stephen R Harrison

JOY 365: Day 25

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him with joyful songs. – Psalm 100:1-2

Because of the winter weather, we couldn’t attend church today. We missed being with our church family as Sundays bring a lot of joy to our lives. Our worship pastor and I recorded a shorter worship service for our church. He led us in two songs, and I preached a sermon on Romans 12:1-5 about responding to God’s mercies as worshippers who continue to seek transformation and renewal by the Word and Spirit so we can properly function as the body of Christ. The worship songs we sang lingered in my heart, head, and words all day long. I sang them while shoveling snow and inspecting the pipes under our house while preparing for 1° weather.

These songs were exactly what I needed that day. I’m thankful for the biblical truth they contain. They kept me focused on the Lord most of the day. At one point, I thought of Psalm 100, and the phrase, “Come before him with joyful songs,” resonated. The Word is truly living and active as I had been practicing that most of the day. As I read it again, I thought of at least five worship songs I knew that were based on Psalm 100. Singing Scriptures in worship to the Lord brought joy – “gladness”. I’m thankful for our worship pastor’s desire for our church to worship the Lord through singing. Singing is one way to worship the Lord, but not exclusive. Romans 12:1-2 says we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God. This is true and proper worship. Every moment is to be holy before the Lord. What a bonus when we get to sing praises to God!

What worship songs have brought joy and helped you worship the Lord?