Have you ever been to a wedding where the bridal party is so large that, once down the aisle, they spread all across the front of the church? The processional is beautiful with all the bridesmaids and groomsmen, ring-bearer and flower girls!
The other day I was in my kitchen, chopping up veggies and cooking, and I was listening to the Bible being read on my phone. I have a Bible app on my phone and I often open it up, put it on audio and listen to the reader reading the Bible as I work.
On this particular day the reader was in Psalms and all of a sudden a verse he read put a beautiful picture in my mind and the Lord spoke to my heart. The passage is in Psalm 68 and describes a beautiful processional going into the sanctuary to meet with God. At the front of the line are the singers, then the musicians, leading the people into the sanctuary, into God’s Presence, to worship.
Now this wasn’t a bridal processional being described but a beautiful processional of worshippers – singers in front, leading the people into God’s Presence. The picture in my mind was similar to a bridal processional.
The Lord spoke to my heart and reminded of the importance of what we do as musicians in the Lord’s service. Just as the bridal party leads the way for the bride to come into the sanctuary and stand by her groom, we are leading the way, leading the congregation into the Presence of the Lord.
As worship leaders, what would happen if we got distracted or off course? Where would we lead the people? How dangerous to take our responsibility lightly!
When you think of an army going into the battle those up front are on the first line of defense. In a sense, we are on the first line of defense. We are cutting through the “junk” and clearing the way, leading the way to worship.
Take a moment and picture a beautiful processional, like a bridal processional, making their way into the sanctuary to worship. Now picture yourself as one of the singers, the musicians, at the front of the processional. You are singing, leading the people into God’s Presence. That is exactly what we do each Sunday during our worship services. Singers and musicians stand up front and lead the congregation in songs of worship. And as we lead in worship, we are leading into the Presence of the Lord. What an awesome responsibility! May we always be faithful to lead well!