The Church's hymnody is one of our greatest teachers, second only to Holy Scripture. The Church does not sing for entertainment, but sings to be taught. From the foundation of the world, the holy Christian Church has been a singing Church! In the Psalms we find the Church's first hymnal. The Lutheran Church has especially been marked as the "singing Church." This is because Martin Luther found music such a a terrific gift of God that he proclaimed it must be given back to the people. Even though Christendom sang from its beginning, eventually abuses in the church took the song away from the people and made it the exclusive property of the clergy. Luther restored this treasure to the people, writing numerous hymns and encouraging others to do the same. Through these hymns, both young and old are taught the glorious truths of Scripture: that we are dead in sin, but saved through Jesus Christ. For this reason, Lutheran song can be described quite succinctly as "singing the faith."
Good Lutheran hymnody embraces all that faithfully speaks to the truths of Scripture. Lutheran hymnody draws on the vast treasury of Christian hymns, from the Psalms all the way to faithful 21st century poets and composers. In many Lutheran churches it is not uncommon, in a single Sunday, for the hymns to be written over 1,500 years apart! One could sing a hymn written by Ambrose of Milan in the fourth century, Paul Speratus in the 16th century, Paul Gerhardt in the 17th century, and Martin Franzmann in the 20th century, all in one service! Thanks be to God for faithful men and women who have captured the faith in song, enabling us to sing—and thereby learn—the faith!
To emphasize the teaching role of hymnody, Pastor Beffrey writes a weekly insert on one of the hymns in that day's service. These inserts, entitled "The Singing Church," discuss the lives of the author of the text and composer of the tune, emphasize various Scriptural themes present in the hymn, and share any other information that may be edifying.
Good Lutheran hymnody embraces all that faithfully speaks to the truths of Scripture. Lutheran hymnody draws on the vast treasury of Christian hymns, from the Psalms all the way to faithful 21st century poets and composers. In many Lutheran churches it is not uncommon, in a single Sunday, for the hymns to be written over 1,500 years apart! One could sing a hymn written by Ambrose of Milan in the fourth century, Paul Speratus in the 16th century, Paul Gerhardt in the 17th century, and Martin Franzmann in the 20th century, all in one service! Thanks be to God for faithful men and women who have captured the faith in song, enabling us to sing—and thereby learn—the faith!
To emphasize the teaching role of hymnody, Pastor Beffrey writes a weekly insert on one of the hymns in that day's service. These inserts, entitled "The Singing Church," discuss the lives of the author of the text and composer of the tune, emphasize various Scriptural themes present in the hymn, and share any other information that may be edifying.
