Our world runs on carefully calculated transactions. We're trained to believe that anything truly valuable comes with a price tag to match. "You get what you pay for" isn't just a saying—it's practically economic gospel. And yet, right in the middle of our subscription-based, premium-package, upgrade-obsessed culture, God makes what sounds like a marketing scam: "Come buy... without money."
Whatever You Do, Don’t Raise Your Hands in Church
Let's be honest - raising your hands in church is a dangerous proposition. One moment, you're safely keeping your appendages to yourself, the next, you're accidentally knocking your neighbor's Bible to the floor. Or worse, you've forgotten you're still holding your coffee, and now the worship team is getting an unexpected baptism from the front row.
Why You Shouldn’t Sing in Church
So, you think you shouldn't sing in church? I get it. Maybe you're the person who moves your lips during worship but keeps the volume at a whisper. Or perhaps you're the arm-folder, the stoic observer who's "just taking it all in." Let me tell you why all those reasons for not singing are... well, actually ridiculous.
From Audience to Participants: Rediscovering Our Role in Gathered Worship
So next Sunday, as you enter your place of worship, remember: you're not walking into a theater to be entertained. You're not even walking onto a stage merely to perform. You're joining a sacred rehearsal of the greatest story ever told—a drama that began at creation, found its climactic scene at the cross, and continues to unfold until Christ returns.
Beyond the Performance: The Gospel and the Heart of Worship
This gospel freedom allows us to lead worship with both humility and confidence: humility because we know our performance merits nothing and confidence because Christ's performance secured everything.
The Enemies of Joyful Worship
This is the staggering power of joy-filled worship—it defies explanation in human terms. It can only be understood as the supernatural work of God in hearts captivated by Christ. It stands as living proof that the gospel has indeed superseded the powers of this world, overcome our frailty, and secured victory over the evil one.
Taking Others to the Mountain: The Guiding Choir
Our calling is to help others make the same journey, to experience for themselves the transformative power of standing in God's presence. Through our music and worship leading, we extend an invitation: "Come up to the mountain with us and see the glory of God revealed in Christ."
Worship in the Horse Latitudes: Finding God in Life’s Still Waters
After all, isn't that what faith is? The confidence that even in the stillness, God is moving. The trust that even in the quiet, He is speaking. The certainty that even in the horse latitudes, He is leading us home.
The Choir’s Most Beautiful Offering on a Sunday Morning
When we lead from this place of grace-filled transformation, our music becomes not just a performance but a powerful testimony to God's redemptive work. This is the choir’s most beautiful contribution to the worship service.
Bearing Kingdom Fruit
This is the deeper wisdom of God's kingdom - that in Christ, our very poverty becomes the soil of blessing, our hunger the seed of satisfaction, our tears the water of new life.
Josh Cehulik 