I read these verses from Psalm 34 this past Sunday and they have been on my mind quite a bit over the last week.

David (who wrote this psalm) commits himself to praising the Lord AT ALL TIMES. He is overwhelmed by God (in a good way). He writes later in this psalm “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!” Have you tasted and seen God’s goodness in your life? If you have, then maybe you can understand why David is so excited about worshiping the Lord. And it’s not enough for him to worship the Lord by himself, so he calls the congregation to worship with him.

I love this, because singing ABOUT Jesus TO Jesus with other people who LOVE Jesus is one of my favorite things in the world. Because of this I want to highlight one of my desires for our church as we sing together on Sunday mornings.

I heard from a few people who were a little confused about whether they ought to sing or just listen at some points in the worship service. Maybe you’ve also thought, “well, this person on the stage is singing by themself so maybe they don’t want me to sing right now.” Well, to clear the air — I always want you to sing. ALWAYS. The Bible says we ought to, “Make a joyful noise to the Lord . . .Come into his presence with singing!” (Ps.100:1) And in Ephesians, Paul writes that we should be “singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.” So this worship that we do is with both our heart and our voice. And God loves to hear his people sing his praises.

So, all this to say — please sing with me, sing loudly, sing joyfully, and sing unto Jesus. At the same time, I know that some enjoy reflecting silently at times during the music and there is NOTHING wrong with that either. So whether you sing or listen, my encouragement to you is that you would come, and magnify the Lord with me and “exalt his name together!”

Below are the songs that we will be singing together this upcoming Sunday. My hope is that you will listen to these songs with me and be impacted by them this week.

This week, I’d like for us to consider a song we’ll be singing called, “Cornerstone.” Many of you are already very familiar with this wonderful song. In fact, this song is based upon another very familiar hymn “My hope is built on nothing less.” That hymn was written in 1834 by Edward Mote. How amazing is it that we are singing the same lines of this beautiful song as our fellow saints did almost 200 years ago.

Our hope is built upon nothing less and nothing more than Jesus. If you have believed in Christ then you have ETERNAL hope. You can have confidence that you are right with God, forgiven of your sin, transformed into a new creation, welcomed into God’s kingdom, and destined for glory! Now, that’s hope! And without this hope we would be doomed. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23-24)

Because of our sin, we deserve death and hell (Rom.3:26), but because of God’s grace we have redemption and hope in Christ. Therefore we should not trust in anything or anyone else. We can only trust in Jesus. “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

In Acts 4, Peter and John stood before the Jewish council to explain how and why they had healed a lame beggar. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, explained that it was by the power of Jesus that this beggar had been healed. He then says this incredible statement about Jesus. “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.” God told the Israelites that this “cornerstone” would be rejected by his own people. (Isaiah 28:16) But those who believe in this cornerstone “will not be put to shame.” (Romans 9:33). This song also reminds us of God’s strengthening of believers. We are weak, aren’t we? And yet, through Christ we are strong (Philippians 4:13; Colossians 1:29) Our cornerstone, the foundation of our faith is worthy of worship. He is worthy of our trust and devotion, and as the last verse reminds us–He is coming back!

As you reflect on the incredible hope we have in Christ as our cornerstone, I pray that your spirit will be lifted up and encouraged this week.

Can’t wait for Sunday!