Agilaw said:

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Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,' who was, and is, and is to come." Revelation 4:8. Picture of the throne in heaven. This is repetition.

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I imagine when we're in heaven, we will see everything in a different light. Until then...most Christians would chafe if they had to (different from desiring to) sing the same hymn over and over again. God made us in his image and I think he's okay with us come up with novel ways to praise him.

I agree. From the encounters that humans had with mere angels and the human responses to being in the presence of such beings and Moses's encounter with God's glory and what it caused him to do and look like physically, I can't imagine what our reactions will be when we finally get to see Him "face to face". We might want to just worship forever at such awesomeness. But, He clearly has plans for His followers for eternity. Sobering to think about.

Agilaw said:

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I agree. From the encounters that humans had with mere angels and the human responses to being in the presence of such beings and Moses's encounter with God's glory and what it caused him to do and look like physically, I can't imagine what our reactions will be when we finally get to see Him "face to face". We might want to just worship forever at such awesomeness. But, He clearly has plans for His followers for eternity. Sobering to think about.

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Agree. Reminds me of the song "I can only imagine".

Here is another popular worship song in non-denominational churches. Does anyone have issues with this one?

Quote:

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Come let us worship our King
Come let us bow at His feet
He has done great things
See what our Savior has done
See how His love overcomes
He has done great things
He has done great things
Oh, hero of Heaven
You conquered the grave
You free every captive and break every chain
Oh God, You have done great things
We dance in Your freedom, awake and alive
Oh Jesus, our Savior, Your name lifted high
Oh God, You have done great things
You've been faithful through every storm
You'll be faithful forevermore
You have done great things
And I know You will do it again
For Your promise is "Yes and amen"
You will do great things
God, You do great things
Oh, hero of Heaven, You conquered the grave
You free every captive and break every chain
Oh God, You have done great things
We dance in Your freedom, awake and alive
Oh Jesus, our Savior, Your name lifted high
Oh God, You have done great things
Hallelujah God, above it all
Hallelujah God, unshakable
Hallelujah, You have done great things
Hallelujah God, above it all
Hallelujah God, unshakable
Hallelujah, You have done great things
You've done great things
Oh, hero of Heaven, You conquered the grave
You free every captive and break every chain
Oh God, You have done great things
We dance in Your freedom, awake and alive
Oh Jesus, our Savior, Your name lifted high
Oh God, You have done great things
You have done great things
Oh God, You do great things

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BluHorseShu said:

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Agilaw said:

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Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,' who was, and is, and is to come." Revelation 4:8. Picture of the throne in heaven. This is repetition.

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I imagine when we're in heaven, we will see everything in a different light. Until then...most Christians would chafe if they had to (different from desiring to) sing the same hymn over and over again. God made us in his image and I think he's okay with us come up with novel ways to praise him.

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The law of diminishing marginal utility does not exist in an infinite being like God. You would never become bored of singing even one line of a hymn forever to God.

Hey...so.. um said:

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Here is another popular worship song in non-denominational churches. Does anyone have issues with this one?

Quote:

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Come let us worship our King
Come let us bow at His feet
He has done great things
See what our Savior has done
See how His love overcomes
He has done great things
He has done great things
Oh, hero of Heaven
You conquered the grave
You free every captive and break every chain
Oh God, You have done great things
We dance in Your freedom, awake and alive
Oh Jesus, our Savior, Your name lifted high
Oh God, You have done great things
You've been faithful through every storm
You'll be faithful forevermore
You have done great things
And I know You will do it again
For Your promise is "Yes and amen"
You will do great things
God, You do great things
Oh, hero of Heaven, You conquered the grave
You free every captive and break every chain
Oh God, You have done great things
We dance in Your freedom, awake and alive
Oh Jesus, our Savior, Your name lifted high
Oh God, You have done great things
Hallelujah God, above it all
Hallelujah God, unshakable
Hallelujah, You have done great things
Hallelujah God, above it all
Hallelujah God, unshakable
Hallelujah, You have done great things
You've done great things
Oh, hero of Heaven, You conquered the grave
You free every captive and break every chain
Oh God, You have done great things
We dance in Your freedom, awake and alive
Oh Jesus, our Savior, Your name lifted high
Oh God, You have done great things
You have done great things
Oh God, You do great things

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Also by Phil Wickham. One of my favorites. Actually, he has a ton of great songs.

no

I'm glad you don't. Others in this thread were breaking down and nit picking the other phil Wickham song posted and other praise/worship music sang in contemporary churches.

Bighunter43 said:

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Maybe this has been discussed on here before....I'm not sure. What are your thoughts on Hymns vs Praise Music in the service? I'm middle aged and grew up on hymns. My church has gone straight praise music...the hymnals haven't been opened in years. We have an excellent praise team and the music is outstanding....However, sometimes it feels like a concert and only about half sing along. Our church still has a lot of "senior saints" and some have pushed to get the praise team do ONE hymn on Sundays to no avail. Personally I agree with the olds....one hymn would be awesome! There's something about a hymn that is very scriptural, and can even take your mind to earlier times of childhood when you sat there with your deceased parents bellowing them out. Once in a blue moon when we've had one, it seems like suddenly the whole church is singing and praising! I think they still hold value. I certainly "get" the praise music and how it attracts the younger generation, and some of it is very worthwhile. I am concerned with how the church has kind of lost some of its identity. Plus, I am concerned with the church just catering to one generation and just leaving the "seniors" out of the mix so to speak, and unwilling to accept any compromise. So....what are your thoughts on praise music vs hymns and how does your church do it?

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I can't believe I'm just now seeing this thread. This is my biggest complain at my church (Catholic). Our music director is a 20 something who only knows praise music. I feel like I'm listening to KSBJ. Now don't get me wrong, I actually like KSBJ, but generally speaking it isn't appropriate for most masses (life teen type masses being the exception). I really like our pastor, buy my guess is that he's afraid of running her off if he tries to rein her in. We've had problems in the past getting music directors to come to our small parish.

Personally, I would prefer they cut out all of the praise music and hymns. It seems like fluff. One hymn would be ok I guess but there is a lot of time spent on it. I'd rather get in, do the thing, and get out so I can get on with my day. These things drag on for over an hour sometimes. It's too long.

I think the thing that distinguishes my appreciation of songs for church from songs for the radio is specificity and handling of scripture. Music is a powerful tool for memorization. Thus specific scripture references or psalms bring it more intentionally and fully into our lives and consciousness. My kids walk around singing the nicene creed because we sing it at church and it overflows at random times and places. They could be singing Phil but if I had to choose I know which I'd pick. Likewise the songs of the saints (St. Patrick's breastplate), the psalms (which we sing and recite every service), the Lord's Prayer, and our services themselves (we sing parts of the prayer book at times) are all things that come out in unexpected moments with my family.

Phil's not a bad guy nor is Andrew Peterson but neither of them will lay the foundation for my children's faith in the same way that these other things can and do.

We should also be aware that songs for the radio are not picked based on any of the criteria we're evaluating here (biblical fidelity, for example). They're selected for how they sound and their ability to sell. It might not be fun to discuss (or y'all might disagree outright) but we're bringing songs into the church that are selected for that reason rather than sending our worship songs out into the radio. It reverses how the church should operate in my opinion.

My kids walk around singing Queen and classic rock songs. Your kids are dorks.

Frok said:

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My kids walk around singing Queen and classic rock songs. Your kids are dorks.

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I always wondered what they sang at the church of satan.

Frok said:

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My kids walk around singing Queen and classic rock songs. Your kids are dorks.

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Mine did too. And they turned out great. After having a daughter go through three open heart surgeries, one requiring a life flight, blindness in the left eye so no driving ever, etc., I decided to relax and trust God more after starting out being very legalistic as I thought that was Godly.

Little toot got her Masters walking to class, owns her own house, and works for me.

God is good.

BluHorseShu said:

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Cynic said:

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Everyone is kind of repeating the same thing so I think it would be more fun to get into specifics. I looked up what the current most-played songs in churches. (no idea how they determine that, I guess by software applications churches use for lyrics and music?)

Currently #1 is This Is Our God by Phil Wickham.

Remember those walls that we called sin and shame?


They were like prisons that we couldn't escape
But He came, and He died, and He rose
Those walls are rubble now

Remember those giants we called death and grave?
They were like mountains that stood in our way
But He came, and He died, and He rose
Those giants are dead now

This is our God
This is who He is, He loves us
This is our God
This is what He does, He saves us

He bore the cross, beat the grave
Let Heaven and Earth proclaim
This is our God, King Jesus

Remember that fear that took our breath away?
Faith so weak that we could barely pray
But He heard every word, every whisper

Now those altars in the wilderness
Tell the story of His faithfulness
Never once did He fail, and He never will

This is our God
This is who He is, He loves us
This is our God
This is what He does, He saves us

He bore the cross, beat the grave
Let Heaven and Earth proclaim
This is our God, King Jesus

Who pulled me out of that pit? He did, He did
Who paid for all of our sin? Nobody but Jesus
Who pulled me out of that pit? He did, He did
Who paid for all of our sin? Nobody but Jesus

Who rescued me from that grave? Yahweh, Yahweh
Who gets the glory and praise? Nobody but Jesus
Who rescued me from that grave? Yahweh, Yahweh
Who gets the glory and praise? Nobody but Him

This is our God
This is who He is, He loves us
This is our God
This is what He does, He saves us
He bore the cross, beat the grave
Let Heaven and Earth proclaim
This is our God, King Jesus

He bore the cross, beat the grave
Let Heaven and Earth proclaim
This is our God, King Jesus
Oh, this is our God



What I don't like:
The metaphors are too simplistic and common. I think the song title should be "This is what God Does for Us" rather than "This is our God". It does try to throw out some names of God in there but they seem kind of random in the context.

What I do like:
I like how it explicitly proclaims that Jesus saved us from our sins and that nobody but Him gets the glory and praise

Flame away....

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Are there Christians that believe someone other than Jesus/God deserves the glory and praise (excluding JW's since they don't believe in the Trinity)? Or that salvation comes from somewhere other than God's grace? Isn't it the root of all Christians that we are only saved by God's grace?

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Maybe Joel Osteen. Or is he a Christian?

Bighunter43 said:

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Maybe this has been discussed on here before....I'm not sure. What are your thoughts on Hymns vs Praise Music in the service? I'm middle aged and grew up on hymns. My church has gone straight praise music...the hymnals haven't been opened in years. We have an excellent praise team and the music is outstanding....However, sometimes it feels like a concert and only about half sing along. Our church still has a lot of "senior saints" and some have pushed to get the praise team do ONE hymn on Sundays to no avail. Personally I agree with the olds....one hymn would be awesome! There's something about a hymn that is very scriptural, and can even take your mind to earlier times of childhood when you sat there with your deceased parents bellowing them out. Once in a blue moon when we've had one, it seems like suddenly the whole church is singing and praising! I think they still hold value. I certainly "get" the praise music and how it attracts the younger generation, and some of it is very worthwhile. I am concerned with how the church has kind of lost some of its identity. Plus, I am concerned with the church just catering to one generation and just leaving the "seniors" out of the mix so to speak, and unwilling to accept any compromise. So....what are your thoughts on praise music vs hymns and how does your church do it?

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Amen!

Good thread. Just now seeing it. I don't visit this board very often.

My experience here in Austin is that you have to go to an old mainline denominational church to get hymns played on an organ (which I absolutely prefer, and not because I grew up with it - started going to church while I was at A&M).

The problem is most of those denominations have gone full left-wing woke, which has been a big turn off. One of the reasons we haven't really returned to church since the pandemic started.

What kind of music in church brings the congregation to a purely worshipful heart and mind, ready to receive the message on Sunday morning?

Is the focus on Christ? Does worship prepare your heart for the message?

The answer is different for most. Some folks prefer hymns and contemporary songs where you can actually hear yourself and the congregation singing. Maybe a piano and guitar. It's more worshipful to them. My wife and I prefer this.

However some folks truly feel comfortable with a loud full on band with a lead singer and instruments that dominate what you hear in the room. Or perhaps something in between the two extremes.

Rather than judge (which I have been guilty of before), perhaps the question should be what kind of worship leads you to a heart that wants to hear the word of God and truly worship. For us it's hymns and minimal instruments. But for others it's something else. If that works for them then to God be the glory.

My post was just intended to be kind of an informal survey. Again....my church has an incredible worship team/band. The praise music is great. It really attracts the younger generation, and the church went from almost closing the doors to overflowing!! I don't sing along with the praise music as I don't know the songs....no problem.....I just miss the old hymns and would be ecstatic if they did just one every Sunday and that would be catering to all age groups!!

As someone who grew up in a very traditional Church of Christ in west Texas and now plays lead guitar in my church's praise band, I think both have their value. I love hearing the praise band on weeks I'm not playing, and I love playing in it on the other weeks. I can't sing worth a lick, but I'm amazed at the worship experience I have when playing in the band.

However, I will say I can't stand to listen to Christian music, praise music, or whatever you want to call it, on the radio. So badly overproduced and synthesized, there's nothing authentic there. It feels very different when it's just me and three or four other guys on stage.