Singing Together

Scripture
Matthew 26:26-30 –  Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.  I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Psalm 33:3 – Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
Psalm 144:9 – I will sing a new song to you, O God; upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
1 Chronicles 16:9 – Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!
Ephesians 5:19 – addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,
Colossians 3:16 – Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Worship Songs:
The Lion and the Lamb
Salvation’s Tide
Chain Breaker
How Great Thou Art

The Big Picture
As a normal rhythm in our lives, singing with a local church family provides us with an opportunity to

Recallibrate our hearts towards God
Remind ourselves of who God is
Reinforce the truths of God
Rejoice – Express our enjoyment of and delight in our God.

Jesus Sang with His disciples
It is highly likely that the ‘hymn’ referred to in Matthew 26:30 was The Hallel, a Jewish prayer/song found in Psalms 113-118. The Hallel is often recited during Jewish feasts and holidays (like Passover).  Click here to learn more.

Reflection
1. What priority do you place on congregational singing in your life?
2. Are there things that hinder you from fully participating in congregational singing? If so, how will you go about working and praying through those issues?
3.Why do you think God calls us to sing together?
Quotes
“In each of my friends there is something that only some other friend can fully bring out. By myself, I am not large enough to call any person completely into activity. I want other lights of my own to show all the facets. Now that Charles is dead, I shall never see Ronald’s reaction to a specifically Charles joke. Far from having more of Ronald, far from having him all to myself now that Charles is away, I have less of Ronald.”
“In this, friendship exhibits a glorious nearness by resemblance to heaven itself where the very multitude of the blessed, which no man can number, increase the fruition which each has of God for every soul in heaven seeing Him in her own way communicates the unique vision to all the rest. That, says an old author, is why the Seraphim in Isaiah’s vision are crying out Holy, Holy, Holy, to one another.”
– C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves
 
“In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshiping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship.”
– David Foster Wallace, 2005 Kenyon College Commencement Speech
 
“God glorifies Himself toward the creatures also in two ways: 1. By appearing to . . . their understanding. 2. In communicating Himself to their hearts, and in their rejoicing and delighting in, and enjoying, the manifestations which He makes of Himself. . . . God is glorified not only by His glory’s being seen, but by its being rejoiced in.”
– Jonathan Edwards

Book Recommendations

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