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."
2 Timothy 3:16-17: "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work."
We sing to God and we sing to one another. We pray and seek the face of God. We prioritize preaching and our response to it. Fueling all of these worship activities is Word of God. We can only know who God is and what He has done for us in Christ through what is written in His Word, the Scriptures.
Scripture is at the heart of all we believe and all we do as the church. It is "breathed out by God," meaning that God is speaking through words written on pages collected in a book. Be amazed. Everything necessary for "life and godliness," including our worship gatherings, has been given to us in our Bibles. The Bible must be central if our worship is to be pleasing to God.
As we sing songs that reflect the reality of who God is and of what Christ has done for us, our songs must be based in what Scripture teaches us. If our singing is to be received by God, then it must be truthful. Our source of truth is the Bible. Let us be thankful for our worship team leading us to sing songs that are clearly and firmly rooted in what Scripture teaches.
Let us pray with confidence, for we know Who we pray to. Let us strive to know His Word, that our prayers might more and more reflect His truth.
Let us give ourselves to hearing and receiving the Scriptures as they are preached. The preaching of the Word is a holy moment where God's people are gathered to hear Him speak. He speaks and works and gives life through what is written.
John Stott rightly said that "God speaks through what He has spoken." Because of this, we can rest assured that when the Bible is central to our worship, God will be glorified, Christ will be magnified, the gospel will be clear, and the church will be built.
Greg Rentz
If you have any questions about the topic of worship or would like to learn how to get involved with the worship ministry of North Avenue Church you can email Ian at websterian11@gmail.com.
