HYMNS FOR HIM STARTS JUNE 7

Our new summer sermon series begins on June 7th, and we’re going to spend several weeks focusing on some of the great hymns of faith. I’ve already been challenged greatly as I’ve been preparing the first few messages.

Few things are more controversial in our churches than our music. It seems that everyone has an opinion about what type of music should be performed in a worship service, and we are all eager to share those opinions. In recent years, the controversy has been between those who like the old hymns (preferably straight from a hymnal) and praise music or choruses (generally displayed on a screen or a wall).

I grew up on hymns. Truth be known, I grew weary of them. Too often they were sung like funeral dirges—slow and joyless. We seemed to open every service with Victory in Jesus and close with Just As I Am. I wasn’t disappointed when we started attending a church where hymns were sung infrequently, and when they were sung, it was a much more positive and upbeat experience.

But as time has worn on, I miss some of these great old hymns. While I do enjoy much of the newer praise music that we sing, my heart begins to race when we sing some of those familiar hymns. And with the way that Dennis leads our hearts in worship, these hymns take on a freshness that leads us closer to God’s throne of grace.

One of the things that has long intrigued me about the old hymns is the stories behind them. It seems that so many of those songs were born from difficult circumstances, tragedies or adversities that drove the hymn writers to a deeper place. We’re going to touch on some of these stories as we go through the series.

And there is some strong theology that underlies these hymns. It was not enough for these songs to have catchy tunes or pithy phrases—there is real doctrinal meat on the bones of these ancient songs. Though they may have been written centuries ago, there is a relevance that makes their meaning timeless.

This sermon series is certainly not an attempt to suggest that hymns are better than modern music. But it is an attempt to learn more about these songs and their relationship to the faith of our fathers. It is a way for us to keep the fires of the faith burning strongly for us and for future generations.