out the praise, thanksgiving, glory and the adoration that is due His name. Incredible! And remember, in order to sing to one another, we all need each other (from youngest to oldest!) so that you and I can build up the body in love.
More Than Just Singing
Please pray that as we sing bible-saturated song lyrics, we would all glimpse the great worth of God, His holiness, that He is trustworthy and immensely loving; that our imaginations would be captured with Christ’s beauty, wonders and glories; that we would all taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8) so that our hearts would overflow in the praise and adoration of our God; that the biblically-rich song lyrics would be etched into our memories so that we would be armed with wondrous truths and better equipped to fight the fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12) and all to the glory of our blessed Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord. May He be praised forever and ever!
Looking to Jesus,
pastor jeff
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