More Than a Song - Discovering the Truth of Scripture Hidden in Today's Popular Christian Music

It's important to stop and remember the Lord. I don't do that nearly enough. I'm always on to the next thing. The people of God needed to do this as well. Instructions in this matter were even left for us to benefit from as well. Join me in Deuteronomy as we take a moment to pause to remember what the Lord has taught us.

"Nobody loves me like you" is a simple phrase, but hold profound truth when we consider the love God has for us. We can never plumb the depths of God's love, but it's worth considering the details we can uncover in Scripture. Inspired by Chris Tomlin's song, "Nobody Loves Me Like You," we explore the example of love God has set for us. Let's head over to 1 John to learn more.

Jesus turned the world upside down with his wisdom and teaching. He also rubbed a lot of people the wrong way -- especially religious people -- because He did things differently. "New Wine" by Hillsong Worship inspired me to explore a time when Jesus used new wine in a metaphor. Let's explore the gospels together to learn more.

We can learn so much through the study of the names of God. Hillsong Worship's song, "What a Beautiful Name," puts the name of Jesus front and center in a moving song of worship. How much more powerful will this song be when you invest some time in discovering and contemplating a few names revealed in God's Word? Let's go to the beginning with Jesus, shall we?

Trust is a key foundation to our relationship with God the Father, Son AND Holy Spirit. When we allow our circumstances to define the character of God rather than His Word, we can easily be led to fear and doubt instead of trust. "Trust in You" by Lauren Daigle is a profound proclamation in song of our trust in God despite our circumstances. We will once again use the gift of a song to lead us to an even deeper impact on our souls, and that is hiding the truth of Scripture deep inside.

In difficult seasons of life we often seek to know "why," or even blame someone or something as if it makes it all better. This week's song "Thy Will" by Hillary Scott is a moving ballad of surrender to the will of a God we can trust. I use this song to introduce us to Hagar, who had to do a little submitting to God's will herself. I find it so interesting that Hagar gets to name God in this section of God's Word.

We can hide behind convenient truth when things are swell, but when our feet are to the fire the deep truth tends to come out. Will we be willing to log years of faithfulness such that our circumstances no longer define God's ability or position in our minds? "Even If" by MercyMe leads us to a powerful "even if" moment in Scripture. What can we learn from three friends in a foreign land?

Your emotions and feelings are real, but they are not reliable. This week we will use "Maybe It's Ok" by We Are Messengers to explore the truth about God so that we can truly say, "It's okay that I'm not okay." We can trust God to hold it all together even when we feel like it's all falling apart. Let's discover this together in Scripture.

Sometimes our lives can be broken. Other times we can be completely decimated -- rendering us into a pile of dust. How fortunate for us that we serve a Creator Who knows just what to do with dust. Mack Brock sings of God's ability to create out of dust in his song "Into Dust." Let's be encouraged together as we explore what God can do with a little dust in Scripture.

I dropped a glass casserole lid on my tile kitchen floor the other day. It shattered into a host of small pieces. I'm still finding pieces of glass here and there. There's a difference between being broken and shattered. Shattered seem so irreparable. In Blanca's song "Shattered" she reminds us that the task of putting the shattered pieces back together is not too big for God. Scripture offers many examples of shattered lives that God touches. We'll look at one example together this week.

We live in a very self-centered society these days. I read a study recently that stated that 1 in 5 millennials would quit their job to become famous. This is not the way of Jesus, however. Casting Crowns song "Only Jesus" reminds us that "Jesus is the only name to remember." Join me in Psalm 115 as we join the Psalmist in comparing and contrasting God and idols (anything that sets itself up as a god in our lives).

The red letters in our Bibles highlight the words of Christ. In Crowder's new song "Red Letters" he sings of the power of those words to change our hearts as the Holy Spirit breathes life into our spiritually dead bodies. There are some pretty big ideas woven into this song. Let's explore the Scriptural basis together.

Have you ever been asked to, "Walk a mile in someone else's shoes?" That's exactly the journey I took this week as I used Hannah Kerr's "Christmas Eve in Bethlehem" to lead me to the Christmas story once again. This time through the Christmas story we'll seek to place ourselves inside the story and see how the story would/should go in our lives today.

"Jesus is Alive" is not normally a Christmas greeting, but I guess it could be! Josh Wilson's song "Jesus is Alive" reminds us all that Christ first came to life in human form as a baby in Bethlehem so long ago. That breath changed everything! When Jesus came back to life after Calvary, that breath changed everything again! So whether we are thinking of Christmas or the Resurrection, let's declare that Jesus is alive!

Lights are a major part of modern-day Christmas decorating traditions. It’s what completes the tree, or lights up small-town streets. The lights of Christmas and Matt Redman’s Christmas song “These Christmas Lights” is our inspiration to explore Scripture all about the Light of the World. Use the lights of Christmas to remind you that Jesus is the true light.