SING WITH ME

I have been looking for a church, a church that would suit me completely. Now, I am wise enough to know that that is an impossibility, but I do have a few things that I have to have to keep me attending. Along with all of the things most people seek in a church, I want wonderful music. And that one thing causes me big problems. I once was a part of a church with almost exactly the right music; but that music program is no more. 

 

There is no more choir, instead a worship team that not only is too amplified, but also sings too many songs that no one in the congregation knows or can learn in one singing. And so no one in the congregation sings along. Now, do not misunderstand: I love worship music. It's just that I want all of us to sing along and worship together, not watch a performance.

 

I believe that all of us respond to good music, although each of us may often respond to music that is different from the music to which someone else may respond. But everyone responds to beautiful music that lifts up the Name of G-d. Music is able to draw people to G-d in ways that no other thing, aside from Scripture, not even great sermons, can. That music need not be any one particular kind; it simply needs to be beautiful music. 

 

I love classical music, music that has been a part of the church for four hundred years; but I also love contemporary church music. The old hymns written by the great hymn writers of the Eighteenth Century can still lead those who hear them as well as those who sing them to a greater understanding of G-d's grace. And our singing the more popular hymns of the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century often opens Heaven's windows and sends Heaven's blessings showering upon us.

 

Truthfully, I have learned that every hymn in any given denominational hymnal can be the vehicle through which we can praise G-d in every circumstance as well as the vehicle with which we can open up the Heavens to pour out His abundant Goodness upon us. It is all dependant upon the attitude of those who lead the congregation in its singing as well as the worshipful attitude of those who sing. If we are attuned to G-d, then the music He has given us will reach out to Him and we will be blessed.

 

And so, you ask, what kind of music am I looking for? Music that leads us to worship G-d, music that lifts our souls from the everyday of every day and sends those souls soaring to Heaven, music that causes G-d to lean a little nearer to us, music that causes us to reach out to seek G-d in His Glory.

 

I want music that is Scriptural, that sings from the Word, itself; and I want music that is musical, following in the traditions of great music. It needs to be singable by masses of people and at the same time, truly beautiful. Worship music has to be accessible to the multitude so that they can sing along and worship with the musicians.

 

And so, I look for a church where I can sing. I long for music that the congregation can sing spontaneously as it arises from their hearts. I know that I am not alone in this, that there are others who long for a simple Psalm or an old hymn sung by a congregation that is fully attuned to the music and understands and enjoys every word it sings. 

 

And that is why we have found a site on the Internet where we can listen to just that: the most beautiful music this side of Heaven,   PBNRadio.com  

 

I will be there listening and I know that many of you will be also.

 

Until then, you will see me visiting from church to church, looking for a great preacher and a wonderful pastor (they do not have to be the same person), a place where G-d is lifted up in everything that is done, and a place where I can sing with the congregation to the glory of G-d.