So Why Do We Sing In Church? (More Than Just Songs)

At any given gathering in Christian worship you will find that music, or more specifically singing, is given a very large chunk of the time allotted. We take it as a ‘given’ that we ‘sing’ in church. It’s something we ‘do’, isn’t it? Or is it something we leave up to the ‘skilled’ few who are enlisted to entertain us??

Cast a look around any weekend in church, and you’ll note many, many individuals simply standing (and apparently quite uninvolved) during our times of sung worship. I have to ask whether or not we understand the significance of why we make time for singing at church.

Now I’m fully aware that there are times of worship during which silent reflection is appropriate, necessary, and desirable. And there have been times where I, or others I know of, have been unable to sing the lyrics there before me - for a number of reasons perhaps. However, do we really take the time to reflect during those times? Or do we simply take our cue that ‘not singing’ is appropriate during times of corporate worship singing.

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Three Reasons You Should Go to Church.

I don’t know if you have noticed this or not, but it’s really popular among (mostly younger) Christians today to disparage the local church. Going to church on the weekend is what people who love institutions do. Most of the people there are hypocrites. All they want is your money. You can get way more out of a nice walk in the woods and some private time with God. Spending time with friends at a coffee shop and talking about Jesus is way more beneficial than gathering with a bunch of people who are just trying to impress one another with their clothing or doctrinal statements anyway (for more reasons, have a look at this link http://christianity.about.com/u/ua/churchandcommunity/gotochurch.htm).

In light of all these objections, you would expect a preacher like me to come out defending church attendance, wouldn’t you? The more cynical among us would likely point out that my job is at stake here, so I have a lot to lose if people start listening to Pastor Pillow at Bedside Baptist instead of making the trek to hang out with hypocrites like me. Not wanting to let the cynics down, might I suggest three reasons that going to church is more important than you think?

1. Christianity is a faith that happens in community.

OK. I’ll say this as straight as I can - The New Testament writers just don’t have a category for churchless Christians. To have God as your Father is to have the church as your brothers and sisters. This is a line from Joseph Hellerman’s s outstanding book, When the Church was a Family…

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Praise Him Anyway!

Today I awoke to yet another rainy day in a string of less‐than‐desirable June days, and right away my energy and outlook (not email!) seemed sapped. But hey…we should be used to it out here…and if not, well…the Lord has prepared this day for us, so let’s rejoice and celebrate Him in it! (Ps. 118:24).

    If you’re anything like me (which one of me is enough!), then your week can often start off by the tone set emotionally, physically and spiritually from within you. If you don’t believe me, then take a moment to ponder the events of your past week. Let’s say the weekend was sunny, warm and you got to hang out with friends/family…maybe had a nice bar‐b‐q…went for a run…played some golf…went on a hike. Your relationships seemed to go without incident, and you went to church, heard a good message, sang songs that really connected with you…and you even remember the kind words your employer gave you the previous week about a job/task done well, or your kids seemed particularly appreciative and respectful of your parenting. Your spouse pays extra attention, and perhaps surprises you with some extra love and kindness…what a great weekend.  Monday rolls around, it’s still sunny and you’re ready to get on with a “good” start to the week, and you find that little voice within saying; “Praise God…what a great life I’m blessed with!”

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Building Faith Muscles

Dear Friends,

Have you ever been convinced of something only to find out that what you thought to be true was really a misconception, a deception, a lie?

Please laugh with me as I tell you how I was lately deceived. Remember a few weeks ago I mentioned that I’m jogging now and hoping to get up to 45 minutes without a walking break. Well, my treadmill broke one day. I had already jogged for 25 minutes, so I quickly grabbed a hat and watch and started down the road – praying the whole time, of course, that no one would see me. After only 1 minute I was panting like …

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Don’t Waste the Waste

Dear Friends,

Its spring as I write this. And if you live in a farming community like I do, you will be smelling, shall we say, a nostril-cleaning, bone-jarring aroma. This aroma is attached to, and finds its source in, a substance as old as and as natural as the earth. There are many names given to this substance … let’s call it “waste”.

The reason why we always smell it in the springtime is because it is a necessary element in producing bountiful crops such as hay crops or raspberry crops or carrot crops.

Here’s the thing though. We don’t like smelling it. We don’t like watching as its spread on the fields. And we certainly don’t like thinking about where it comes from. Yet we depend on it for our own nutrition. How ironic – the very substance that we consider waste is actually for our benefit.

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