Songs we sing
““We are a singing people because it is how God has created us. It’s what we do. And when we do, we’re simply joining in with what the rest of creation is doing.“”
Why sing?
The Bible teaches us to sing to the Lord. But why? Here are three key reasons:
1. It’s a Biblical command.
“Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly. (Ps. 149:1)
There are over 400 references to singing in the Bible with at least 50 of those being direct commands for the people of God to sing. It’s clear that God meant for His people to sing in a variety of contexts and situations, as a response to His goodness. Whether you are a good singer, bad singer, old singer, young singer, loud singer, or soft singer – our goal is to sing together as God’s people and make one voice. This is a beautiful picture of the unity of the Church.
2. Songs help us learn and retain the Truths of God.
Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. (Col 3:16)
Singing actively engages us to remember and recite God’s Truth. In the same way children learn their ABCs through song, melody and rhythm helps our brain retain information more effectively. Since God has designed our brains to work in this way, singing serves as an opportunity to store God’s Word in our hearts and be formed into the image of Jesus Christ.
3. Worship language forms us.
...be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Eph 5:18-20)
We are commanded in Scripture to sing not because God needs it – but because we do. The songs we sing form our images of God, our imaginations, our understanding of human brokenness, our affections, and our practices for engaging the world. Songs give us language for good times and hard times. This happens on the individual level and the group level.
Which songs?
There are three primary principles we consider: true, helpful, and singable.
True: Are the lyrics of this song biblically-based and true according to God's Word? Does the song accurately portray God’s character? Does it speak of humanity in a way that is true of our sinfulness and brokenness?
Helpful: Does the language and message help people see Jesus clearly? Is the song God-centered or man-centered? Does our song rotation speak to all seasons of life- joy, sorrow, victory, failure, brokenness, lament, etc?
Singable: Is the song’s melody easy to follow? Is the key accessible for average singers to join in? Are the lyrics clear enough to process and pronounce?
We place high value on choosing songs that have biblical substance and point us clearly to Jesus. This includes songs that are old, songs that are new, songs that are fast, songs that are slow, songs that help us grieve, songs that confess sin, songs that are simple and repetitive, and more. Similar to nutrition - each of them has a place in a singing church’s theological diet. This diet is essential for helping us grow into the image of Jesus Christ.
While we may not like every song that we sing - each has a place in forming our language and imaginations about who God.
FAQs
-
We typically begin our service with singing for around 15 minutes, then we hear a sermon from the Bible taught by one of our teaching pastors.
-
In short, no. However, we believe that the Bible teaches us the importance of singing for the Christian life. Songs and melodies are designed to help us retain the truths in the lyrics and remember them throughout our week. Whether you are a good singer or a bad singer, your “joyful noise” is needed for you and those around you!
-
The Bible teaches us that our hearts and bodies are interconnected – so honoring God through bodily expression and posture is an important part of worship. You’ll see a variety of postures throughout the room – hands raised, by sides, clapping, and more. Feel free to express yourself before God to honor Him!
-
If you have a heart for serving others and are musically gifted, you can request an audition with our worship team here.
