Singing Together

I've been a choir director and a private voice teacher for at least 10 years.

And in both scenarios, I find my purpose is in connecting with the singer beyond

assumptions and defenses so that they can see Jesus in me through our singing together.

So it's a little bit of what I'm going to talk about today. What does it mean to worship together?

A teacher of singing is attempting to help singers find their voice.

In my voice lessons and choir class, it goes much deeper than what is heard.

I could talk for a very long time about how the journey of the singer aligns

with their spiritual happenings, but I promise I will not go too long today.

And I'd just like to start with some basics of singing.

So step one, breathe in.

Right? Everybody do that? We're going to take a breath in and then let it out.

That's step two. You're getting ahead of yourself here. Okay.

So step one, the diaphragm moves downward as the air comes rushing in. That's the basics of it.

The diaphragm is a shelf muscle tendon that extends across the bottom of the rib cage.

So as the diaphragm depresses, it creates a vacuum in the lungs and air rushes in. Cool, right?

Is that how you thought about your breath? Like it's being drawn in.

So that diaphragm is very important.

Step two is exhalation. The diaphragm relaxes and rises, not a usual combination,

but the diaphragm relaxes and rises and the lung volume decreases,

creating a positive pressure difference and the air rushes out.

In singing, you'll hear people say, sing from the diaphragm.

Singing starts with support. That's what it really is. You need to sing from your support.

And that works by contracting the abdominal muscles.

This just gives you the basics of breathing in and breathing out.

But that's what singing is. Breathing in and exhaling.

The sound we hear is modified by air pressure and tightness in the vocal tract,

which is your larynx, your pharynx, your oral and nasal cavity.

So all the holes in your head.

Resonators are the parts of the body that can vibrate in harmony with the voice.

Really cool. So you are basically like the body of a guitar.

Everything up here is like the body of a guitar.

And the buzz created by the vocal folds is what resonates. and it resonates

in the air column, up through your mouth and through your nose.

It causes those structures above and around the larynx to vibrate.

How you personally feel the resonation can vary. A lot of it is felt sympathetically,

like people will feel it in their chest, but this is just shaking along with the rest of your face.

Fun fact, the sound created by the vocal folds isn't a pure tone.

It's complex. It is made up of a number of harmonics of one fundamental frequency.

And so those other harmonics that we hear are vibrating three or four times

faster than that one fundamental tone.

And it's really complicated, but it's really cool.

When you think about sound and even the pureness of a child singing,

it is far more complicated than that if you really dig into the science of it.

But for a dork like me that gets really excited about this kind of stuff,

it's fascinating to realize that you cannot comprehend it all.

You cannot even comprehend all of the majesty of sound, especially sound coming from within.

All of this is to show you that you are a miracle.

The sound you make, there are no other beings on the earth that can do all that

we can do with our instrument.

So do you think you have enough knowledge to sing a little with me?

I taught you how to breathe. You're welcome.

And one quick way to open up is to just sigh.

There you go. You're open. Boom. Amazing. Another really great way is to have a surprised look.

The insides of your mouth and everything open up. Just pop open.

And then step three is to squeeze. you activate your support system and the

sound is controlled out so we're.

Going to try it how many of you know the song i love you lord i love you.

Music.

My soul, rejoice, take joy, my King.

Music.

In what you hear.

May it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ear.

I have sung that song so many times, typically in the stillness of my bedroom.

And it has not always been in a time of intense gratitude or peace.

It's almost always in those moments where I have no other words.

And I think that's a beautiful thing. When I think about the Christian walk,

I think that is what God wants out of us.

Let's not wait until moments of desperation, but just be still and to articulate

your love and your gratitude for all that God is going on.

What is the value of worship through song, through a song like that?

As worship leaders, we want to have our congregants sing with us.

So thank you for doing that on Sunday mornings.

Greatly appreciate it. And it's easy for some of us to sing,

but it is difficult for nearly everyone to fully engage in worship.

There are lots of reasons folks don't sing, or they don't sing from the heart.

They just kind of go through the motions. For many people, the trouble is in

their fear of being heard.

For others, they are too busy judging the person next to them because ultimately

they find themselves self-conscious.

The list can go on and on, and I'm not interested in coming up with a list,

but the issues all stem from this idea that we're doing it out of our own power.

We're doing it out of our own competence.

I am a good singer, so I will sing. That's irrelevant.

It doesn't matter if you think you're a good singer or if anybody else does.

Everything that God is calling you to do requires him.

Arrogant or insecure, wherever you land, you need to come to the end of yourself to sing.

You need to come to the end of yourself to do God's will, like worship.

But in all that you do, seek out these truths.

God's voice stills, comforts, and calms you, while Satan's voice rushes and worries you.

God's voice reassures and encourages you, while Satan's voice frightens and discourages you.

God's voice enlightens and convicts you, while Satan's confuses and condemns you.

God's voice is the beautiful notes that form these truths within us.

For me, anxiety is an issue on a regular basis, on a daily basis, on an hourly basis.

I have learned from the hard way that I need to choose gratitude in those moments.

So if you learn nothing else from me today, learn this.

In your brain, anxiety cannot exist, it cannot operate while you are being thankful.

They are are in different parts of your brain. So by actively trying to list

those things that you are thankful for, it shuts down anxiety because they cannot

operate at the same time.

I don't think that's a coincidence, people. I think that's the grand design.

The problem is when I am anxious and trying to be intentionally grateful, I get angry.

It's like there's a block in there and it pushes me towards anger.

This is where music comes in. I turn to a song that speaks the truths and that

melody casts a calm over me,

allowing me to choose to focus on gratitude and encounter that peace that only comes through Christ.

Can you remember a moment of fear, pain, shame, or pride, anxiety, anything of the like?

Like, how do you move past those moments? How did you move past those moments?

Our next point is a hard concept.

Realizing that those things that weigh us down are of little value and will pass away.

All things pass away. All things. But God. Only God remains.

I'd like to take you to a couple spots in the Bible that have sparked conversation

on the value of worship throughout time.

This first one is Isaiah 6, verse 3.

Isaiah 6:3

And Isaiah is describing what he sees.

And they were calling to one another, holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty.

The whole earth is full of his glory.

In this moment, Isaiah is describing one of complete wonder, terror, and awe.

The Lord has caused Isaiah to see himself, God.

Seated on a throne, and behind or above the Lord stands an unnamed number of

angelic beings called seraphim, perhaps resembling something like fiery serpents or dragons.

Isaiah describes these six X-winged beings as calling out to each other in voices

that shake the building.

They are declaring the holiness of their Lord.

The word holy means set apart, and it implies something unique and pure.

And in God's case, he is the absolute standard of perfected holiness.

He is completely unto himself, self, dependent on nothing else for a purpose or for character.

His nature and existence defines the entire concept of holy.

The seraphim insists that his glory cannot be contained inside the temple. It is everywhere.

It is everywhere he is and he is everywhere.

He is the commander of all things, holding authority over all.

The glory of God is inescapable.

In Revelation, so Isaiah is in the Old Testament. In Revelations 4,

8, this is John talking about the future.

It says, each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with

eyes all around, even under its wings.

Day and night, they never stopped saying, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty

who was and is and is to come.

So I know I'm picking on these poor creatures for being weird, but here's my point.

We don't even understand why they would be described that way.

But I think the point is that it's virtually impossible to explain what is being seen here.

It's beyond us. It's beyond our understanding.

And yet these creatures are doing exactly what you and I are meant to be doing,

saying or singing. singing, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come.

John describes each of the four living creatures here as having six wings.

His description is reminiscent of Isaiah's description of the seraphim he saw above God's throne.

The living creature's song of praise also extols God as eternal.

They refer to him as who was and is and is to come.

We too ought to to praise God for his absolute holiness, awesomeness, and eternal existence.

So that's what we're gonna do.

Music.

This is from Whit George of Church on the Move, and he describes worship like a coat.

Worship works like a coat. When the weather is bad, the coat doesn't change

the weather. It changes you in the weather.

Worship is the way you clothe yourself for a discouraging world.

Worship is the way that you change your focus as you push aside the things that

are worrying you and discouraging, and you lift up who Jesus is.

You put him back on the throne of your life and you say, you are king.

I am following you and I believe that you are sovereignly in control of all of this.

I don't know how it's gonna work out, but as you elevate Jesus,

as you worship him, it is like putting on a jacket.

As the very same conditions and circumstances in your life that were crushing

you yesterday becomes something you can thrive in today.

Worship will get you through the roughest times in your life.

Maybe it shifts your focus from the problem to the problem solver. Isn't that beautiful?

Now, we just sang a beautiful song together, holy, holy, holy,

one that has been sung long ago and will be sung into eternity.

But what's cool about right now, in this moment, as we were singing together,

our heartbeats synchronized.

Proven. Proven by scientists that are Christians and that are not.

It's just a fact. The heartbeats synchronize within like eight counts.

It's really fascinating.

And so let's talk about what else happens to you while you're singing.

Well, first of all, in your brain, the speech utilizes the left side of the

the brain responsible for structuring sentences, while singing uses the right

hemisphere responsible for creative juices that connect rhythm and melody.

Music in particular is hardwired into our brain and has benefits of improved

cognition, particularly during later stages of life.

Singing has been found to improve concentration and memory retention,

particularly in people suffering from cognitive impairment and dementia.

So what's the connection? Are there more connections between singing and mental

and even physical well-being?

Yes, there are. You may have heard that singing helps to reduce stress levels,

alleviate anxiety, and promote optimal mental health.

Singing is proven to release endorphins and oxytocin, which they are known for

stimulating feelings of trust and bonding while eliminating anxiety and depression.

Hello, people. That's like the actual problem with our world today.

I mean, at least in my understanding of the world as I deal with teenagers on

a regular basis, that is where they are.

They are just stuck in the muck of worry and sadness over what they see and how they have to go on.

So why not have music in their lives? When I am anxious, as I told you,

I have to hit the grateful button so that my body releases those hormones,

oxytocin and endorphins, the good stuff.

When I do that, I can let any kind of frustration calm, and then I can focus

on the things I'm grateful for.

And then all of a sudden, those things I was anxious about have less power.

And so here you see it proven by science even.

Singers have been observed to have lower levels of cortisol,

indicating reduced stress levels.

This was true even for vocalists who may be facing more difficulties and are

undergoing stressful situations compared to those who don't sing and they're

going through the same scenario. So this has been proven by science.

Remember when we talked at length about breathing at the beginning?

I taught you how to breathe. You're welcome.

When singing, it helps to deliver more blood oxygen to your brain,

improving mental clarity, concentration, and alertness, including posture,

which do not judge mine. I know I teach it every day.

Our vocals are extremely personal to us. While many people shy away from expressing

themselves through singing, it can actually give us a thrilling sensation of

letting go and allowing our authentic vocals to shine through.

Okay, now here's the thing I was saying earlier. When we sing together,

it builds a sense of community and it has been proven to synchronize heartbeats.

Getting out there, meeting like-minded people, and immersing yourself into the

joy of singing. It alleviates feelings of loneliness and depression.

Working together to sing builds trust and confidence.

What is truly fantastic about the research here is that you don't have to be

a professional singer to get these benefits.

I'm convinced that we are all meant to sing. So this is a song,

Something Beautiful, sung by the Gaither Vocal Band.

And the chorus goes, something beautiful, something good.

All my confusion, he understood.

All I had to offer him was brokenness and strife.

And he made something beautiful of my life. So we're going to sing this together.

Music.

Verse, there's a verse that goes on. If there ever were dreams that were lofty

and noble, they were my dreams at the start.

Music.

And the hopes for life's best were the hopes that I harbored down deep in my heart.

But my dreams were turned to ashes, my castles all crumbled,

my fortune turned to loss.

So I wrapped it all in the rags of my life, and I laid it at the cross.

Music.

This was kind of like my life, a little bit. I feel like my life reflects every

lyric of this song. long.

I, you know, I had struggles and once I wasn't perfect anymore, I sort of gave up.

I wanted to fix myself before going back to God.

And I look at others now and I see them going through similar struggles and,

you know, they, they put on a front and I think, just, just let it go, man.

You're never going to get it right on your own. And I, I know very,

very well that it is not that easy because you have to get past yourself.

Past yourself. That's a toughie. But here's the good news, people.

Your competence, your perfection is irrelevant. It's not even useful.

Your competence doesn't make you useful. Your dependence does.

That's not what the world teaches at all.

It's not about earning your way. it's about your heart.

It's about laying it down. Even if God's given you this great gift of singing, it's not even my gift.

We are created to worship and glorify God. God made us unique and special.

When people look at us, we reflect the glory of God.

As you grow closer to Jesus, you reflect more of God's image.

And that's basically Colossians 3. Our own competence, our own understanding

of what we're good at doesn't really matter. Your competence doesn't make you useful.

Your dependence does. Through your dependence is when God blesses the competence.

Now, consider those that may not be arrogant in their competence,

but they are so self-aware that they are insecure, and it stops them dead in

their tracks from using that potential. That's another form of pride.

You're looking to yourself to say you're not enough or you're amazing, whichever of those two.

Still thinking that God needs you to be something or to do something.

God only needs you to trust him to do something or be something.

Everything that God is calling you to do requires him.

Arrogant or insecure, you need to come to the end of yourself to do God's will.

I love these thoughts from Alistair Begg. He's one of my favorites.

The devil comes to say your brokenness is a disqualifier. Don't believe the lie.

All the winding path that God has brought you along is in order that you might

be the useful person that you are today.

So that as you meet strugglers on the sea of life,

you don't have some crazy story of triumph, but you have a story that says,

he gave me beauty for ashes and the oil of joy for mourning and the garment

of praise for a spirit of heaviness because he is the God of all grace.

We don't come to Jesus with our strengths and successes, but we come to Jesus

with our weaknesses and failures.

We come to him with our brokenness and by his grace we are redeemed.

We are made clean, we are made useful, peaceful and we become a platform for

God's power to be displayed to the world.

Our story is not really about us.

It's his story. You get it? History.

So much of the pain in your life is giving into your impulses.

In Micah, the Bible says that's how humanity spirals into degradation and death,

giving into our humanity.

We need the Holy Spirit to make the right choices.

And this This is what I tell my kids sometimes when we're driving along.

Me yelling at the squirrels in the street to move so they don't die is probably

the same feeling God has watching me live my life most days.

Another sin we come across a lot is this. We're so busy trying to be amazing

that we're not amazing God in any way.

We're so busy curating a public profile that has no power.

We are spending no time cultivating a private life with Jesus that would build

an interior wall so that we could have power that comes from the Holy Spirit from within us.

If we stop trying to amaze each other and we start amazing God,

God could do amazing things in and through our lives.

So here is the great news of the gospel. You don't have to be awesome because he is awesome.

I came across these words from Megan Fate Marshman. She talks about what good really is.

Our generation is all about ease and comfort. Amen.

Which is why people are so frustrated. And they're frustrated with verses like Romans 8, 28.

For we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him,

who have been called according to his purpose.

What good means is not necessarily comfortable.

We define it as comfortable, easy, successful, rich.

But here is how God defines it. Romans 8, 29.

For those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of the Son.

God's definition of good is to make you more like Jesus.

If Jesus lives within you, he's predestined you to become more like him.

The way you're going to grow spiritually, not by your own effort,

is through the rough things you're going through.

We ask how he can use these rough things for good.

God grieves that this world is not as it should be, that we aren't as we should be.

And he wants to, in all things, work you towards the likeness of Christ.

Christ not just for your good but for the good of the world.

The bottom line of Romans 8 28 and 29 is that we can stand secure.

We can know as those now in Christ that God's purpose for us has always been

that we should become like Christ.

God had scheduled our eternity into his into his family long before we were ever born.

If God knew about us before we were born and arranged for our salvation,

he certainly knows about our trials and sufferings now and what lies ahead.

That should provide us with great comfort.

God's inheritance, our eternal dwelling place with him, will far exceed the

trials and limitations of this life.

Music.

I wanted that song to be stuck in your head as you leave here today because

it really summarizes what I'm trying to say.

And I tried to say it with my life.

Here, if you weren't taking notes, here are the major points,

in case you fell asleep at any point. How to sing better?

Breathe, open up, and let it go.

What is the value of worship, especially through song? wrong.

We are created to worship and glorify God. God made us unique and special.

When people look at us, we reflect the glory of God. And as you grow closer

to Jesus, you reflect more of God's image.

In Revelations 4.8, day and night, they never stop saying, holy,

holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.

What happens when we sing together? Even better. Group singing can build a sense

of community, and it has been proven to synchronize heartbeats.

Be careful not to think that you have to do it. Please, do everyone a favor

and get yourself out of the way.

You don't have to be awesome because God is awesome. And God's definition of

good is to make you more like Jesus, not necessarily comfortable.

Everything that God is calling you to do requires Him, and He has called us

to worship through song. wrong.

So, arrogant or insecure, you need to come to the end of yourself to do God's will.

We don't come to Jesus with our strengths and successes.

We come to Jesus with our weaknesses and failures.

And finally, in all things you do, say and sing, glorify God.