Colossians 3:16

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.     

Colossians 3:16

Paul’s encouragement to the church is that we would not only teach one another with the wisdom of the word of Christ but that we would also sing to one another as a strengthening or warning to the body. I guess this was an early version of the “singing telegram.” The message was to be conveyed through music.  

This might seem like a strange thought but if you’ll notice, the songs that we sing in worship are full of convictions, encouragement, warnings, and edification.  So as we lift up our voices in our church services, be mindful of the person sitting to the left and the right of you and let the Lord use your song to strengthen and encourage your neighbor as we sing “…with grace in our hearts to the Lord.”

Lifting up a new song to the Lord and to my neighbor,

Pastor Gerard Deleeuw