Tag: Church Gathering

Why We Sing What We Sing

Have you ever left Sunday morning worship thinking, “I just didn’t get much out of the singing today”?

Perhaps the songs weren’t familiar. Perhaps they weren’t your preferred style. Perhaps they simply didn’t resonate with you the way you hoped they would. I have.

Sometimes I’ve concluded that I simply preferred different songs. Churches don’t always make the same musical choices, and not every song will resonate with every believer in exactly the same way.

But sometimes the problem wasn’t the songs. Sometimes I just forgot what congregational singing was actually for. It’s very easy to evaluate worship by asking questions like:

– Did I enjoy those songs?
– Did they move me emotionally?
– Did I connect with them?

Those aren’t unimportant questions, but perhaps they may not be the first questions.

The Apostle Paul gives us a different perspective in Colossians 3.16. He tells us that as God’s people sing, “the word of Christ” dwells richly among them. Their songs teach. They admonish. They encourage. They fill hearts and minds with truth.

That means congregational singing is doing far more than creating an emotional experience. God is using it to shape His people.

I’ve found myself increasingly grateful for faithful congregational singing. Not because every song has been my favorite, or because every arrangement has reflected my personal preferences, but because I’ve been reminded what God is doing through it.

Faithful congregational singing doesn’t simply accompany worship; it quietly helps shape the hearts of those who participate in it. Congregational singing is the weekly rehearsal of reality.

Every Sunday the church helps one another remember what the rest of the week conspires to make us forget:
– God is still holy.
 – Christ is still worthy.
 – The gospel is still true.
 – Our hope is still secure.

We are not teaching God these things. We are reminding our emotions of them.

The world spends six days pulling our attention in a thousand different directions. It quietly teaches us to measure life by our circumstances, our emotions, our successes, our disappointments, and our fears.
Then the Lord’s Day comes.

God gathers His people, and together they sing truths that gently reorient their hearts toward what is eternally true.

That also helps explain why the songs we sing matter. The question isn’t whether a song is old or new. Nor is it simply whether it is musically excellent or emotionally moving. The better question is this: Where is this song directing my attention?

Some songs primarily magnify the greatness, holiness, faithfulness, and worthiness of God. Others spend most of their time occupied with us – our feelings, our experiences, our commitments, and our responses.

To be sure, there is a proper place for singing about what God has done in our lives. Scripture itself does that often. But biblical worship has a remarkable way of lifting our eyes beyond ourselves to the One who is worthy of our praise.

The next time you gather with God’s people, don’t begin by asking, “Did I enjoy the singing?”

Rather ask: Did these songs help me see God more clearly?

Because perhaps the greatest gift of congregational singing isn’t that it simply gives expression to our hearts. It’s that, week after week, it gently teaches our hearts where they belong.

Guarding the Unity of the Church

“…eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” – Ephesians 4:3

People leave churches for different reasons. Sometimes that happens in a healthy and God-honoring way. At other times, it does not. Most of the time, people do not leave all at once. They drift. Little by little, influences and opportunities begin to pull them away from the life and unity of the church.

Scripture calls us to think carefully about the nature of the church. God has not designed His people to live in isolation, nor to create parallel or competing expressions of church life. He gathers His people into visible, accountable communities that are shepherded by recognized leaders, shaped by His Word, and marked by unity.

Because of that, we should be thoughtful when invitations or opportunities arise, especially those that exist outside the life and accountability of a local church, or that begin to function as a parallel influence on our direction, doctrine, or spiritual growth. This can take many forms: independent gatherings, loosely connected Bible studies, online voices that begin to shape our thinking, or groups that function without clear shepherding or accountability.

Not every invitation is helpful. And not every gathering is wise to join.

Wisdom asks simple questions:
– Is this drawing me closer to the life of my church, or subtly away from it?
– Is this reinforcing the teaching and leadership God has placed over me or competing with it?
– Is this strengthening unity or introducing confusion?

Christ loves His church. He gave Himself for her. And the unity He creates is not maintained by accident, it is guarded through conviction, clarity, and a faithful commitment to the church He died for.

Guard the unity Christ has given by remaining faithfully committed to a biblical church, and by being wise and careful when that commitment is challenged or changed.