“Instead of serving as a family heirloom that would be sufficient for generations, hymnals began to be treated as an accessory for churches and Christian social groups that would need to be replaced every few years to remain relevant. This was mostly for musical, not textual, reasons, since older texts continued to be preserved (albeit with choruses attached) alongside new ones.” - P&D
The apostle Paul finishes his sentence about singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with the phrase: “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” (v. 21). When we intergenerationally submit to one another, with reverence for Christ, our personal pride and preference issues fade into the background as we consider others as better than ourselves.
The songs we sing are with us throughout our daily lives away from church. The importance of choosing congregational music that aligns with the theology our churches uphold cannot be overstated.
“…our eyes were drawn to a sign hanging down from a raftor in front of us. Written in big letters were the words, ‘Remember to think about what you are singing!’ That phrase comes out of 1 Cor. 14:15… ‘I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing praise with my mind also.’” - Nick Batzig
“She presents a well-argued case that those leading church music need to think beyond technical excellence and song selection to the spiritual formation of both the music team and congregation. Worship isn’t just something we do; it forms us for good or ill.” - TGC
“The Christian faith is a singing faith…. when you consider the sum of singing commands and the role singing plays at so many critical points in redemptive history, we easily come to the conclusion that our God really, really likes to hear his people sing.” - Baptist Press
“A church’s songs are not a mere preamble to the sermon. Singing is not filler time to warm up a congregation. Singing is a holy practice. We sing because God has commanded us, and our songs should fill our hearts with delight.” - Matt Boswell
“2. The Songs Are Hard to Sing. Some of today’s most popular worship songs are beautiful but not built for group singing. They can sit too high vocally, repeat long bridges, or rely on emotional builds that feel better suited for listening than joining in.
“Excellence matters because God deserves our best. Authenticity matters because people can sense when we’re simply going through the motions. When the two are brought together, worship becomes both beautiful and life-changing.” - C.Leaders
“When it comes to song selection, it draws deeply from the rich history of Christian hymnody while including the best of the songs written in recent years. It is perhaps slightly stacked toward the works of Keith and Kristyn Getty and their associated musicians (e.g. Matt Boswell, Matt Papa) but it is, after all, a Getty product.” - Challies
