80. Spirit-Filled Singing

80. Spirit-Filled Singing. Ryanne J. Molinari. 2025. 208 pages. [Source: Review copy] [4 stars, Christinan nonfiction, worship]

First sentence: I did not plan to become a church musician.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. NKJV (Galatians 5:22-26)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. ESV (Galatians 5:22-26)

Spirit-Filled Singing has an extremely specific target audience. The book is primarily for worship leaders, church musicians, church choirs, etc. Or perhaps expanded to those in the process of studying to become professional musicians who also happen to be Christian and are considering working in churches. The book DOES unpack, if you will, Galatians 5:22-23--the fruit of the Spirit. But it does so specifically through the lens of how that fruit of the Spirit might apply directly to church musicians, song leaders, worship leaders, choir members, etc. It is not a general book examining the fruit of the Spirit. Nor is it a book about how the HOLY SPIRIT is essential to worship. (I saw the title Spirit-Filled Singing and immediately made the jump that it was about the role of the HOLY SPIRIT in worship). Though I don't think the author would argue that point that the Holy Spirit IS very much essential to worship. 

ONE point that I thought was great was that she argues that ALL the fruits of the Spirit can be summed up in one--love--and ties that with 1 Corinthians 13. Read about love's description in that famous chapter and you can find traces of joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 

The book is weighty in musical expertise. I don't necessarily think this book is for non-musicians. It's a whole other world. That being said, it's not bad that this book is specifically for musicians and only musicians. There are probably dozens if not hundreds of other books about the fruit of the Spirit that are for the rest of us. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Book Review: Sing

Sing!: How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church. Keith and Kristyn Getty. 2017. B&H Books. 176 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: We are a singing people because it is how God has created us. It’s what we do. And when we do, we’re simply joining in with what the rest of creation is doing.

It's September. The year isn't over yet. But I'm thinking Sing! may be my favorite book of the year. We'll see. What is it about? Why should you read it? Why should you read it with others? I hope to do the book justice and answer your questions.

Intended Audience: Any believer. Also: Pastors. Elders. Worship Leaders. Band Musicians. Fathers and mothers. Sunday school teachers. Song writers. Anyone who has ever suffered at any time. Anyone who has ever struggled with depression at any time. Anyone who wants to be happy.

What is it about? It's about singing. It's about congregational singing in local churches. It's about singing at home with our families. It's about individual and corporate singing. Chances are you haven't thought of singing as a spiritual discipline. Yet IT IS. So just as you'd read a book about how to pray or how to read the Bible, the Gettys have given us a book on how to sing.

Why was it written? The Gettys' five point aim in writing Sing!

1. To discover why we sing and the overwhelming joy and holy privilege that comes with singing.
2. To consider how singing impacts our hearts and minds and all of our lives.
3. To cultivate a culture of family singing in our daily home life.
4. To equip our churches for wholeheartedly singing to the Lord and one another as an expression of unity.
5. To inspire us to see congregational singing as a radical witness to the world.

Why should you read it? God designed us to sing praises. Singing praise to the Lord is one of God's ultimate purposes for our lives. Singing is so intimately connected with joy; we are to delight in the Lord and find our satisfaction, our happiness IN HIM.

What did I love about it? I loved, loved, loved everything about this one. I thought it was packed with truth and insight. I thought it was biblical. I thought the authors were persuasive. I loved the passion and enthusiasm. I loved the organization and layout. I loved how practical it was. Also how concise the book was. And I really LOVED the discussion questions. There's also four additional bonus tracks--chapters.

Some of my favorite discussion questions:

1. How has singing played a role in your spiritual development?
2. Can you recall an example of a memorable occasion where you enjoyed singing in church? What about that event made an impact on you?
3. What is the link between thankfulness and singing?
4. What psalm or other Scripture passage resonates with you as your “Song of Salvation”? Why?
5. What song would you consider to be your personal “testimony” song?
6. Is there a hymn, or hymns, from your past that acts as a “milestone marker” for your walk with Christ? Why is it still significant and how does it speak to your heart today?
7. What modern song (new to you in the past few years) has connected with you in such a way that you believe it may become a “milestone” hymn for you in the future?
8. If you grew up in a Christian home, what songs from your childhood do you most remember? What hymns do you know? What Bible verses and stories do you know because of songs? What hymns do you want to pass down to your children?
9. If I were a visitor to your church and knew nothing of the gospel, what would your church music (selections, presentation, and congregational engagement) convey to me about your faith and understanding of the gospel?
10. Do your favorite songs that you love to sing give a broad and deep picture of the character and nature of God? Can the same be said of how we think about God and how we pray to Him? 

The book wasn't just about singing in church--at church. It was about singing seven days a week and really living out what you're singing.
Favorite quotes:

• We are commanded to sing the Word of God—the truth revealed in the Scriptures, the story of redemption. Fundamentally, we’re to sing about God, revealed in Christ and supremely in His suffering and His glory, since that’s what the Word of God is all about (Luke 24:26–27).
• The songs we sing should not brush along the surface, or pluck phrases out of context, or focus exclusively on ourselves, or describe Jesus in a way His Word does not (or, still worse, to speak in contradiction to His Word). Every part of a lyric should link together to bring a wonderful, thoughtful, deep expression of Scripture to every singer. 
• Worship comes as a response to revelation. Praise is prompted by—compelled by—the revelation of something glorious. And the gospel is the revelation of the most glorious truth in history. 
• Singing gives voice to a heart that deeply knows the gospel of grace. It is the overflow of a heart captivated by the gospel. In as many voices that join together to sing there are as many hearts that are called to know Christ as Lord and Savior. From that place there is a genuine and rich overflow of praise.
• People say you are what you eat. Well, songs are food for the soul. What you sing, and don’t sing, changes you. Your heart and mind require a good, balanced diet of gospel truth that will build you up for your working week, your times of trial, and for each season of life.
• If we are to be prepared to live for Christ in the whole of life, we need to be singing about the whole of life.
• If our songs are not giving us a balanced, rich, nutritious diet, we will not be spiritually healthy people. 
• Our singing can prepare us for every season of life, and sustain us through every season of life. We don’t need a musical escape from our lives; we need to gaze on the Savior of our lives—our refuge and help and comfort. 
• We need to make singing Bible truths second nature to our children, a “second language” in our homes. Sing about those truths when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. Sing with your kids as you put them to bed at night, or you sit down for dinner, or as you drive in the car with a CD on. Sooner or later, they’ll start singing unprompted. Join in with them.
• Songs help us train children in the “language” of the Christian faith. What we want to teach our kids travels deeper inside them when we sing it rather than only speak it to them. 
• While our faith must be taught, it is also “caught” in our homes, through what our kids see and hear from us. And singing is catchy. So sing with your kids. You don’t need to be able to sing well. Our singing always remains more important than the sound it makes.  
•  There may never be a perfect day to start singing truths with your kids. But there is today. They are not too old. They are not too young—we have been surprised that even our two-year-old knows several songs well.
• Our singing casts a light after we are gone. We each bear responsibility in the singing legacy we leave behind us. We should sing with a mind toward those younger than us who are listening in and learning from us.
• Someone took the time to share hymns of faith with us and we are to be faithful in doing the same. 
• As you stand and sing in your church this Sunday, you do not know who is listening, and you can never imagine what the Lord might be doing. 
• As you wake each day, and as you walk through your day, we pray that the lyrics and melodies of your faith will ring around the spaces where you live your life.  

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Book Review: True Worshipers

True Worshipers: Seeking What Matters To God. Bob Kauflin. 2015. Crossway. 176 pages. [Source: Review copy]

True Worshipers: Seeking What Matters To God by Bob Kauflin is an easy book to recommend. It may be a book about worship, but, it isn't just a book for pastors and worship leaders. It is a book that every Christian could benefit from reading.

Why? Because worship isn't about Sunday morning--or Sunday evening--worship services, church services. Yes, worship includes meeting together with other believers in the church. But worship is so much more than that. Worship is also so much more than singing: either singing hymns or singing praise and worship songs.

Kauflin shares with readers what worship is: what true worship is. Here is the table of contents to give you a glimpse of what to expect:

1. True Worshipers Matter: Worship and Reality
2. True Worshipers Receive: Worship and Our Inability
3. True Worshipers Exalt: Worship and Humility
4. True Worshipers Gather: Worship and Community
5. True Worshipers Edify: Worship and Maturity
6. True Worshipers Sing: Worship and Music
7. True Worshipers Keep Singing: Worship and Perseverance
8. True Worshipers Encounter: Worship and the Presence of God
9. True Worshipers Anticipate: Worship and Eternity

I loved reading this one. I thought it was well-written, well-organized. I loved how scriptural it was. I loved how it was about so much more than music and music styles.

Favorite quotes:

The ability and desire to worship God is something that God himself gives us. But there’s another aspect to that gift. In the process of drawing and enabling us, God reveals himself to us. He tells us who he is. Not only are we unable to worship God apart from his grace; we don’t even know who it is we’re worshiping. God has to tell us. And he’s done that in the Bible.

If God didn’t reveal himself to us, we wouldn’t know who to trust, who to obey, who to thank, or who to serve. We wouldn’t know what God is like, what he has commanded, or what he has promised. Most importantly, we wouldn’t know how he brought us near to himself and into his family through the substitutionary sacrifice of his Son on the cross. And all those truths are necessary to know if we want to worship God for who he is. True worship is always a response to God’s Word.

If we want to grow as true worshipers of God, we won’t simply listen to more music— we’ll seek to encounter him in our Bibles.

Unless we read our Bibles well, we won’t know the God we’re worshiping. When we fail to be specific about who God is and what he’s done, we’re really saying we want our own God. But true worship isn’t based on our personal opinions, ideas, experiences, best guesses, or some lowest common denominator.

God has removed every hindrance to having a relationship with him. If we come by his grace, there is nothing that need stand in the way of our worshiping him. Nothing.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Book Review: How To Worship Jesus Christ

How To Worship Jesus Christ. Joseph S. Carroll. Foreword by John F. MacArthur, Jr. 1984/1991. Moody Publishers. 90 pages. [Source: Bought]

How To Worship Jesus Christ is short and practical. It isn't so much that the contents are new and revolutionary. The advice within is sound and quite traditional. Give your all to God. Surrender everything, keep on surrendering. Confess your sins in the moment, don't put off confessing and repenting. Make a decision. Make a choice. Make God your one thing. Put your choice into action. Say you want to love God, say you have faith in God, prove it by your actions. Don't talk about praying, actually pray. Don't talk about reading your Bible, actually read it. Don't talk about worshipping God, actually worship him. Now, I am NOT saying that the book is all do, do, do, serve, serve, serve, give, give, give. The book is JUST what it says it is. A book about WORSHIP. What God wants from you is your praise and worship. He wants your heart, your true heart. It is in the worshipping that God's presence becomes real to believers, to Christians. It is in the act of worship that God's presence is felt and experienced. When we're not worshipping God, God is still very much present. But we aren't always good at feeling his presence, of feeling that God is real. Want a closer relationship with God? Start worshipping Him. He will make his presence known to you. But. You can't cling to sin and selfishness and hate AND worship God. There are things you must put down, put away, before your worship is true heart worship. Note: I am NOT saying that Carroll is saying that one must be perfectly righteous before you start praying and worshipping. He is not demanding human perfection. He is stressing the importance of authentic, genuine worship that comes from a repentant, thankful heart. Worship isn't something you mumble or stumble your way through. It is intentional and must engage the heart and mind and soul. A whole person worships.

He suggests readers memorize one verse per week. He suggests readers memorize hymns. He thinks both practices will draw out the heart in worship.

The chapters within:

• One Thing Needful
• True Worship
• A True Heart
• Revelation Four and Five
• The How of Worship

Quotes:

Worship is not simple, but it is glorious! I have found these many years that it is the one thing the enemy will oppose more than anything else--more than intercession, more than petition. The one thing he does not want is for you to worship Jesus Christ. (38)

Worship is not simple because the rewards are so great. As we learn to give ourselves to the worship of our Lord, He can be nearer and more real to us than our best friend or closest loved one. The rewards are indeed great, but the amazing fact is that very few worship Jesus Christ. Therefore, the spiritual senses are not quickened to His presence. (38)

You will never be a worshipper of Christ apart from a definite act of your will. (39)

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Book Review: Rhythms of Grace (2013)

Rhythms of Grace: How the Church's Worship Tells The Story of The Gospel. Mike Cosper. Foreword by Bob Kauflin. 2013. Crossway. 224 pages.

I would definitely recommend Mike Cosper's Rhythms of Grace. The first four chapters focus on the gospel, on how the gospel itself is a worship story. These chapters do a great job in illustrating how worship has always been and always will be an important part of God's story. We were designed--created--to worship. If we're not worshipping who we should be--GOD--then we'll find lesser "gods" (like ourselves) to worship. The four titles are "The Song of Eden," "Worship in the Wilderness,"The Song of Israel," and "The Song of Jesus." In part, they summarize the Old Testament and present the gospel--the good news--of Christ. The last six chapters focus on the idea or concept of "worship" in the lives of believers. These chapters show that worship is not just music, not just a particular music style. Worship is a way of life. It isn't just something you do on Sundays in a community. The titles are "Worship One, Two, Three," "Worship as Spiritual Formation," "Worship and the Story of the Church," "Liturgy and the Rhythms of Grace," "Sing, Sing, Sing," "The Pastoral Worship Leader." These chapters address worship basics, answering many questions. This is NOT a book about hymns versus choruses. It is, in a way, a book about church services, thoughtfully and carefully planned worship-filled church services. But not only church services. It is a book about how as Christians we are called to worship God daily as individuals and as communities.

Favorite quotes:

The gospel is a story about worship. It begins with promise and serenity, spins wildly and terribly off course, and is rescued in the most unexpected and surprising way possible. (25)

Worship was God's idea as he initiated creation. (26)

Worship is life with God, lived unto God for his glory and our pleasure. (31)

It's stories like these that make people think there must be something different about the Old Testament God and the New Testament God. The God Jesus speaks of surely wouldn't be so arbitrary, so harsh, they reason. Perhaps they were two different Gods, or perhaps Jesus changed the nature of God by becoming human. Perhaps God was just more compassionate after the incarnation, more sympathetic, less angry.
But this perspective underestimates two crucial facts: the holiness of God and the sinfulness of fallen man. The boiling, fiery, deadly presence of God is the natural reaction of holiness in the presence of sin. Our God is likened to a refining fire--a raging inferno that burns away impurity and leaves only what is purified and perfect (Mal. 3:2-3). We misunderstand the wrath of God if we think it's only emotional rage, like an angry, frustrated parent. It's not; it's a rage made of a pure, perfect, and holy hatred of sin and evil. On the flip side, it's a rage built upon the deepest love of what is good, pure, and perfect. Such wisdom and love can only respond with disgust at evil's destructive grip on the good.
Just as we underestimate God's holiness, we underestimate how deeply sinful we are. We think of ourselves as good enough, smart enough, and likeable enough to deserve forgiveness from God. (57)

In a single event, Jesus revolutionizes worship. By offering his body as a sacrifice for us, he makes it possible for the unholy to enter the presence of the holy. The unimaginably wide gap between sinners and their Maker is bridged by the unimaginably worthy sacrifice of Christ on the cross. (66)

For every Christian, at all times and in all places, there has only ever been one Worship Leader, one who is worthy to enter that sacred space and able to endure the wrath of God in our places, making us able to "boldly enter in" with and through him. The songs we sing, the prayers we pray, the faith we confess--all of it is an echo and an amen to the perfect worship offered to God by his Son. (68)

Simply put, Worship One, Two, Three is this: worship has one object and author, two contexts, and three audiences. (75)

The story of worship makes it clear: God is at the center of all of our worship. He is the single most glorious thing in the whole universe, the One to whom we ascribe the greatest and highest worth. (75)

Participating in God's glory-sharing life, then, happens in two contexts: scattered and gathered. Worship scattered is the Spirit-filled life of the Christian in the world, and worship gathered is the meeting of God's people to remember, encourage, and bless one another. (76)

There are three distinct audiences that the church needs to be aware of, both gathered and scattered. There is God, who is both the object of our praise and a witness to us as we praise him; there is the church, which both participates in and witnesses the lives and gatherings of the people; and there is the world, watching from the darkness. (83)

In most conversations about worship, an obstacle stands in the way: you. Whether you know it or not, intend it or not, you carry a deep well of ideas about what worship is, what it looks, sounds, and feels like. You've built this knowledge over the years and decades of your life, adding to it each time you've gathered with the church. One might say, "I don't really have a theology of worship," but in fact everyone does. That's because we are habit-formed people. (91)

Whoever dubbed the debate over musical style a "worship war" failed to realize that worship is always a war. The declaration that there is one God, that his name is Jesus, and that he has died, has risen, and will come again is an all-out assault on the saviors extended at every level of culture around us. (103)

Worship isn't merely a yes to the God who saves, but also a resounding and furious no to the lies that echo in the mountains around us. The church gathers like exiles and pilgrims, collected out of a world that isn't our home, and looks hopefully toward a future. Our songs and prayers are a foretaste of that future, and even as we practice them, they shape us for our future home. (104)

The words we hear, sing, and speak in worship help form: our images of God; our understanding of what the church is and does; our understanding of human brokenness and healing; our sense of purpose as individuals and as a church; our religious affections: awe, humility, delight, contrition, hope; our vision of wholeness for ourselves and all creation; our practices of engaging with God, with each other, and with the world. (118) (Ron Rienstra, Worship Words)

Our faith is a sung faith. (152)

The gospel should be what connects people--not music. (154)

Our singing is a testimony, a declaration to those around us of who we are and whose we are. (157)

The Bible gets much thinner if we take out all the songs and references to singing. (158)

That's what songs and hymns are meant to do. They provide language for experiences that often leave us speechless. (162)

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible