Have you ever heard the Holy Spirit through song or worship, or both? Have you ever heard it so clear it couldn’t be denied? I have, and it came via an entire congregation (of about 40 people). It’s an experience that not only rendered me speechless, but brought me to tears. It is something that I will never forget.
Recently I have been asked to help out (when needed) with vocals for our church’s praise team. I am always happy to help and serve where I can, and it is a blessing to do so. For a long time, I always considered members of the praise team to be “God’s vessel for worship,” so of course I felt blessed. Little did I know that serving in this way would transform me, and the way I viewed worship, in ways I could never imagine.
A few Sunday’s ago I was asked to help with vocals. Practice the Thursday prior I considered normal. Some songs I knew, some songs I didn’t. We sang, talked, laughed, and prayed. As Sunday morning practice rolled around, same thing. We sang, talked, laughed, and prayed again. Nothing came up that I considered out of the norm, I just felt blessed to be able to participate.
Then came time for Sunday morning worship. All I can say is…WOW.
I don’t recall what song we sang to begin worship. What I do remember, is as the song rolled from one to the next, something happened. Something changed.
As we finished up the first praise and worship song, we eased into 10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman. Halfway through the first verse, the harmonies and melodies of the congregation (of only 40 or so) filled the entire sanctuary, and I could no longer hear anyone on the praise team singing next to me. What I heard was this beautiful, amazing, moving sound. The words flowed from the mouths of the people that my family and I share most of our Sunday mornings with, some of our weeknights with, and all of our beliefs with. The music flowed from those people right into my heart. It was the sweetest sound I had ever heard.
God’s love poured out that morning, so alive and abundant. The congregation was “God’s vessel for worship.” Not out of one mouth or two, but out of an entire church, regardless of size. It was humbling.
We are all filled with the Holy Spirit, with God’s love, and sharing it is the most precious gift we could give to each other, to anyone. We are all vessels for the Lord, not only a pastor, or an elder, or a deacon or a praise team member. Each one of us is called to be a disciple, and to spread His love and His Word through any means we can. So why not start now?
Feed Yourself, Girl! With praise and worship, with the Holy Spirit, and with God’s unfailing love. He is holy and He is sovereign.
Romans 5:5 (NIV) “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
feed yourself, girl 