Words and Action in Worship

He is risen!! We had the joy of celebrating this reality on this past Sunday. While Easter is the anchor point of the year pointing to when Jesus changed everything for us, we have the joy of celebrating His life in us every week when we gather. As we worship together on this side of Easter, I would like to give you some encouragement in your singing. Read on below to consider how you celebrate week to week through music. Is it words? Is it action? What do I mean?

Everytime we gather we have a time of worship through singing, this is something that has been part of the fabric of the church since it's very beginnings. Philipians 2:6-11, and Colossians 1:15-20 are a couple of passages thought to be some of the earliest Christian hymns. Before that we have the entire psalter which has been sung much longer than many of our "old hymns".

All of these passages teach us about God's character, His work of creation, and what He did on the cross. We need to know these songs and have them deeply written in our hearts, but not just for the words.

When we gather to sing each Sunday, the words we sing are very important. They need to reflect the truth of the gospel, of God's character and of who we are in Christ. They anchor these truths in us but did you know that by coming and singing them every week you are taking the actions of faithfulness, obedience and being a witness?

We act in faithfulness when we come to church, week after week, in 1st, 2nd or even 3rd spring in Calgary. When we're tired. When we're joyful. When we're grieving. We know as we sang on good Friday, "His Glory is our Good" https://youtu.be/4yQ42RU3Nh8?si=rTIykt89oMhDPraO Therefore, when we consistently gather and sing of His glory we are expressing faithfulness, a characteristic of God that we develop as we grow in Him.

We act in obedience by singing songs that aren't our personal favourite. We admit that God is holy, other than us and worthy of us putting aside our preferences to be united with our brothers and sisters in Him. https://youtu.be/AgHrNNM23p8?si=pu7jkDsW6a00hNsJ

Finally, we proclaim the gospel to ourselves and each other every week! What an amazing witness we live out when we know these truths and give them voice in the congregation! Singing of His love reminds us of this truth. When done with a smile or a sway or simply a lifted off key voice we give the truth flesh, encouraging others who also know this to be true and inviting those who have come perhaps for the first time to wonder about what kind of love this is. https://youtu.be/Fqp27IvdbSo?si=i18sCN-R4qrZLR-B

So while we sing about what we know to be true of God we also demonstrate characteristics He is growing in us and calls us to have. In the end, our singing gives us an opportunity to practice stepping out in faithfulness, obedience, and witness every Sunday. Hopefully by practicing these things corporately we will then be encouraged to express them through the week in whatever context we find ourselves, maybe even with a few song lyrics.