SING AND ENJOY IT !

6 WAYS TO SING BETTER IN WORSHIP THIS WEEKEND

I’m not a musician, and I sing publicly only when a bunch of other people are singing with me – but I love to worship God through song. I grieve when those who gather for worship seem not to enjoy that time. From a non-singer who just enjoys worship, here are some ways to sing better this weekend:

1. Pray as you enter the worship center. My guess is that most people who gather for worship pray only when prayer is scheduled in the order of worship. It would do us well to pray prayers of praise, confession, and thanksgiving before the corporate worship begins. Get your heart ready for singing.

2. Sing because God commands us to sing. It’s hard to read Scripture like Psalm 47:6 (“Sing praise to God, sing praise”), Psalm 96:1 (“Sing a new song to the Lord”), Psalm 100:1-2 (“come before Him with joyful songs), and Colossians 3:16 (“singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs”) and do anything less than sing well. Singing is not a matter of choice; it’s a matter of obedience.

3. Push beyond your personal preferences. All of us naturally have preferences about songs and worship styles, and I doubt we can just erase those preferences. We can, though, decide to sing God’s praises regardless of our preferences. If we choose not to participate in the worship because we don’t like something, we’ve made ourselves the center of an event that’s supposed to be focused on God alone.

4. Really pay attention to the words. Lyrics matter. Don’t just sing the words. Read them. Think about them. Internalize them. Whether I’m singing, “There is a fountain filled with blood” or “You’re a good, good Father, it’s who You are,” the words can move me and make me want to worship Him more.

5. Sing as your proclamation of the gospel and your praise of the Redeemer. When we sing of Him, we proclaim the good news with emotion that often comes from deep within our being. Singing can encourage the most wounded soul and melt the hardest heart.

6. Remember that many believers around the world must sing silently. Or, at least they must sing softly because of the threat of persecution. We who have the incredible privilege of singing God’s praises without fear ought to sing with all our might.

Sing well this weekend because God is worthy of our praise!

Chuck Lawless