A question that friends at church often ask is, “Is there any method by which you select songs for Sunday mornings?” YES, there is…but it has taken years of leading worship to finally have a method to my madness.

I think there are some “unbalanced” ways of selecting songs for corporate worship. When I say “unbalanced”, I mean that there is an over-emphasis on certain themes/ideas, and an under-emphasis on others. Here are a few examples of unbalanced ways to choose songs.

Selecting songs based on what’s popular.

• This is where you find out what’s the latest and greatest in Christian music, and then play that.
• EX: “Hey, the new Hillsong album is out! Let’s put their songs into our Sunday rotation now!”

Selecting songs based on how a certain church leads worship

• This is when you simply try to re-create another church’s corporate worship experience.
• EX: “Let’s see…at the ___ church retreat, they started with two fast songs, then went to a slow song, then ended with one fast song.”

Selecting songs based on how I’m feeling

• This is when your personal walk with the Lord determines every song that is sung, without considering what songs would be appropriate for a particular Sunday, or what would be appropriate for the congregation.
• EX: “Man, I didn’t have a good week. I think we need to sing ‘Give Us Clean Hands’ and ‘Refiner’s Fire’.

Of course I’m being somewhat facetious in these characterizations, but there is an element of truth/reality in each one.

Over the years I’ve learned a more balanced way of selecting songs. I believe we need to select songs that emphasize GOSPEL themes. One way this can be accomplished is by:

First selecting songs that focus on GOD.

• After any given week, we have such a distorted view of God. He becomes small as our problems become big. We need to be reminded of the greatness of God.

Second, selecting songs that remind us of our fallen nature.

• Day by day, we fail God in many ways. We absolutely cannot fix ourselves. There is nothing we can do to fully make up for how we’ve hurt/offended God and hurt/offended others.

Third, selecting songs that point out Jesus’ work on the Cross.

• There is hope for us despite our sin…Jesus paid the price for our sins on the Cross! We need to be reminded of that GOOD NEWS!

Finally, select songs that RESPOND to God’s love and mercy.

• Worship must be a RESPONSE. We can’t just GENERATE worship…we need to be reminded of God’s great love and mercy…and then respond.

All this being said, allow me to clarify something: song selection is not a science or a simple template to follow. Allow your discernment and the Spirit’s guidance to give you insight into a particular worship service. This is just a tool to help you emphasize gospel themes in your worship times.

Moment by moment we must be reminded of God’s great love. A love that pursues us. A love that is never-ending. A love that gives life to those who were spiritually dead. THIS love compels us to worship.

Bobby Oommen
Worship Leader