The Friendship Family: a passion for God and compassion for others.

Our Music

It is the duty of all Believers to praise God publicly, by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs together in the congregation, privately in the family, and also when alone with the Lord in devotions (Col. 3:16, James 5:13).

In congregational singing, the voice is to be melodious and soberly ordered (1 Cor. 14:26); but the chief care must be to sing with understanding (Psalm 47:7, 1 Cor. 14:14-15), and with grace in the heart, making melody unto the Lord (Eph 5:19, Col. 3:16).

That the whole congregation may join into this, every one that can sing with a voice is to have a hymnal. Those unable to sing with a voice should join the congregation to the best of their ability. Congregational singing should not be overshadowed by instruments, choirs, or soloists, these being helps to the corporate worship and not valid replacements. The instruments should play with a style and a volume as to not obscure or distract from the words being sung.

Some goals:

1. Keep it simple. Let's not try to lift our voices to heaven by largeness and loudness. While most of the hymns we sing are the word of man, they are words that point us to God. Let's not allow "flashy and trashy" music to muddy the spritual truth in the words we sing.

2. Keep it sober. Hymns are musical prayers: we sing them to and for God. Hymns are also like musical sermons: they teach truth about God. While we should be full of joy when we sing together, there is no place for raucousness.

3. Keep it sincere. We are to sing in our hearts. The success of our musical worhsip depends on heart worship. Nothing is worse than cold and heartless singing.

4. Keep it spiritual. True worship can only come from Spirit-filled Christians. Rather than focussing on musical talent, we should spend more time being washed by the water of the word and obeying the Holy Spirit.