Sing!
Have you ever wondered why we sing together as a church?
There are many layers to answering this question, but at the most basic level, we sing because God expects us to. There are hundreds of references to singing in the Bible, over 50 are commands to sing, and several refer specifically to singing together as the gathered church. So at the most basic level, “we sing because God expects us to.”
Now also, we remember the that God invented singing, and He himself sings!is a singing God. And Scriptures tell us reveals that God delights in our singing to Him. When the meditations of our hearts (of the glorious realities of who God is and what he’s done for us) are expressed through singing (whether adoration, thanksgiving, lament, repentance, or trust) - God delights in it.
So God expects us to sing, and he delights in our singing to Him. And if that were all God had revealed to us about singing that would be plenty of reason for us to sing; but it’s just the beginning to the reasons we’re given.
And this morning, I’d like to remind us of another reason for singing that often goes unnoticed: and that is: we sing for one another. And this touches on why we sing together, as the gathered church.
(Eph. 5) “be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs
(Colossians 3) “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs”
(1 Cor 14) “When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.”
Serving and building up the church through singing isn’t just an expectation for Phyllis or Allison, or me - It’s for all Christians: it’s central to why we sing together as a church!
And it applies to every one of us: Even if we “can’t carry a tune in a bucket.”
When the church of Christ: purchased by His blood, united into His body, raises its voice - singing together to our Glorious savior – we are encouraging, building up and strengthening one another.
When we sing the truths of God’s word together we are loving and serving one another.
A band can help set the tune and the tempo, but “the most important instrument on Sunday morning is your voice: the voice of the gathered church.
So my exhortation this morning is super simple: Sing! Don’t neglect, ignore, or underestimate the significance of singing together. Sing because God expects it and delights in it, and sing also to serve one another.