If thatРІР‚в„ўs true, I hope you have taken the time to learn a little about the song. I would not be surprised if your church has sung it or had it sung in a service. It charted #2 on Billboard, is currently a top ten song on the major РІР‚Сљchurch useРІР‚Сњ lists (Lifewayworship, Praisecharts, and CCLI), and was nominated for 2019 Dove Award. I would be very surprised if you donРІР‚в„ўt immediately know which song I am talking about. The Unintended Misdirection of РІР‚СљRaise a HallelujahРІР‚Сњ Is there a point in time in your worship service when the song leader says something like РІР‚СљletРІР‚в„ўs worship God togetherРІР‚Сњ or implies that you are all about to worship God? Assuming as much, shouldnРІР‚в„ўt that mean that what follows is worship? I say it should, which is why I say that worship leaders should make certain that it does. This leads to the purpose of this article. But I have had to explain all three of those songs to individuals in my church (namely the object-jumping), and I have come away with the same worry: РІР‚Сљwhat was going through your mind while you were singing that song after I had told you we were using it to worship God?РІР‚Сњ. If you have a group of Christians who think about the texts and can actively translate those lyrics into their own heartРІР‚в„ўs worship of God, then everything is fine. Matt RedmanРІР‚в„ўs popular РІР‚Сљ10,000 ReasonsРІР‚Сњ does a variant: the song is sung to God, but it mixes in РІР‚Сљmy soulРІР‚Сњ as a РІР‚СљyouРІР‚Сњ in the chorus. Kari Jobe took РІР‚СљBe Still, My Soul,РІР‚Сњ a text by Katharina von Schlegel sung to our souls about GodРІР‚в„ўs sovereignty, and added a chorus sung to God-РІР‚СљyouРІР‚Сњ goes from meaning РІР‚Сљmy soulРІР‚Сњ to РІР‚СљGodРІР‚Сњ and back without warning (the only indicator would be a capital РІР‚СљYouРІР‚Сњ which IРІР‚в„ўm noticing more and more typists ignore, but thatРІР‚в„ўs for another day). Whether or not I like it as a technique, it is not uncommon. РІР‚СљHow Great Thou ArtРІР‚Сњ opens up a subcategory in which the text jumps back and forth (verse 3 is aboutР’В God, the rest of the song is toР’В God). And thatРІР‚в„ўs fine! Either category can be defined as a worship song. To be sure, my church uses plenty of songs sung to God, like РІР‚СљLiving Hope,РІР‚Сњ РІР‚СљSpeak, O Lord,РІР‚Сњ and РІР‚СљHow Great Thou Art,РІР‚Сњ but they are in the minority. In fact, looking through the songs my church enjoys singing, many of them are not actually sung to God but are rather sung about God. But none of those songs is actually directed toР’В God. All of those songs are clearly about a biblical attribute of God, which is a good mark of a worship song. РІР‚СљHow Deep the FatherРІР‚в„ўs Love for UsРІР‚Сњ is a song to be sung by Christians to remind each other about GodРІР‚в„ўs incredible love.Р”Вid you notice anything about that list? All of those songs really only make sense when sung by a Christian, which is a good mark of a worship song.

РІР‚СљGrace Greater Than Our SinРІР‚Сњ is a song to be sung by Christians both to other Christians to celebrate GodРІР‚в„ўs grace and to non-Christians to invite them to experience GodРІР‚в„ўs grace.

РІР‚СљJesus MessiahРІР‚Сњ could be sung by anyone to make objective declarations about Jesus and salvation in Him. РІР‚СљHis Mercy Is MoreРІР‚Сњ is a song to be sung by Christians to one another to celebrate GodРІР‚в„ўs mercy. (Please note that IРІР‚в„ўm talking about corporate worship in this article personal and private worship opens many unique, and separate, possibilities.) Can we agree to use that definition for now? Now consider those four songs I mentioned above. How would you define a РІР‚Сљworship songРІР‚Сњ? I define it as a song that is either to or about the Triune God, sung in such a way that encourages corporate participation. There are countless ways this can happen, but I want to focus on the surprisingly common scenario in which we fill our РІР‚Сљworship serviceРІР‚Сњ with songs that are not РІР‚Сљworship songs.РІР‚Сњ Sometimes, perhaps regularly, song leaders try to use a song in a way other than its text intends. Finally, because this article is being written to pastor theologians, review the text to evaluate how the song was intendedР’В to be used.

For example, I used РІР‚СљHis Mercy Is MoreРІР‚Сњ as an opening declaration of praise, РІР‚СљJesus MessiahРІР‚Сњ to introduce a LordРІР‚в„ўs Supper service, РІР‚СљGrace Greater Than Our SinРІР‚Сњ during a time of confession, and РІР‚СљHow Deep the FatherРІР‚в„ўs Love for UsРІР‚Сњ as an invitation to commitment. What songs did your congregation sing? Some of the songs from my churchРІР‚в„ўs past few Sundays include РІР‚СљHis Mercy Is More,РІР‚Сњ РІР‚СљJesus Messiah,РІР‚Сњ РІР‚СљGrace Greater than Our Sin,РІР‚Сњ and РІР‚СљHow Deep the FatherРІР‚в„ўs Love for Us.РІР‚Сњ Then, ask how each song was used. Think about your past few worship services. If you are any kind of pastor theologian, you should be interested. LetРІР‚в„ўs start with a basic assumption: you are interested in what happens in your churchРІР‚в„ўs worship services.

Words to raise a hallelujah