What happens when we sing?

Scott & Heather here…and yes, we are generally as crazy as the picture to the left would indicate.  For those who don’t know us well, we have been at SRC for 4 years and we have three awesome kids: Ashley (who often sings with us), Maggie (who plays piano for youth), and Caleb (who excels at magic and card tricks).  

How many of us like to sing? Are you able to worship when you sing, or do you find yourself self-conscious and wondering about who can hear you, or maybe do you find yourself not in a singing mood? Heather and I have been singing together and in churches for a while. God has made that part of the passion that makes us who we are, and we love to help others approach the throne of God through worship in music.  Although music is only one facet of worship, for us, it is a major part of who God has created us to be.
The Bible talks a lot about worship. In over 100 verses the Bible commands us to sing unto the Lord. Colossians 3:16 says ‘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.’ Psalms 59:16 says “I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.”  Here’s the point: God desires our singing! He isn’t looking for perfect solo or a polished presentation…He wants us to sing and sing to Him.  

When we sing, several things happen. First, even if our hearts and minds aren’t focused on Him, as we sing we are reminded of the truths about our Savior. Since we choose songs at SRC that are based in scripture, when we sing, we are being reminded of God’s truths, and His love. Heather and I have noticed that even if we don’t feel like singing, or we are struggling with something in our lives, as we sing our walls go down, our minds focus on Jesus, and we soon find ourselves in the reality of worshiping the King of Kings.  

Second, when you sing, you build up those around you. Time and time again I have been mesmerized by the idea that someone who is not a Jesus follower can walk into a room of singing Christians and God uses that moment to soften them to the truth of who He is. There is something moving about seeing people lift their voices to God.  There are very few social settings in 2021 where singing is normative. In fact, besides karaoke and the national anthem at sporting events…people don’t typically sing out loud in the company of others. We understand that this can be awkward and difficult, but how awesome is it to realize that when we worship in song, we are being used by the Holy Spirit to build up those around us.  It makes me want to sing more and more. Can you imagine what the other prisoners must have thought when Paul and Silas sang in Prison in Acts 16…it says “and the prisoners were listening to them?” The next thing they knew was an earthquake that broke apart their jailcells.

Thirdly, it glorifies God. In many different places the Bible tells us of people worshiping, and through those moments glory is given to God. We have the honor of lifting our voices, individually and together, to the glory of our Creator and Redeemer. It is humbling to think that God takes joy in hearing His people sing.

We want to encourage you to be a worshiper in song. We invite you to lift your voices to the Lord. For some, that will be in your car or when you’re home alone. For all – let us lift our voices as the church on Sundays so that in that place, we would be personally encouraged, we would be used by God to encourage others, and most importantly, we would glorify God in obedience to His Word.

Have a blessed Saturday SRC…looking forward to worshiping with you tomorrow!

Scott & Heather

PS. We are always interested in adding others into the musical & technical efforts at SRC. We can train people in the technical areas so whether you have only a basic understanding of computers or you’re a professional sound person…we’d love to talk to you. Contact us at scott@summitridgechurch.org or heather@summitridgechurch.org for more info.