In my previous post I alluded to the importance of choosing songs wisely. This is in response to Colossians 3:16, which commands us as believers to teach and admonish one another with ALL wisdom through the vehicle of psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. While this is a command to believers in general, it should have even more application for those who lead their churches in singing praise.
Songs need to be chosen wisely, for several reasons. Most importantly is the content of what we sing. Sure, something can sound amazing. It could even be the most beautiful piece of music ever written. But if it's paired with lyrics that dishonor God, how can we sing that as praise unto Him? Content matters. When we sing praise songs, we are affirming that we believe the lyrics that we sing (at least, I hope we are...otherwise, we're either singing hypocritically, mindlessly, or carelessly...all of which are no-no's). BUT, that means the songs we choose need to have lyrics that a Christian can sing unto the Lord. That, in turn, means the lyrics must be true to Scripture.
So what kind of lyrics fall in that category? Proper doctrine, characteristics of God, proper responses to who God is and what he has done, or straight up words from Scripture. Of course, we should always make sure that what we're singing properly applies to us as Christians, and that the passages are not taken out of context. A good example is Create In Me a Clean Heart...a classic...but unfortunately, has the line "and take not thy Holy Spirit from me." This was taken from Psalm 51, where King David is mourning over his sin during the whole Bathsheba incident. For the most part, it's a good song. When we sin (which we often do), we need to go to the Lord with a contrite heart, asking God to forgive us and to give us the ability to fight sin. The problem lies within that line quoted above. As New Testament saints, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. He cannot be taken away. So singing this song would not make any sense, and I would even venture to say that God is displeased with that song because it contradicts His truth revealed in Scripture. So, lyrics are important.
But also very important is the music that accompanies the lyrics. Music is such a wonderful gift, and they have incredible power. However, as my favorite OCD detective, Mr. Monk would say, that's a gift and a curse. Because music is so moving, it can unfortunately lend itself to emotionalism. Do you doubt what I say? Think of your favorite action movie (think: Gladiator, Braveheart, etc.). Remember those great battle scenes, or those epic moments, like when William Wallace gives his final speech ("you can take my life, but you can never take my freedom!!!) Instead of emotional, classical instruments playing beautiful music, what if Gene Kelly's "Singing in the Rain" was playing in the background? You think it would have the same effect? Is it wrong to be moved by music? Not necessarily. I think if hearing beautiful music causes you to be amazed by the creativity and intricacies of our great God, then that's great! But if it's just moving your emotions to the point where you don't have control, I think that's dangerous. The other thing with music: it can either help us remember a song, or it can ruin our taste for it. A really well-written melody can aid us in recalling the lyrics to a song. This is especially helpful in the context of praise music. Assuming that the lyrics are solid, that means, with the help of the melody, we can recall biblical truths to encourage us and others. What a powerful and wonderful gift! On the other hand, the lyrics may be God-honoring, but if the melody is clunky, distracting, or hard to follow, it may not be as easy to remember (or you may not want to).
The other reason we need to be wise in choosing songs is because what we sing in church will inevitably inform and instruct peoples' hearts and minds. This is very serious. I believe those of us who choose the songs will be held accountable for how we lead the body in singing. So we must make sure the lyrics are God-honoring so as to instruct and encourage believers to love God all the more, and the melodies should act as an aid to recalling those songs.
Is that what you signed up for when you joined the praise ministry? Or did you think it was going to be about rocking out on stage? I hope and pray we would take this ministry seriously, that we would take this ministry to the Lord in prayerful dependence, and that we would grow in our love for Christ, which is foundational in our effectiveness in leading others to sing of His glory.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Why is this blog called Learn by Singing? Part Two
In my first post I set out to explain why I chose the title of this blog to be "Learn By Singing." I failed. I didn't realize there were a few other things that needed to be laid out as a foundation. So I laid them bricks. Now we get to dig into the central text of this blog: Colossians 3:16.
Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Paul is writing to the church in Colossae. They had been struggling with false doctrines and wrong teachings, so Paul was writing to encourage the saints there to mature in their faith. Chapter 3 focuses mainly on practical Christian living. It is filled with commands on what to do and what not to do. Now we get to the text at hand.
First, Paul starts with a command: Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you. We know that the word of Christ is synonymous with the word of God from John 1. Christ is the living word of God. So we're dealing with God's word. But we're not just told to casually read the Bible. We're told that the word of God should be living in us. But not just living in your heart as a temporary renter, but as a permanent owner of your heart, he is to richly live there. But how? What are some practical ways to accomplish this?
And here is where I get surprised. I would think that the way for this to be accomplished would be through heavy doses of reading Scripture, meditating on it, memorizing it, etc. And of course these things are vital to our Christian growth. But instead of these tools, God provides another way: music. AWHAAAT?! I know, strange huh? But that's what the text says. The word of Christ is to richly dwell within us, and how is this done? With all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.
The phrase "with all wisdom" indicates that such teaching and admonishing is not to be done haphazardly. We are to be wise in how we do it. Just as the pastor should not go to the pulpit unprepared, thinking he can just wing it, we need to come sober-mindedly before God's people, understanding the gravity of the responsibility of teaching the precepts of God through songs.
This is why it's so important that we take care when we choose the songs we sing. The songs should not be chosen because the music sounds good, or it'll make people feel good. We are called primarily to teach and admonish (encourage, exhort) God's people through these songs. I speak now to those that are in positions of leading music. We need to take this ministry seriously! We can't lazily throw a set together last minute and say that we honestly thought about peoples' sanctification and growing their love for God. We must be more aware of what Scripture says about music.
Lastly, we look at the proper heart attitude of such singing: thankfulness. And that should sum up our response to God. He graciously made us, gave us life, patiently waited as we sinfully rebelled against him, and then he tidal-waved us with his undeserved love, gave us his Son, Jesus Christ, paid for our sins, purchased us from our slavery to sin, adopted us into his family, and now is preparing us for eternity with him. Yes, genuine believers have EVERYTHING to be thankful for.
In closing, music is a wonderful gift from God. Let's use it to build each other up and teach one another about God. So, back to the initial question: why this title? Because much truth can be learned, much encouragement to be gained, by the singing of God-honoring songs.
Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Paul is writing to the church in Colossae. They had been struggling with false doctrines and wrong teachings, so Paul was writing to encourage the saints there to mature in their faith. Chapter 3 focuses mainly on practical Christian living. It is filled with commands on what to do and what not to do. Now we get to the text at hand.
First, Paul starts with a command: Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you. We know that the word of Christ is synonymous with the word of God from John 1. Christ is the living word of God. So we're dealing with God's word. But we're not just told to casually read the Bible. We're told that the word of God should be living in us. But not just living in your heart as a temporary renter, but as a permanent owner of your heart, he is to richly live there. But how? What are some practical ways to accomplish this?
And here is where I get surprised. I would think that the way for this to be accomplished would be through heavy doses of reading Scripture, meditating on it, memorizing it, etc. And of course these things are vital to our Christian growth. But instead of these tools, God provides another way: music. AWHAAAT?! I know, strange huh? But that's what the text says. The word of Christ is to richly dwell within us, and how is this done? With all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.
The phrase "with all wisdom" indicates that such teaching and admonishing is not to be done haphazardly. We are to be wise in how we do it. Just as the pastor should not go to the pulpit unprepared, thinking he can just wing it, we need to come sober-mindedly before God's people, understanding the gravity of the responsibility of teaching the precepts of God through songs.
This is why it's so important that we take care when we choose the songs we sing. The songs should not be chosen because the music sounds good, or it'll make people feel good. We are called primarily to teach and admonish (encourage, exhort) God's people through these songs. I speak now to those that are in positions of leading music. We need to take this ministry seriously! We can't lazily throw a set together last minute and say that we honestly thought about peoples' sanctification and growing their love for God. We must be more aware of what Scripture says about music.
Lastly, we look at the proper heart attitude of such singing: thankfulness. And that should sum up our response to God. He graciously made us, gave us life, patiently waited as we sinfully rebelled against him, and then he tidal-waved us with his undeserved love, gave us his Son, Jesus Christ, paid for our sins, purchased us from our slavery to sin, adopted us into his family, and now is preparing us for eternity with him. Yes, genuine believers have EVERYTHING to be thankful for.
In closing, music is a wonderful gift from God. Let's use it to build each other up and teach one another about God. So, back to the initial question: why this title? Because much truth can be learned, much encouragement to be gained, by the singing of God-honoring songs.
Sovereign Grace Sale Ending Soon!
I know, I know. I promised a Part two of why I gave the blog this name. But February is coming to close end, so I wanted to make a plug for the annual February sale at Sovereign Grace Ministries. Their books, cds, and even MP3s are on sale for a good price. SGM is one of the few resources that I really like in terms of producing good, doctrinal songs. While I don't hold to all of the same doctrines, the major ones are the same. Again, with anything, we should measure the content against Scripture because God's word will never lead us astray. A few CDs of theirs that I really like:
1. Songs for the Cross Centered Life
2. Valley of the Vision
3. Sons & Daughters
Anyways, go check them out!
1. Songs for the Cross Centered Life
2. Valley of the Vision
3. Sons & Daughters
Anyways, go check them out!
Why is this blog called Learn by Singing? Part One
Colossians 3:16
16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
As a praise team servant I am humbled, challenged, excited, and thankful for this passage. It essentially defines the who, what, when, where, and how (well, not really when and where, but we can take some liberty in applying the passage to our lives. More on that later.) of biblical singing. While the Bible doesn't have many passages specifying exactly what such singing looks like, we should never stray from the centrality of this verse. Before we dig into this verse, let's define a couple of terms that we often deal with in this context.
First up, "worship." In the church this term is often thrown out by people when they are talking about the time of singing. While singing is a form of worship, it does not completely define worship. True worship is anything that is a proper response to God. Speech, heart, action, motive, etc. The next verse actually gives us a great definition of worship. It says that whatever we do (and "whatever" encapsulates everything), do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. So we see that a proper worship needs 4 things:
1. Genuine believer - in the name of the Lord Jesus
2. Genuine attitude - giving thanks
3. Genuine vehicle - through Christ
4. Genuine audience - to God the Father
Anything we do should entail these things. That is worship. Romans 12 calls us to live lives of holy sacrifice unto God in response to the great and amazing grace we have received as believers.
The other term I wanted to define was "praise." This also often gets used synonymously as singing, but biblically "praise" is simply the fruit of our lips, according to Hebrews 13:15. I know I'm being nit-picky, but I just want those things to be clarified.
Now, back to the title of this post and the blog: Learn by Singing. Why in the world did I choose that? Well, I think from the verse at the top of the page, as well as at the top of this post, it should be clear. I want to devote the rest of part two of this post coming soon.
16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
As a praise team servant I am humbled, challenged, excited, and thankful for this passage. It essentially defines the who, what, when, where, and how (well, not really when and where, but we can take some liberty in applying the passage to our lives. More on that later.) of biblical singing. While the Bible doesn't have many passages specifying exactly what such singing looks like, we should never stray from the centrality of this verse. Before we dig into this verse, let's define a couple of terms that we often deal with in this context.
First up, "worship." In the church this term is often thrown out by people when they are talking about the time of singing. While singing is a form of worship, it does not completely define worship. True worship is anything that is a proper response to God. Speech, heart, action, motive, etc. The next verse actually gives us a great definition of worship. It says that whatever we do (and "whatever" encapsulates everything), do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. So we see that a proper worship needs 4 things:
1. Genuine believer - in the name of the Lord Jesus
2. Genuine attitude - giving thanks
3. Genuine vehicle - through Christ
4. Genuine audience - to God the Father
Anything we do should entail these things. That is worship. Romans 12 calls us to live lives of holy sacrifice unto God in response to the great and amazing grace we have received as believers.
The other term I wanted to define was "praise." This also often gets used synonymously as singing, but biblically "praise" is simply the fruit of our lips, according to Hebrews 13:15. I know I'm being nit-picky, but I just want those things to be clarified.
Now, back to the title of this post and the blog: Learn by Singing. Why in the world did I choose that? Well, I think from the verse at the top of the page, as well as at the top of this post, it should be clear. I want to devote the rest of part two of this post coming soon.
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