Each week I have the job of looking at the upcoming Sunday worship services and choosing songs that will bring it all together. Setting the tone for people walking in (many for the first time), songs of praise, prayer, worship, participation, instruction, lamentation, comfort, and joyful fun. Songs to stir the emotions and imaginations and set up the teaching. Not every week has every element, of course. Ever wonder what some of my personal guidelines might be? I’m so glad you asked.
In Ephesians 5:19 Paul says,
“… addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ …”
And in Colossians 3:16 Paul also says,
“… Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual songs. Hmmm. We all know what the Psalms are, that’s the Bible’s songbook. It’s the big book of poetry in the middle of the Bible, but they are meant to be sung, not simply spoken. They are the words of God that we are to sing. Hymns are a little different thing. They are the songs that each generation writes to sing as a congregation, but they are not the direct, inspired Word of God. They are rather, our response and teaching (admonish, wisdom) from the Word of God … set to music … for the people of God to sing together … in worship. So, what are spiritual songs? I think this refers not only to Psalms (Bible), and Hymns (extra-Biblical), but also to the simple songs that come out of prayer. Paul Baloche and Chris Tomlin have both said that many of their songs rise out of times of prayer.
So each week as I put together the setlist I am thinking of these three things. All of them fit within our musical context of “modern sound,” but I intend to have a Psalm (either we read one, or sing one), a Hymn (Theologically deep, embracing historic Christianity) and Spiritual Songs (songs from the top Worship Artists as well as original songs that I write for our congregation).
I believe that this is not only Biblically faithful, but provides the deepest possible foundation for our worship time.
Read those verses again, they are rich. Singing and making melody to the Lord with all our heart! Giving thanks always and for everything! Thankfulness is a big deal in our praise. We are to enter His gates with thanksgiving in our hearts BEFORE we enter His courts with praise.
Psalm 100:4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.