The Significance of the Choir in the Local Church

Modified from original by Alexander Kiko [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Psalm 150

Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament! Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp!  Praise Him with the tumbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!

Only humans have the ability to express ourselves by the use of the tongue. Even Angels cannot sing. There is no record in the Scripture of Angels singing. We sing out of two emotions – joy and sorrow. Angels have none of these.

 This unique ability should be used for the glory of God. We speak to exalt ourselves (Colossians 3:16; Ephesians 5:18-20).  Singing is a higher use of the ability to speak. All humans can speak but not all can sing.

The Bible directs us to sing in Ephesians  5:18-20: 

“And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,” 

and in Colossians 3:16: 

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

God has given to us various gifts and abilities for:

• Building up of the Church
• Ministering to members of the Body
• Witnessing for the Lord- “Go and make disciple” See also Ephesians 4:11ff
• Praising the Lord

The use of our voices and instruments in the worship and praise of God is as old as man himself and will be our duty primarily when we get to heaven.

The choir is made up of individuals who themselves if they are Christians, are members of the Church – the Body of Christ.

What then is the significance or role of the Choir in the Church?

• Testimonies abound of people who came to know the Lord through music alone.
• The hearts of many get lifted when they listen to good music.
• Sickness worsens with depression. Good music banishes depression. Many are healed in the Church by the singing of the Choir. See Proverbs 15:15: “All the days of the afflicted are evil, but he who is of a merry heart has a continual feast”. See also Proverbs 17:22: “A merry heart does good like a medicine: but a broken spirit dries the bones.”
• In all things give thanks! Look at Israel at crossing the Red Sea (Exodus 15:1-21) and David at the death of Saul and Jonathan (Second Samuel 1:19-27). In both instances they used singing to express their gratitude to God and their sorrow at the death of a dear one respectively. Singing is the only form of speech that suits all occasions.