This Is a Call to Worship!

What if worship felt less like a script and more like a surge of honest praise? We open Psalm 96 and rediscover why singing is not filler between sermons but a vital way we bring our whole selves—gratitude, grief, need, and hope—before the living God. From the opening hymn to the final charge, we press into the difference between mouthing words and blessing God’s name with spirit and understanding.

We talk about how music channels the heart and why that matters for faith, then step into the moving backstory of “It Is Well,” penned over waters that held unthinkable loss. That story isn’t there to tug heartstrings; it shows how praise can anchor us when feelings run thin. Psalm 96 widens the frame to all creation and calls us to a new song—not a new lyric sheet, but a new posture that proclaims salvation day by day, tells of God’s glory among the nations, and ascribes to the Lord the weight He deserves.

Along the way, we challenge common traps: tying worship to favorite leaders, certain styles, or perfect moods. God’s worth doesn’t rise and fall with our playlists. We explore what it means to bring an offering today—the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name—and why entering with thanksgiving changes the room. By the end, we stand together to count blessings and remember answered prayers, letting memory fuel praise and courage for the week ahead.

If you’re ready to sing like you mean it and let worship reshape your Monday as much as your Sunday, this one’s for you. Listen, share it with a friend who needs a lift, and if it speaks to you, subscribe and leave a review so more people can find the show.

Transcript

Opening Hymn And Joyful Anticipation

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Come we that love the Lord and let our joys be known Join in a song with sweet a call join in a song with sweet according to us round the throne and using the sion beautiful beautiful cyan in the large beautiful beautiful marching up to zyond beautiful city one time beautiful beautiful cyanover marching up one to zion a beautiful city.

Why Singing Matters In Worship

Music, Mood, And The Heart

Story Behind “It Is Well”

Anderson George 1:52

I am looking forward to this Sunday when I could finally break loose while singing. Because here's what happens. Y'all never told me this, but I could tell you are definitely not accustomed to having a worship leader sing ad lib. So every time I sing a note or make a noise that isn't in your head or on your screen, you stop singing. You have no idea what to do. And I'm just oh, I just wish guys just keep singing. I'm on the same page with you. You just sing, let's make a joyful noise together. I can't wait because I'm singing at 10 right now, and I just yearn because I love to sing. If you think I love to preach, I and I just yearn for the time where y'all let me cut loose and I could sing because you know, I I think you've heard me say this already, but where I come from, we enjoy singing. In fact, singing is the time where we all participate. I know we participate in Lord's Supper and in giving, but vocally we all participate worshiping God. This is the time that you have to say, God is so good, you've been so great. There is no God like my Jehovah. You've given me mercy when I didn't deserve it, you've forgiven me of all my sins. Thank you for Jesus, thank you for your church, thank you for your word, thank you for healing. Singing is the time where you get to bring all of that out. We're going to change the sermon of Psalm 96. Singing is the time where you get to bring it all out and say, God is so good. Singing is the time where you get to express your spirit and your heart towards God. Singing is the time where you appeal to his grace, where you confess your sins and ask for more grace. Singing is where you acknowledge that he alone is God and you stand in need of him. That's why we sing the songs that we sing. That's that's why we have to remind ourselves of who we are and what we're doing. So these songs help to put our spirits in mind so we remember we are nothing without him, and we need him every day, more and more with each passing day. And so we sing, and we should sing with spirit, but also sing with understanding. Come from a place that enjoys singing, and because we enjoy singing, we normally spend just 45 minutes singing. I know you want to wrap up the entire worship in 45 minutes, but we sang. I had some worship leaders that knew the preacher, the minister loved singing. I had a church that enjoyed worshiping, and so we spent 45 minutes just singing in the presence of God. We didn't get tired, we enjoyed it. They primed the preacher up, they brought me up with a song. I had some song leaders because they knew I liked to sing, they would start one of my favorite songs, lead everybody, and then just walk off the stage. Because they're expecting me to come up and just pick up where they left off, and we would sing that song, we would sing choruses over and over again. Y'all guys, you guys have gotten accustomed. We sing first verse and last verse. We don't sing all the verses, and then you look weird. Like, when when I say let's sing the chorus again, it's like, what is he doing? And while I'm not saying any of that to discourage or even cause you to change who you are and your culture, I do want you to know worship matters to God. Worship really matters, and this is one of those sacred times where you really get to express to God who he is and how you feel about him. And there are some songs that just invoke, there's some songs designed to invoke feelings. It's what music does. Think about it. When you're home and you listen to music, if you're listening to music, you'll listen to music if you're like me according to your mood. And so, because of that, when I'm in a loving mood, uh while driving to Mineral Springs, I was in a loving mood, and so I was playing traveling music before, but then I looked at Michelia, she was looking all cute, and I just felt nice. And I I I switched the music immediately. It was in a loving mood, and then I looked at her, I held her hands, and I began singing in the car. But I had music for my loving mood. There are times when I need to pick me up, and I have music to pick up my spirit. There, there I have music because music helps channel what I'm feeling and direct what I'm feeling. God understood that, and that's why He plays music in the church. That's why he plays singing in the church. It's why these songs should not just be something you do because it's Sunday, but something you experience as you worship God. So grab Psalm 96. But as you go there, let me give you one more song. This is this is an Andy I never thought you guys would see, but you guess you're going to see him.

SPEAKER_00 8:20

When peace like my way when so me sharies why so the guy who sang that song, who wrote that song, was a Christian, Christian preacher at that, and he had not taken a vacation or break from preaching in over seven years.

Reading Psalm 96 Aloud

What The Psalms Teach Us

Sing A New Song With Meaning

Let All Creation Praise

Anderson George 11:41

And he finally decided to take a break, and he told his wife and his children, let's go on a sail, a cruise across the world. And it so happened that they planned this vacation to take a cruise across the world, but he got a call that someone needed him, and so he placed his wife and his daughters on a boat, and he told them farewell, I will take the cruise, the boat three days from now, and I'll see you on the other side. Two days after he placed them on that cruise, he gets a message that that boat that was supposed to make it to its destination and holds some difficulty. And his wife and his children were no more. He got on that boat as he promised, still determined to take a vacation and to talk to God. And it so happened that as they passed the point where they believed that the boat sank, the captain came on the PA system, he said, ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. I want you to know that we are now passing the area where that boat lost communication with us three days ago and sunk. We are now in that area. He got out at the top of the ship and he looked over the waters. And it was there he penned the words, it is well with my soul. It's there that he first wrote about seas and billowings rule, and said, Whatever my lot thou hast taught me to say, it is well. He wrote that over 400 years, about 400 years ago now, and it still has meaning and significance for us today. And some of you may not have even known the original story that caused him to write it as well. But you still sing that with meaning, you still sing that with anticipation, you still sing that hopefully with gusto and reverence. Psalm 96. Sing to Yahweh a new song. Sing to Yahweh, all the earth. Sing to Yahweh, bless his name, proclaim good tidings of his salvation from day to day, tell of his glory among the nations, his wonderful deeds among all the peoples, for great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised. He is to be feared above all gods, for all the gods of the peoples are idols, but Yahweh made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him, strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. Ascribe to Yahweh, O families of the people, ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength. Ascribe to Yahweh the glory of his name. Bring an offering and come into his courts. Worship Yahweh in holy attire. Tremble before him all the earth. Say among the nations that Yahweh reigns. Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved. He will judge the peoples with equity. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, let the sea roar and all it contains, let the field exalt and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy before Yahweh. For he is coming. For he is coming to judge the earth, he will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness. If you read that, say amen. That's the title. This is a call to worship. The book of Psalm is actually a collection of 150 songs and praise of the Hebrew people known as Israel and the early church Christians. They referred to it as the Psalter, which is just a nice way of saying song book. The Psalms then is special amongst all other books in scripture because other books are God towards man, and while Psalms is the Psalms, the Psalter is also God towards man, there is a way in which it's man towards God. The Psalms, the Psalter encaptures, encapsulates man's heart towards God. It has his prayer, his yearning, his desire as he talks to God. It's interesting that it is in the Psalms, it is in the Psalter that we find all types of songs. We have psalms that simply say, God, you're good. We call them praise psalms. We have psalms that simply they're not there to do anything but say thank you. Every now and then you need to stop. Stop asking for anything, stop praying for tomorrow. Stop complaining about yesterday. Every now and then you need to stop and just say thank you. Thank you for where I am. Thank you for what you've done. Thank you. Even though things aren't good, even though I have problems and worries and complaints, you should still be able to say thank you, God. And so there are psalms that say, In spite of all my troubles, I just want to thank you. They're called thanks-giving psalms. There's psalms that exalt God as king and they're called royal psalms. There's psalms that that that we don't talk about, but we should, because there's psalms that say, God, I'm frustrated. God, I don't understand what's happening in my life. God, I don't understand why this situation is before me. God, I need you to fix it. God, I need you to show up. God, I don't feel like you're here. They're called lament psalms where you're grieving, you're lamenting. And then lastly, there's psalms that say, God, the enemy is around me, and I need you to do something about them, strike them down, get rid of them, God, remove all my enemies. These are called imprecatory psalms. But I told you all of that not because I want you to know the category of psalms. You don't need to know a royal psalm from a Thanksgiving Psalm from a lament psalm from an imprecatory psalm from a lament psalm. You don't need to remember any of those. But what I see and what I want you to get is that these songs, these prayers capture every aspect of your life. They're meant to model the fact that life is not always the same. Your day tomorrow may not be as good as your day today. It may be better, it may be the same, it may be less. And the Psalms capture man where he is and brings where he is to God. And for that reason, the Psalms give me hope because when I don't always feel spiritually high, I could look at a psalm where the psalmist felt low and he says, God, where are you? And I realize that it's alright for me not to always be at a spiritual high. I could be at a spiritual low as long as I know God is still the person that I'm seeking. I could realize that just as me, there are people who wrote psalms that have difficulty and struggles, and so I'm in good company. I could sing and make a joyful noise unto God when I have difficulty. Troubles and I could remind myself that in the midst of trouble, God is my helper. There's a psalm for everything, and a psalm for everyone. Psalm 96, however, is a psalm that says, You need to sing like you mean it, and mean it when you're singing it, because of who you're singing it to. That's why he begins. He begins by saying, sing a new song. This is not him necessarily saying, write a new song, but sing in a new way. I need you to no longer sing like you've been accustomed to singing, just miming the words, just just going through the motions. I need you to put your heart, your being, your soul into worshiping because the truth is you could sing and not worship, but you can't worship and not sing. I wish I had a church. You could sing, you you could have sang all the songs we just sang, and God look at you and say, You haven't worshipped. You just mouthed words, you just sang. You might have even sang to tune. Heard some tennis today. Think I heard half a bass and call it names, Eddie. But I you could have sang to tune. But because you have four-part harmony doesn't mean that God considered it worship. So he begins by saying, I need you to understand this is a new song, not because there's a new author, not because it's words you never sang before, but because you're singing it in a new way. And then right after he says, sing a new song, he he brings everyone into the picture and says, Sing all ye earth. Because the truth is, all of creation should be giving God homage. All of creation. If I had time, and I decided Psalm 96 before I got up here, I would have walked you to the New Testament where Jesus is walking into the crowds in Jerusalem. And as he's walking into the crowds, people are shouting, Hosanna, save now! Hosanna, save now! And it's the church people always interest me that the people that have most problems and complaints are the people that say they're most religious. The church people say these people are praising too loud. Have you ever heard such a thing? They're praising too loud, they're doing too much, they don't need to do all that. You all pray for me because I've heard all of those things. And Jesus said, Do you not know that if I were to silence them, the rocks would have to cry out. The rocks would have to cry out because God deserves glory. So whether you give him or not, he's going to get it. I just rather he gets it from me because I know who he is and what he's done for me. No one should have more gratitude for God than a child of God. No one should praise more than a child of God. How dare someone who doesn't know God like you be more grateful to God, be more thankful to God, be more worshipful towards God than you? No one should outraise you because you know who your God is. In fact, just in this room, there are persons who God has brought from a mighty long way. God has brought you over various medical reports, God has brought you over major financial hurdles, God has brought you through time and time again. How dare we sing in a way as if God is dead? God has been too good. You're looking rough, so let me let me help you out. I'll just cool you down a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 27:00

God is so good. So good. One more time, like you mean the ability you had just to say those words should be enough to cause you to say it like you mean it.

Praise Beyond Feelings And Preference

God’s Greatness And Our Song

Ascribe Glory And Bring An Offering

Enter With Thanksgiving, Not To Get It

Anderson George 28:04

Because the statistic is that every minute that you experience, someone dies. It's more than one person now a minute. Don't remember what number it's at, but I could safely say at least one person dies in the world every 60 seconds. You just took 60 seconds to say that someone else lost. Those words should matter because saying those words, understanding that I had 60 seconds enough just to say God is so good proves God is good to me in this moment because someone else did not have this opportunity. No one should have more praise than you. The third line of the first verse says, Sing to him and bless his name. I don't know why, I don't know how, but God enjoys your praise. In fact, another psalm tells us that he inhabits, he dwells in, he lives in and delights in our praise. I don't know how or why, but but God doesn't mind if you sing off key as long as you're singing. God doesn't mind if you don't know soprano, alto, tenor, or bass, just sing also. God doesn't mind what somebody next to you may mind. He just wants to know do you mean it while you're singing it? Do you love me? And is that why you're singing? Are you doing this out of a sincere spirit and heart? Or are you doing it because it's Sunday and John said the next song was this one? I want you to be in a position, God is saying, where you sing to me, and and your goal, your objective is I want to bless you, God. And this is a weird concept to me that scripture says we could bless God because normally we are the object of God's blessings. When God blesses us, he does well in our lives. But anytime scripture tells us to bless God, it's not you doing well in his life because nothing you do makes God better. So you blessing God is not about making God better. You blessing God is speaking about how much better God is, and he says, I love that. I partly understand it because words of affirmation is something that seems to speak well to me. And so anytime you give me a compliment, it's so it means so much to me. And then when I give a compliment to someone like like Michaelia, and I see her her blush or smile, I recognize that even though it was just words, because it it came from a sincere place, it packed meaning, and God says, I like that when you do it in sincerity, when you do it in spirit, you bless me, and I enjoy that, but then the psalmist gives us reasons why we should sing, why we should proclaim these good news, and all of them they are rooted in who God is and then what he's done, and that may be all I get to tell you on this morning, but your worship is not built on how you feel. Ooh, somebody say ouch. Because here's why, here's why, here's why, here's why. There are days, if I can tell the truth, there are days I get up out of bed and I don't always feel like coming to church, and so I have to drag myself to show up. I don't always look like this and sound like this. I go through ebbs and flows, and I know if I do, you do as well, and so the idea is not that you always need to be this high in spirit, ready to worship all the time type of person. No, no, no, no. The idea is even when you don't feel like it, you still do it because you're not doing it primarily because you feel like it, because when you feel like it, it's out of convenience. You're looking at me, funny. If you only come to church when you feel like it, it's not based on God, it's based on you. And so the idea is I need to move to a position where my worship to God is not predicated on how I feel, nor is it predicated on the songs we sang. Now that's a hard one for me personally, nor is it predicated on who led singing. Because the moment I make singing about how I feel, or if they sang my songs or not, or who sang, I'm moving God out of the equation. Even if the song leader wasn't at his best and sang your will song. Worship is about your spirit to God's spirit, and so even when it's not your song, even when Don gets up and's like, guys, I don't have my voice, even then, you could still worship and praise God like any other Sunday, because God is still the same God, even though the song leader changes, and the songs we sing change. Does that make sense? It's alright, y'all could talk back to me. I'm not singing because John is the one leading us singing. In fact, if John wasn't here leading, or Don or Drew or anybody else who leads singing here, I would still sing and make a joyful noise. My singing is not dependent upon you. I'm glad you're here. And I'm glad you're singing with me too. But I'm not singing to you, I'm not singing for you. That's one of the reasons why I've reached a point in my spiritual life where it doesn't matter if you like how I sound or not. God said, make a joyful noise, and that's what I will do. And the only place I know where it's acceptable to make a joyful noise is church. So you could complain about my noise, it's not illegal, it's not a crime. God actually encourages it, He wants my noise. Make a joyful noise because of who God is. It's in the text. Watch this. Verse number three. Tell of his glory among the nations, his wonderful deeds among all the peoples. Don't forget the context. The context here is that you're singing, but in your singing, he's saying, I need you to announce his glory, announce his good deeds. For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised. He is to be feared above all gods, for all the gods of the people are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. So it begins by saying, He is great. That's why you sing, that's why you you shout, that's why you you you get happy on Sunday morning because he is God. He is. I could come feeling weak, but I need to leave here feeling encouraged because I'm reminded that He is God. I'm reminded that when I am low, He is my strength. When I need grace, He's a grace giver. When I need forgiveness, He has mercy in abundance, even though I don't always live righteously, He has love for a wretched man like me, and so that should cause you to sing and shout and tell the world about it. That's a song. Here's another one. Go tell it on the mountain over the hill and everywhere. Go tell it on the mountain. Well, why are you telling it? Because it's good. I I want everybody to know I'm getting on the mountaintop because I need everyone to know my God is great. We don't have the sopranos for for the song, but but but but but every time I hear our God, he is alive, it speaks to me. Back home, we call it our anthem because it's a song we would sing all the time, every time, like an anthem. There is beyond the Azure blue a God concealed from human sight, He created this heavenly blue, our God, He is alive. That's that's the song, He's alive. In Him we live and we survive. From dust, God created me. This song is meant to invoke that even though I am dust, somehow God has love for dust like me. God has grace for dust like me. God gave his son for dust like me, and now I could rejoice that this alive God, not a dead God, not an idol, this alive God is a God I could put my trust in. It's a God I could now say all things work together because of him. It's a God that I could say holds my steps up, it's a God I could trust, is a God that says, You are a conqueror. So when I sing, it's a reminder of who God is, but also what he's done. Verse 7 to 10, and I'll probably end there. It says, ascribe, ascribe, give to the Lord, O families of the people, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength, ascribe to him the glory of his name, bring an offering and come into his courts to bring an offering. While we no longer walk with the sacrifices of animals, when we worship God, you should never come to God empty-handed. And I'm not talking about money. And that rule was whenever you come before me, bring an offering. Never come empty-handed. He was trying to teach them the idea that he is worthy of your reverence, and so every time you come before him, you offer something to him as a sign of reverence and homage. You should still be bringing a sacrifice to God, and the sacrifice that God expects of you is your praise. Let us then continually offer sacrifice of praise to God. That is, if you're not sure, he then goes on to say, that is the fruit of your lips, giving thanks to his name. So if you didn't know what praise is, praise is the fruit of your lips. Therefore, your lips need to be moving, something needs to be coming out, and it's something that ascribes worth, it's something that ascribes honor to God because he's worthy of it. Bring an offering and come into his courts, worship the Lord in holy attire. There's another psalm that says, When you enter into his gates, you enter with thanksgiving. Enter into his courts with praise. You should not come here hoping to praise. You should come here with praise. I'm done. Eddie started this. If if Eddie blame Eddie, oh don't apologize. He just read Psalm 96, and I'm there going through uh my sim, and I'm like, Psalm 96 doesn't sound bad, but I'll do it some other time. I'll do my sim in series. And I got up here and started talking about singing. One thing led to another. Here's the thing. Worship is specially created by God for God. And is where you take time out of the last six days to recenter yourself by praising God in a way that confesses your sins, that thanks Him for His grace and mercy, that acknowledges that grace in your life that has forgiven, that has enabled and now strengthened you for tomorrow and petitions him to stay with you because you need him. And so we come to worship, and we come already hoping to announce to everybody else assembled there's no God like our God. And we want everyone to experience that God and how great He is. And so we ascribe worth to Him when we praise. We give Him the sacrifice of our lips as we praise. We say the Lord is great and greatly to be praised. This is a call to worship. I'm going to make you stand. I'm going to make you stand in a special way. If God has ever answered one of your prayers, could you please stand? I have no other questions. You could look back. There's a song, don't sing it, John, but there's a song that says, Count your blessings when upon life billows you attempt to stos, when you are discouraged, thinking all is loss, count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done. If you just pause before you start worshiping on Sunday to think about what God has done, is doing and is yet to do in your life, you have reason to praise. So just as this is a call to praise, I want to encourage you when you sing, sing to the Lord a new song, Mineral Springs. Sing to the Lord, bless his name, proclaim his good tidings of his salvation from day to day, because there's no God like the God who you call Father. As we sing.