Focus

As you quiet yourself for this brief time, be willing to be open to God in whatever way that may take place.

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Read

Psalm 98 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

A Psalm.

O sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvelous things.
His right hand and his holy arm
have gotten him victory.

The Lord has made known his victory;
he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.

He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the victory of our God.

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises.

Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody.

With trumpets and the sound of the horn
make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.

Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those who live in it.

Let the floods clap their hands;
let the hills sing together for joy

at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming
to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.

 

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Reflect

Flip through a hymnal sometime (not during the sermon) and you will notice a lot of hymns that your congregation never sings. Worship planners know that many worshipers prefer to stick with the songs they know. Learning a new song can be daunting. It makes us uncomfortable, whether because we want to give God our best worship and stumbling over a new hymn doesn’t feel like our best, or simply because we don’t like change. And then there are people like me, who are glad the psalmist said “make a joyful noise” rather than “sing beautifully”. For us, the musically hopeless, trying to learn a new song just seems to highlight our poor singing ability. That’s why I love the song, “Everybody Sings in Heaven’s Choir”, co-written by Glenn Warren, father of two CP ministers. It gives me hope that someday my voice will “blend in perfect harmony” with all other believers’ to sing a new song to God. God may judge the world, but that judgment is born from pure and perfect love. That’s why God doesn’t judge the quality of our singing, but the spirit with which we sing. God doesn’t judge how well we know the lyrics, but how much we mean them when we sing.

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Pray

Thank you, God for the gifts of music and song. Help me to lift praises to you more often. May my praise bring you joy, whether I lift it as song, words, actions, or something else.

Go with God!