Selah.

Scattered throughout the Psalms there is that one word, repeated at seemingly random intervals. It breaks up the flow of thought and signifies a pause in the reading or singing of the Psalm. While these are often thought of as a musical interlude, it also is a time for one to pause and think about what was just said.

Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation.
Selah.

There is enough in those three lines for us to think about for eternity! What does it mean to bless the Lord? How does God daily bear us up? How has God been your salvation? Where do we turn for salvation? Our human nature and tendency is to throw out words like our daily garbage, without giving them a second thought. Words having meaning. Through words God spoke the world as we know into existence. Jesus was the revealed Word of God. James 3 addresses the importance of the words we use in our daily life. How often do you stop to think about the words you use?

What about the words we use to sing praises to God on Sunday? Do you stop to think about what you’re saying or who you’re saying it to?

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song

Once again there is a treasure to be mined in just those few phrases! But so often as soon as we’re done singing we’re done thinking about it. This is why I will often have musical interludes during a song. This could be the same chords repeated, a guitar solo, a piano solo, or the pads play in the background. These times give us space to reflect on the words we just sang and better contemplate the God we are worshipping. One of the most effective tools I use during this time is displaying Bible verses on the screen during these musical breaks that speak to the sermon that is going to be preached as well as the song that we’re singing. This past week, during an interlude on “Revelation Song” we projected the words from Revelation 5:

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,

This past Sunday ended a three month “experiment” where we followed the liturgical calendar for Scripture readings during our Sunday morning services. Stemming from a concern that many people do not know the Bible well enough, and wondering how we could better indicate our desire to be led by the Bible, I approached the elder team to see if they would be willing to do a reading and a prayer each Sunday morning and take turns doing so. This gave the congregation an opportunity to see who our elders are as well as give the elders opportunities to model both Scripture reading and prayer. It was fascinating for me to hear the various readings from all parts of Scripture. We read from the Psalms, the Old Testament, and the New Testament throughout the past three months and I enjoyed hearing it read from different voices than my own. Many people expressed how grateful they were to hear various Scripture passages read, and it is an easy way to elevate the Bible to the place of prominence it should have in our services. I think we can easily assume people know the Bible, but if the only time it is being read is during the message, what is that communicating to your congregation? Are there any ways you have discovered that can reveal Scripture to be the ultimate authority in our lives as believers?

During our Easter services this Sunday, we sang:

• Christ the Lord Has Risen Today
• This Is Amazing Grace (Phil Wickham)
• At the Cross (Passion)
• Man of Sorrows (Hillsong)
• Lamb of God (Vertical Church)
• Mighty to Save (Hillsong)