What’s different about Christian singing compared with all the other singing that goes on in the world?

The singing itself has no special significance or value when it is just a series of notes and words. We all know there are plenty of catchy songs out there in the world, whether they be Christian songs or non-Christian songs.

There are also many songs that do very well which say absolutely nothing. They can make us feel good, but essentially, it’s like singing karaoke.

Those songs make us feel good in the moment. But as soon as that moment is gone, there’s no real substance to what we’ve been singing about. Most emotions disappear. Those sorts of songs don’t change anything about me.

So what is the substance of authentic Christian singing? What makes singing in church different from karaoke? What makes it life-changing?

Colossians 3:16 makes it very clear: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

It is important that we know three things are going on when we sing.

1. God speaks his Word to us as we sing

God grows and builds his Church through the Word of his Gospel. So, that means the Gospel must be the content of our songs and our singing. 

Christian singing, whether it be a hymn or hip-hop, will be rich in the Word in which Christ is clothed.

2. God speaks through our singing to the Church

It is with the Word that we teach and admonish one another. These can be the words preached by a pastor, and also the words which we sing as we teach one another in our psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.

We are to sing for others in love. When you come to church on a Sunday, you might think: It is really hard to actually love everybody in my church, particularly in an authentic way.

If there are a few hundred people there, how do I love all those people in the way that Paul is describing? How do I love them when I may not even know all their names?

We all experienced this during Covid when we were doing church on YouTube. How do we love the people in our church when we can’t even see them?

Well, singing the Word to one another is a great way to show love to others in the church. There is no greater love that I can show you than to encourage you to open your heart to the transformative power of the Word of Christ.

When I sing to you, I am encouraging you to fix your eyes on Christ and be thankful. 

3. God gives us the language for our prayer, praise and thanksgiving

In our songs of praise, we respond to God for His work in saving and changing us. 

And if you are in any doubt about how important this ministry is, just look at Colossians 3:17: “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

There is a really important connection here between our singing and our all-of-life service to God: Our singing in church should be influencing us, training us for our life in the world. 

When the Gospel is at the heart of our singing, something flows from that indwelling Word: Thankfulness.

Real gospel singing provokes hearts of gratitude. It inspires thankful service in every part of our lives, not just in the church service, but in our schools, our marriages, our sports teams, our orchestras, our offices.

Our singing trains us to give thanks for everything in the name of Jesus. It trains us to do the things that we wouldn’t otherwise do.

And the things that we love, which might become idols, now become part of Creation that we can thank Him for. We view God’s Creation as something that we can genuinely delight in.

This is how singing helps us to profoundly love the Church. Because we are singing to help each other to know Christ in our hearts and in our lives.

And we sing in order to generate godliness and thankfulness and praise throughout the Church. 

This article is an edited extract of a talk by Philip Percival, Executive Director of Emu Music, at the Word in Song Singapore conference held on March 13.

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