Tell Me the Old, Old Story

Each passage in the Bible has many different facets to be explored and understood. Sometimes, a pastor will preach for several weeks on the same verse. Other times, he’ll do a series based on one topic. While this is an effective way to teach and to learn, it can prove especially difficult for the music director to select appropriate music for one subject--for weeks at a time. Selecting music for only one week’s sermon requires careful thought and planning (see my earlier post), but what happens when there are only 3 hymns or songs on your topic, and three weeks of sermons?

One good technique might be to choose a “theme hymn” for the series, and sing it each week. This is also a great way to incorporate teaching the congregation a new hymn (more on that here). Theme hymns are especially good if few of the songs on a particular topic are well-known to your congregation. For example, if your pastor is preaching a series on the Holy Spirit, this is a great time to introduce your congregation to the hymn “For Your Gift of God the Spirit” (New Trinity Hymnal #339).

Become familiar with the selections in your hymnal or songbook. In general, the topical and scriptural indexes found in the back of most hymnals are extremely unhelpful. They often list just a few hymns, and may not have a suggested hymn for certain scripture passages. What if your pastor is preaching on 3rd John?? [If he is, I have some suggestions.] The better you know the songs available to you, the easier your job will be.

Be selective about where to place the topically-appropriate hymns in the service. You can spread out a smaller number of applicable hymns by placing those directly before or after the sermon. Not every song must address the week’s subject. Any hymn of praise is a good choice to open the service, and many psalms can be used for any occasion.

A little advance notice on the part of your pastor is helpful. If he warns you that there will be multiple sermons on a certain topic, it will be easier for you to plan ahead. He may also tell you the different angles he’ll be using to approach that topic (making some hymns more appropriate for one week than for another). If he doesn’t, just ask--he’ll be happy to oblige.