Music has been a subject of discussion in churches for ages. As the music director at Valley Bible Church, I wanted to share why I choose the music I do and why I include hymns in our weekly worship services. This article will specifically focus on the corporate side of worship, not individual worship (although that is another great topic of discussion that could be explored later!).

Here at VBC, there is a purpose behind the order of service and each week’s music selections. First and foremost, the Truth of Scripture must be on full display. We want the service to be an act of worship from God’s people to His throne, a sacrifice with the pleasing aroma of praise.

In addition, our corporate worship services should present the message of the Gospel every week. We believe that the Gospel should be an active part of every Christian’s life, both personally and when we meet on Sundays. Our desire is to provide an environment where people can “worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks” (John 4:34-24). This is one of the reasons why we incorporate hymns into our music sets every week.

An article from Christianity Today recently stated, “Few of the most popular songs today talk about the cross and salvation.” Unfortunately, this is the reality of current popular music. Do this experiment the next time you’re listening to the radio: really listen to the lyrics of each song and make a mental note of how many times God, Jesus, the cross, or salvation are mentioned.  You would think that the most pivotal moment in history would be highlighted in worship music, right?

Sadly, it is not. I am not saying that these new songs cannot be used for personal worship, but what about corporate gatherings? When we gather on Sunday mornings, we are to sing praises to the Lord for what He has done, not what we have done. Let’s be honest: if we sang songs about our good works and accomplishments (not to mention our failures and pitfalls), it pales in comparison to what God has done for His children, His Kingdom, and His glory.

On Sunday mornings, we gather to proclaim God and His mighty acts. God has saved us from our depravity. He is always faithful, even when we come up short.  He is also continuously molding us to be more like His son Jesus Christ (Galatians 2:20, Colossians 2:6-14, Hebrews 10:14-25).

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20).

Another reason why we sing hymns is to remember the generations of Christian faithfulness that came before us. However, that does not mean that all old hymns were well-written or even Scripture-focused. It is our job to sift through the music and find the time-tested truths that point us back to Christ and His work. We can (and do!) update the music to these hymns and “freshen” them up musically, but the words are what is important.

We want to sing truths about our God and let that draw our emotions out, not play emotional music for the sake of evoking a response. I love the example of David dancing and being excited when the ark was finally brought back to Jerusalem. David was not dancing for the sake of being out of control and undignified. He was physically rejoicing because God and His presence were coming to dwell with His people again. It was the truth that brought the emotion out for David.

When I choose music for corporate worship, my goal is to engage both minds and hearts in worshiping God. My hope is that our congregation will draw on the Biblical truth of the words, not on the way the band plays. It is still important to play music dynamically and with excellence, but the goal is to sing with understanding.

A stereotype of hymns is that they contain hard-to-understand lyrics and dated verbiage. Some people have a hard time singing hymns because they were either written in old English or translated from a different language. As the VBC music director, it is my responsibility to educate the congregation and help them understand what we are singing. For example, “A Mighty Fortress” was written by Martin Luther in German and later translated into English. It talks about “a bulwark never failing,” what in the world is a bulwark? It is a solid wall structure raised for defense, a visual that points us back to our God who is a mighty refuge. We could sing, “A mighty refuge is our God, a wall that never fails,” but “wall” just does not convey the same gravity as “bulwark” (or give us an appreciation for how Martin Luther spoke at the time). The next time we sing that song, picture our God as a mighty wall that will protect you against the evil one and his flaming arrows.

A few lines later, Luther mentions “our Helper He amid the flood/Of mortal ills prevailing.” This is more than just sickness or desires. “Mortal ills” could mean any hard times or circumstances that we will endure here on earth. Our God is a God who helps us to prevail, but only by His strength.

Hymns are full of rich words and meaning, so the next time we sing a song that uses words we do not understand, that is OK! Take some time to look it up, study it, and enrich your mind with the truths about our God so that we can strive to corporately sing with both our minds and our hearts.