TODAY WE START OUR congregational singing emphasis month. The bulletin looks a bit different today because we have created our own miniature hymnal! Each song we will sing today is included with a short history of the song and tune, as well as the Scriptures from which the song is taken.
Congregational singing is a huge part of every service, not only in the time we devote to it in our schedule, but in its spiritual importance. Since we do so much singing around here, we like to spend one month per year to teach/preach on it, sing a little extra, and learn some new songs. We take a sabbath from choir and special music, and you, the congregation, are the special music.
And it really is special. I love hymns. I love the Psalms. I love the spiritual songs that we sing.
Some of the modern music that’s called worship seems to be designed more for man than for God. The extremes are the “Jesus is my boyfriend” style, or the repetitive 7/11 choruses—seven words sung eleven times—popular 25 years ago. Those are an easy “nope,” and even some modern churches are trying to get back to a richer Scripture-based song service rather than a feelings-based song service. That’s good!
I’m not someone who wants to only sing old songs. I think there’s room biblically for a new song, and I believe God can inspire theologically-minded musicians of every generation to write great songs.
But that leads to styles that force us to make some subjective decisions. Today we are teaching some new-to-us songs. The words are new and the tunes are new, and every new thing ought to be guided by God’s Word. We’ve tried to do that this month so we can stay anchored to the past while still learning new music to sing to God’s glory.
I love our music ministry. I love our congregational singing. I love this month’s new songs, and I am excited for you to grow closer to the Lord through the rich words of Isaac Watts, John Newton, the Psalms, and many others.
-Pastor Ryan Rench