Lord I come to You
Let my heart be changed, renewed
Flowing from the grace
That I've found in You (1)

Last weekend we sang “The Power of Your Love” during worship service. I was surprised that singing the song unleashed vivid memories and powerful feelings in me. Around the year 2000 I was part of a marketplace fellowship group that met in downtown Kuala Lumpur. There were lawyers, bankers, managers in various industries, and the occasional politician. But when we met, there was no sense of anyone putting on airs. During our mid-week meetings, we were just brothers and sisters wanting to connect with God, to learn from Him, and to encourage one another. Some of us would go for lunch after the meetings to continue our fellowship.
 
This group was very special to me because they invited me to be part of them at a low point in my life. I was struggling with serious marital problems and was no longer welcomed to minister in most churches and fellowships. But this group accepted me for who I was and allowed me to share the Word with them. They were all serious Christians and they knew about my struggles, but had opted to welcome me and to help me where they could. They were Christ to me.
 
I had forgotten about that time. It was a while ago. But one of the songs that they loved to sing was “The Power of Your Love”. So when we sang it last weekend the memories flooded back with deep feelings of gratitude, feelings that strengthened my faith. I was struck again by the power of music to remind us of our encounters with God and therefore help nurture our faith.
 
When God rescued Israel from Pharaoh, Moses composed a song and led Israel to sing it. Later, his sister Miriam also composed a song and led the ladies’ fellowship in a joyful dance, while singing it (Exodus 15:1–21). I am sure that every time they sang these songs in the days following, they would remember God’s miraculous, mighty deliverance at the Red Sea, and be reminded of the love and power of God.
 
Today, most of our congregations are multigenerational. And the church music industry churns out a constant stream of new music. That means that different generations would have been touched by different songs in their pilgrimage. Often worship leaders choose songs that they know and have touched them. This is understandable. But I am appealing to worship leaders to get to know their congregation. What are some songs that will help the different generations remember what God had done for them? This requires that worship leaders have a big heart and a large repertoire and not to be excited by, and confined to, the next new thing from the US or Australia, and sing that only.
 
We are not trying to make everybody happy. And this is definitely not a 'hymns versus worship songs' battle. It is the recognition of how music is a very important part of spiritual formation. We can’t sing all the songs we want to or should every Sunday, but we can see what we can do over the 52 weeks in a year.
 
Shouldn’t our people learn new songs? Of course they should. God is alive and doing new things and there are so many great new songs out there.  But if we understand “new” as meaning “new to you”, then when a younger person learns an older song, that is a new song too. Let the different generations teach each other and we all end up with a wider repertoire of good music to praise the Lord.
 
Recently, I was at a regional IFES (International Fellowship of Evangelical Students) gathering. During the meeting, we sang “Crown Him with Many Crowns” (2). All of us, all ages, sang with gusto, with a voice that came from our hearts. Boy, I miss those anthems.

Lord I've come to know
The weaknesses I see in me
Will be stripped away
By the power of Your love

––––
(1) “The Power of Your Love”, Geoff Bullock, 1992
(2) Matthew Bridges [1800–1894] & George Job Elvey [1816–1893]