First Church of God

I will get back to a weekly wrap-up. However, I had a conversation today that spurred me to blog on this topic, and I wanted to look at that today.  The topic was "why do we sing those songs?" 

Many times I get asked the questions regarding both new and old songs, "why do we sing that?".  Many people think that we sing a hymn because older people like it. Or, older folks will convey that they think we sing a new song because young people want to sing them.  While, personal preference is something that we all have, it shouldn't be the only reason we choose to do something.  I prefer to look at something theologically, which is really asking "what does that Bible and our experience with God say about this?"

Let's address the hymns. First, not all hymns will connect with every generation. Some songs are simply written in such a way that they are limited in time to a certain audience. This is not problematic, for God inspires something to be said or sung for a specific time, for a certain people, in a certain situation. We see this in sermons, books, as well as songs.  However, God also inspires the timeless, that which connects across the ages. An example of a song that is like this is "Amazing Grace".  Written in 1779, three years after the founding of our country, it is still relevant and moving.  We sing a song like this because it reminds us that we are not the first Christians to experience the faith journey.  We can take solace in the fact that others have come before us and traveled the same road, dealing with the same issues of faith, discouragement, healing, and growth that we all have in our stories.  We sing an old song because God inspired!

What about the new songs?  In scripture we find several passage that says, "sing to the Lord a new song".  The reason we find this is because we need new words to continue to keep the experiences that we have with God fresh. We need to restate the truth about God, which helps us continue to grow. We need to hear the words and phrases that describe faith in terms that remind us that we have a living faith with a God who has a living , moving, relationship with us.  We sing a new song because God inspired!

Lastly, we must always look ahead to where we are going.  As scripture says, "God is doing a new thing" (Isaiah 43:19).  New words and melodies become classic at best; they can become stale at worst. We must always remember that God inspired, inspires, and will continue to inspire His people.

What songs has God moved you with? I encourage you to seek a new song, or an old song, that says the same truth about God in a way that is different for you.  See the truth of God in a new way to you. 

While I have always used this framework, I don't share it as often as I should.