{"id":3752,"date":"2010-04-01T08:23:15","date_gmt":"2010-04-01T08:23:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.musicademy.com\/?p=3752"},"modified":"2019-08-05T10:02:14","modified_gmt":"2019-08-05T10:02:14","slug":"what-to-say-when-leading-worship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicademy.com\/blog\/what-to-say-when-leading-worship\/","title":{"rendered":"What to say when leading worship – part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

In my last post\u00a0I described\u00a0eight worship leader stereotypes<\/a> who aren\u2019t quite sure what to say when they\u2019re standing in front of a group of people. Today I wanted to give four reasons why we should say anything.<\/p>\n

1. Magnify<\/strong>
\nWhen we\u2019re leading corporate worship, our first responsibility is to magnify the greatness of God in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. We\u2019re saying with David, \u201cOh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!\u201d (Ps. 34:3)<\/p>\n

When I use the word \u201cmagnify\u201d I\u2019m not referring to the way a microscope magnifies something very small, but to the way a telescope magnifies something very big that only looks<\/em> small to us.<\/p>\n

Music may move people\u2019s emotions, but it won\u2019t necessarily direct people to focus on the greatness of God in Christ. Our words can help them. People often come in to meetings distracted, thinking about everything but God, and viewing God as smaller than their problems. In addition, our minds are \u201cprone to wander.\u201d As we passionately proclaim his Word, his works, and his worthiness, God becomes bigger in our eyes.<\/p>\n

2. Apply<\/strong>
\nThe second reason to say something is that we want to help people see why the truths we\u2019re singing should make a\u00a0difference\u00a0in their lives. That\u2019s a part of the \u201cteaching and admonishing\u201d Paul speaks of in Col. 3:16. We want to connect the truths of God\u2019s Word and the gospel to people\u2019s situations. What lies are they believing about God? What temptations do they face? What common experiences do they share? It can be as simple as taking one line from the song you just sang and explaining why it should make a significant difference in your life and outlook.<\/p>\n

Specific application is usually better than broad. It\u2019s true that \u201cJesus paid it all.\u201d But it\u2019s usually more helpful to say something like,<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of us came in here this morning weighed down by our sins. It might be something we did yesterday, or ten years ago. But our condemnation is making us feel distant from God and unaware of his love. Listen again: \u201cJesus paid it all.\u201d That means if you\u2019ve trusted in the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ for your sins, we can say with David in Psalm 103 \u2018as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.\u2019 Your sins are no longer yours to bear! Jesus paid it all!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Whenever we\u2019re seeking to apply what we\u2019re singing, we want to seek to make our comments pastoral and persuasive. In others words, we\u2019re not just stating truth. We\u2019re seeking to care for people\u2019s souls. And we\u2019re not simply speaking in a disinterested way. We want to persuade those we\u2019re leading that what the truths we\u2019re singing, when accompanied by faith, are powerful tools in God\u2019s hands to renew our minds and hearts.<\/p>\n

3. Clarify
\n<\/strong>In 1 Cor. \u00a014:7-8 Paul says we\u2019re to make sure that people understand what\u2019s going on in a meeting. That brings to the third reason to say something – clarity. Any liturgy done without understanding can turn into a lifeless ritual for those present. And contrary to popular belief, explaining things doesn\u2019t have to quench the Spirit. It can even be biblical. Take time to explain what people might not know or bring\u00a0theological\u00a0weight to words and actions that people might miss. Here are some questions you can answer:<\/p>\n

Why did we sing the last song? Why are we singing the next song? Why are we doing something besides singing? Why are we doing something other than what we normally do? What just happened?<\/em><\/p>\n

You can explain uncommon lyrics or phrases (here I raise mine Ebeneezer), as well as common ones (grace, mercy, glory). We can also clarify issues like:<\/p>\n

Why don\u2019t we do this by ourselves at home? Why do we sing? What should we be doing with our bodies? What are we learning about as a church?<\/em><\/p>\n

4. Inspire<\/strong><\/p>\n

A fourth reason\u00a0we might say something between songs is to inspire those we\u2019re leading (although it doesn\u2019t always have that effect).<\/p>\n

Seek to inspire faith in God, because without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6)
\nSeek to inspire hope in God, because we are called to abound in hope (Rom. 15:13)
\nSeek to inspire love for God, because loving God is the greatest commandment (Mt. 22:36-38)<\/p>\n

Feel free to follow up with questions or comments on what I\u2019ve written here.<\/p>\n

This post was written by Bob Kauflin and first appeared on his Worship Matters<\/a> website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In my last post\u00a0I described\u00a0eight worship leader stereotypes who aren\u2019t quite sure what to say when they\u2019re standing in front of a group of people. Today I wanted to give four reasons why we should say anything. 1. Magnify When we\u2019re leading corporate worship, our first responsibility is to magnify the greatness of God in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5303,"featured_media":18443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[1012,224,233],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat to say when leading worship - part 2 | Musicademy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, nofollow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.musicademy.com\/blog\/what-to-say-when-leading-worship\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What to say when leading worship - part 2 | Musicademy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In my last post\u00a0I described\u00a0eight worship leader stereotypes who aren\u2019t quite sure what to say when they\u2019re standing in front of a group of people. 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