Dr Paul Allen

At our church , everyone shows up ready to sing with full hearts each Sunday morning. Nobody arrives after a tense car ride to church, or a difficult morning with children, or a late night of studying, or a long week of work. Everyone is well-rested and eager to make melody to God . Except, not really. Each Sunday, a good portion of our churches gather for worship with genuine anticipation for singing , praying, and hearing the word. But not everyone. Life is too real, and the ancient fall of Genesis 3 is still too valid, to think nobody walks into church with scars, shame, or even cold apathy. But let’s be honest. Even the most stably enthusiastic in our gatherings have had Sundays when we wished our hearts burned more brightly. We experience an inner struggle in these moments. On the one hand, we know that we should sing because we’re at church. On the other, it’s good to be authentic and real, so it feels like a lie to sing when we don’t feel like it. Is it better to...

And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 5:9–12) Songs come and go in our culture — new releases to billboard lists to classic hits to oldies. Musicians rise and fade; genres come in and out of style; instruments, mediums, and technology are all evolving all the time. There are few, if any, songs or artists that really connect with people in every generation with the same power. There are great songs,...

Image via Wikipedia One of the biggest obstacles for many people in worship comes when it’s time to sing a song or a line they don’t fully mean or haven’t fully lived up to. Lines that declare that we’re ready to sacrifice everything, when giving 10% of our income feels like a harder sacrifice to make than martyrdom. Songs about God ’s glory being our greatest passion, when it’s usually our greatest afterthought. Some choose not to sing these lines or songs at all. They wouldn’t dare sing something they don’t mean or live. Others sing them, but feel like they’re being hypocritical . Both of these groups miss an essential truth of worship: Worship isn’t an assessment of my performance but a statement of my intention. If I had to completely mean and live every word every time I sang it, I would never sing. Nobody would. Even the men who wrote the Psalms . By still singing , we’re not being hypocritical. We’re training our  flesh  to submit to our  spi...