Singing In Worship
No act is more integral to worship than singing. The Psalms frequently challenge us to sing to the Lord. The Bible also records numerous songs that the Lord's people sang. At every juncture of the church's history, God's people have sung in worship. At times, the song of the church arose from common experience as folk music. At other times, master composers crafted fine works of art to sing in worship. In each case, singing in worship has expressed the deepest emotions of God's people as they gather to worship, from joyful thanksgiving to sorrowful lament. The entries in this section describe the variety of songs that have been and are currently used in common worship. In addition, they give practical suggestions for making singing in worship imaginative, inspiring, and faithful to the Scriptures.…
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Chapters & Articles in Singing In Worship (28)
The biblical Psalter is the most important prayer book in both Jewish and Christian worship. The Psalms have shaped…
The Psalms have been traditionally sung two ways in worship, to metrical paraphrases of the Psalms paired with hymn…
Recent years have witnessed increased commitment to singing psalms at each worship service. As a result, composers …
The following article elaborates on a form of responsorial psalmody described in the preceding articles, describing…
Hymns are essentially poems set to music. The following article describes the poetic qualities of hymn texts, defin…
As the previous article observes, a well-crafted hymn tune is essential for expressing the meaning of a text. Compo…
Most congregations' repertoire of hymns and songs is relatively small. This article shows the church musician how t…
Hymns come in a variety of musical and textual styles. Yet often hymns are sung blandly, with no regard to their va…
One way of singing hymns creatively involves singing in canon. This article defines what a canon is and how it can …
The hymnal that is used in worship is one of the most important elements in shaping the faith and worship of a give…
The Scripture song is one of the most popular musical forms used in worship today. Although scriptural texts have b…
The growth of a huge body of contemporary songs and choruses for worship challenges each congregation to evaluate t…
Scripture songs may be integrated into traditional approaches to planning a worship service in ways that will enliv…
Scripture songs may be integrated into traditional approaches to planning a worship service in ways that will enliv…
Worshipers need to learn how to praise God in the freedom of the Spirit. Reflecting the insights of the charismatic…
The praise song is integral to worship in the black tradition, expressing Spirit-filled praise and demanding the fu…
Canticles (from the Latin canticum, song) are biblical poems with powerful imagery and heightened emotional content…
Anthems sung by choirs and soloists have a long history in Christian worship. Many of the world's finest composers …
Gospel music is a specifically American genre that has undergone many changes since its inception in revivalistic c…
There are considerable resources for black song among African-American denominations and churches that are now wide…
Recently published hymnals have included a wide variety of congregational songs from Hispanic churches. This articl…
According to this author's view, there is no distinctive hymnody that prevails in Asian-American churches, but ther…
Shape-note singing was an important part of the social and religious life of rural America before the Civil War. En…
Recent hymnals have included a wide variety of congregational songs from around the world. These provide new styles…
Roman Catholic liturgy, like that of many of the more liturgical churches, features texts that are sung in each lit…
From its location on an island off the coast of Scotland, the Iona Community has done much to influence the music o…
Taiz is a worship renewal community in France that has developed a style of music and Scripture song for all parts …
Like the music from Taiz described earlier, prayer chants may be comprised of one textual and musical phrase that i…