God wants us to encourage each other to stay
faithful and to warn each other not to stray from Him. One very effective way
to do this is through music – singing psalms and spiritual songs that stir our
affections to greater love for Christ. By singing these songs, we remind each
other of all that He has done for us so that we will be thankful and filled
with joy. He wants us to be so in love with Jesus that we care more for others
than ourselves. (Ephesians 5:19-20 paraphrased) Anybody remember Schoolhouse Rock? It was a series of animated videos from the 1970s that taught kids basic math, history, grammar, and science principles by embedding them into catchy, easy-to-sing-along-to songs. To this day, the only way I can say the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution is to sing it! Music has a way of bypassing our normal defenses and taking matters directly into the heart and mind, where transformation takes place. When we sing together in corporate worship, we are reminding each other of the glorious truths of the gospel and embedding them into our lives through music. It's the way God designed it to work! Here are the songs we will be singing together in worship this Sunday:
2. The Lord is My Light (Psalm 27) by the RidgeWorship Band (Psalm 27)
NOTE: There is no officially recorded version of this song as of yet. Please pray that God would supply the funds needed to record the original worship songs He has blessed us with.
From my soul, I will join the songs of thanksgiving; I will sing and proclaim Your wonder and mystery. Your house, home to Your glory, O Eternal One, radiates its light. I am fixed on this place and long to be nowhere else. (Psalm 26:7-8, The Voice)
Last Sunday, we began our worship time together by singing these words: "There's no place I would rather be, than here in Your love." Is that true? Can we sing them with integrity before the Lord? Can we honestly sing with complete abandon, "God, there is nowhere else I would rather be than right here, gathered with Your people, in Your presence, praising You and singing to You"?
If not, why not? Part of preparing to be in the presence of God is examining ourselves -- checking our heart to see if there are competing desires that displace God as the object of its devotion. That's why at the beginning of Psalm 26, David invites God to look into his heart:
"Put me on trial and examine me, O Eternal One! Search me through and through -- from my deepest longings to every thought that crosses my mind." (Psalm 26:2, The Voice)
If we cannot enter into worship in our gatherings on Sunday, it may be because we have not entered into worship throughout the week. David recognized that where he went, what he did while he was there, and who he did it with could expose his heart to competing desires:
"My life is not wasted among liars; my days are not spent among cheaters. I despise every crowd intent on evil; I do not commune with the wicked." (Psalm 26:4-5, The Voice)
We can't expect our hearts to be positioned for worship on Sunday if the rest of the week we have chosen to allow people who have no regard for God to be the chief influences in our lives through books, TV programs, movies, video games, popular music, talk radio, or just relationships at work or home or in the classroom.
As you prepare yourself and your family for time in God's presence among His people this Sunday, ask yourself: "What am I doing with my time? What effect is it having on my heart and mind? Who am I allowing to influence the way I think and live, and what I desire in my heart ?" Make space to allow the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to be the primary -- better yet, the exclusive! -- influences of your heart and mind this week. Then, when you gather for worship with your church family, you will find yourself able to sing with all integrity, "There truly is no place I would rather be!"
Here are the songs we will be singing together in our worship gathering this Sunday...
