The purpose of singing hymns is to teach and admonish one another. Does that answer give us a hint as to what kinds of hymns we sing with regard to the words and the music? Will a repeated chorus of “Do Lord” teach and admonish through the potency of the written Word which is alive and powerful? What are some practical ways for us to make certain the Word of God is in our minds and our memories? If the reason we sing is to express our joy and response to God, is singing an option in worship? Is singing a significant part of our spiritual life?

God commands corporate worship. It is valuable as an encouragement, a response to what God has done and a display of our joy. At the beginning of the 18th century Isaac Watts added a dimension to congregational singing. How was that change different than the changes brought about by contemporary church music today? Christians knew that all beauty existed in the mind of God and that to know beauty, we first had to know God. The Enlightenment shifted the idea of beauty to an internal, relative standard separate from the absolute standards of God. Beauty was in the eye of the beholder. Which idea reflects joy in worship which is all about God?

Congregational singing expresses our submission to God’s will and authority. Congregational music is a reflection of Christian culture, not an expression of society’s culture, tradition or a warm up to Sunday’s message. Culture is made up of all aspects of thinking and acting but apart from a Biblical base, it is all worldliness. To evaluate music we must embrace, separate and eliminate. The issue is embracing a standard before we can even consider our music. To embrace our music preference first is to apply an internal, subjective standard and sometimes results in leaning into the attraction of our sin nature. Learn about the source and mandates we embrace and why music is not a neutral element of worship.

How should we worship God? Listen to this message that begins a new series on worshiping God biblically. Find out that true worship occurs as a result of being filled with God’s Word by means of the Holy Spirit. Hear how the prophet Isaiah felt when he entered the presence of God and realized God’s majesty and his own sinfulness. Be prepared to see that music is only one facet of worshiping God.