We are just a couple of weeks out from Christmas, and the shops as usual, are often way ahead of the church when it comes to playing the well known Christmas music.
One of the challenges we have as leaders of worship and music directors, is how we can make this Christmas something special and different to all the other Christmases that have gone before. It can be a nightmare for some pastors who preach, to try to figure out a way of telling an old but wonderful story in an engaging and transformational way.
So when it comes to the Christmas Carols, how do you keep them fresh and make them work in today’s culture and climate.
I believe the first attitude we need to have is one of worship. While you hope to have visitors at church on Christmas, and you want to craft your service in a way that impacts and influences them so that the gospel is clear, you also don’t want to do that at the expense of having a worshipful time. After all, Christmas carols are songs of praise and worship, so I would encourage you to lead in such a way that draws attention to the wonderful truths that the carols embody. How might you help people worship through Christmas?
- Be purposeful with your carol introductions. We should always be purposeful in anything we do, but be aware of what the carol is saying and draw people’s attention to it – not by quoting a line, but perhaps by a commentary on the song. For example: In “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” you might draw attention to the line “God and sinners reconciled”… and you might pray a prayer of thanksgiving for what Jesus has done in bringing us back into relationship with our Heavenly Father”.
- In the middle of a song you can encourage people to worship as you sing “O Come Let Us Adore Him” and repeat that chorus again. At times we have changed that line to “For you alone are worthy (Repeated)… then “We’ll praise your name forever” etc… It takes the familiar melody line and adds words that help us focus on Christ.
- You may wish to pray at the end of a carol (they won’t be doing that in shopping centres!) – thanking God for what He has done, again, referencing some key line of the song.
- Simply worship! Your example in leading will encourage others to worship as they sing. As leaders of worship, you are “permission givers” to those being lead.
… Also… there are now a number of Christmas Carols that have a newly written bridge that helps highlight the fact that we are worshiping and not simply singing. A well know one is Chris Tomlin’s “Joy to the World” which has now become a standard for our church.
I believe that the best way to worship Christ at Christmas is to… well… worship Him. Make your Christmas Celebrations a real time of worship and maybe people will begin to get what Christmas is about.
If you are interested in some fresh ideas for Christmas worship, you can check them out on this blog I discovered.
More next week. Leave a comment or ask a question below – love to connect.
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