I was truly blessed to have been born the son of a devout pastor. I was a few days old when I first attended church. My mother was classically trained on the piano and that's why my Dad married her - he often jokingly claims. When I got old enough to appreciate what was happening in the church service, I noticed one Sunday that all of the hymns we sang coincided with the message my father gave. So I asked him who chooses the hymns we sing? He replied that he would tell my mother what the overall subject of the sermon would be, and she would choose the hymns. Occasionally, he would ask for a specific song. Then he asked if I had ever noticed the difference in the songs we sang Sunday morning and the songs we sang during other services. He said his opinion was that we should stick to songs that concern our worship of Him on Sunday morning, and then we can sing songs about other subjects during the other services - like Sunday night and Wednesday night. "After all," he said, "It DOES say 'Sunday Morning Worship' on the marquee on the front of the church."
After that, the difference was glaring to me! The lyrics of the worship songs were all about HIM, whereas other songs in the hymnal were all about what God has done for me or us. Additionally, there were songs about how glorious Heaven will be, and a few other topics - all of them wonderful and with lyrics taken straight from the Bible. But, for the Sunday Morning Worship service, every song focused on Him.
Now, younger folk are going to find this hard to believe, but when I was still a young lad, local newspapers would send out reporters to attend churches and then write reviews. During my father's career, his church was reviewed several times, and the reports were always glowing. The reporters always talked first about how warm a welcome he received from the congregants (well, we were a Holiness church), then how fantastic the music was, and finally what a great message the pastor delivered.
So, you see why I say I was truly blessed!
They live in Idaho, now, which is about 2 hours from us by airplane. They found a church that still sings the old hymns, and they love the people very much. When they found out my mother is a virtuoso, they asked her to be the pianist. So, when we go to visit, the nostalgia hits HARD! It's like stepping back to the 1960s. There is reverence for the sanctuary, you can sense the love among all of the congregants, my mother plays the piano, and sometimes my father fills in for the pastor when he is away.
We visited a couple weeks ago for Thanksgiving. That one church service was like finding an oasis in the desert! Singing from the hymnal and reading those Holy Spirit-inspired lyrics taken straight from the Bible - it's a very moving experience. To me - perhaps because I'm an old codger now - it seemed like I was in a REAL church rather than at a performance. Did I mention that EVERYBODY sings in my folks' church? I wonder how many real churches still exist around the country. To those churches I say, "Appreciate it! The 'pretend' churches are taking over." LOL
After that, the difference was glaring to me! The lyrics of the worship songs were all about HIM, whereas other songs in the hymnal were all about what God has done for me or us. Additionally, there were songs about how glorious Heaven will be, and a few other topics - all of them wonderful and with lyrics taken straight from the Bible. But, for the Sunday Morning Worship service, every song focused on Him.
Now, younger folk are going to find this hard to believe, but when I was still a young lad, local newspapers would send out reporters to attend churches and then write reviews. During my father's career, his church was reviewed several times, and the reports were always glowing. The reporters always talked first about how warm a welcome he received from the congregants (well, we were a Holiness church), then how fantastic the music was, and finally what a great message the pastor delivered.
So, you see why I say I was truly blessed!
They live in Idaho, now, which is about 2 hours from us by airplane. They found a church that still sings the old hymns, and they love the people very much. When they found out my mother is a virtuoso, they asked her to be the pianist. So, when we go to visit, the nostalgia hits HARD! It's like stepping back to the 1960s. There is reverence for the sanctuary, you can sense the love among all of the congregants, my mother plays the piano, and sometimes my father fills in for the pastor when he is away.
We visited a couple weeks ago for Thanksgiving. That one church service was like finding an oasis in the desert! Singing from the hymnal and reading those Holy Spirit-inspired lyrics taken straight from the Bible - it's a very moving experience. To me - perhaps because I'm an old codger now - it seemed like I was in a REAL church rather than at a performance. Did I mention that EVERYBODY sings in my folks' church? I wonder how many real churches still exist around the country. To those churches I say, "Appreciate it! The 'pretend' churches are taking over." LOL
