Corporate Worship Series: Singing

Posted by on Jan 10, 2011 | 1 comment

Over the next few weeks, we will be taking a look at several different aspects of corporate worship, or worshipping together as a group. There are certainly times for personal and private worship with great Biblical examples, but we Christians seem to struggle more with our worship together than by ourselves.

This is a huge topic with many different meanings for different people. For example, if you are from a charismatic background, you might equate corporate worship with energetic singing and dancing. If you are from a mainline church background, you might equate corporate worship with a well planned liturgy of music, silence, Scripture and responsive reading.

This week, we will take a look at Scriptural activities in corporate worship. The Old Testament is loaded with some of Israel’s most extravagant worship celebrations with a bunch of different expressions of worship happening. It is important for us to not dismiss the Biblical expressions of worship as “cultural” and not relevant to the church today. It is also important for us to remember when Jesus said loving God and loving your neighbor are the two greatest commandments. So any expression of worship music come under the authority of those two commands.

This week we’ll take a look at singing. The greatest instrument ever created for praising God is the human voice. Ever wonder why God gave us the ability to shorten and length our vocal chords to create different pitches? It surely would have been easier to create the human voice as monotone, like the robot voices we hear in old movies.

How awesome that God created us with the ability to sing! I’m often amazed at the number of folks in church who don’t sing. Maybe they think their voice isn’t very good or that someone will hear them. It doesn’t matter if you can’t carry a tune in a bucket, God wants you to sing.

King David commanded all Israel to “Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wondrous acts.” 1 Chron 16:9. There were some who were “gifted” in singing who were instructed to lead the others, but David’s exhortation to sing was for all of Israel, not just the musicians.

I grew up in the Church of Christ denomination. They were not Scriptural on the prohibition of instruments in worship, but I tell you, those people would sing! Not a timid little mumbling “Savior, He can move the mountains…” but a deep-chested belting of “Jesus Saves, Jesus Saves”!

Brothers and sisters, let us not be timid in our praise. We all agree that He is worthy. Now let’s “sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim His salvation day after day.” 1 Chron. 16:23

Jimi Williams
Worship Pastor, The Bridge

1 Comment

  1. Andrea | January 13, 2011 at 8:06 am

    Word! Preach it Jimmy! Thanks for posting this. I don’t really understand how we can NOT sing of his mercies unless we simply have not been taught. Isn’t it a natural outpouring of praise to God, and yet we’re also instructed to do it. There was a song that I sang as a kid “If I could be silent, I’d be livin’ a lie, it says the rocks will cry out, for my God is alive!” A favorite growing up! We can be influenced by Paul too, who, when commanded to stop speaking of Christ, said “I cannot help speaking about what I have seen and heard” Just like out of the depths of the heart, our mouths speaks, also should we sing with joy! What other treasure on earth is of more worth to sing of? We should overflow with praises, in private and public worship. I wonder why God asks us to sing? Maybe for our own benefit? Even as he loves to hear our praises, it is good for our own soul to respond from the depths of our guts to the Spirit.