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

There are signs and symbols everywhere that prick our memories or guide our behaviors -- especially at Christmas. This week, we will use "Noel" as sung by Lauren Daigle on Chris Tomlin's Christmas album to point us to the symbols of Christmas and Scriptural truth we can take with us all year long.

What do you think of when you think of Christmas? Family traditions? Decorations? Gift giving and receiving? When Hillsong Worship sings "When I Think Upon Christmas" they sing of the greatest gift of all time...Jesus, God with us, Savior of the world. Let's take a close look at the accounts of the birth of Christ together.

How could I miss that? The answer is usually because I'm not paying attention. Dennis Jernigan's song, "Thank You, Lord," might not be a new worship anthem, but it gives us a great structure to linger in some areas of Scripture we've covered in the past few weeks on the podcast. It will do our hearts good to go back over some ground we've covered to see if there might be something we missed that we can turn into thanksgiving to our God. Try a new technique to tarry in God's Word with new purpose.

Maybe it's too many Hallmark Movies, but I love it when the protagonist leans in and puts her head on the shoulder of the man she's fallen in love with. In that act there is a sense of love, safety, and trust. In the song by The Belonging Co, "Peace Be Still," Lauren Daigle sings about faith rising up and peace reigning. This very thing shows up in another song found in the book of Isaiah where we learn to "lean in" to our Father through trust. Join me as we explore the words of this Old Testament prophet.

Do you ever feel like you are drowning with seaweed wrapped around your head? It's a pretty descriptive picture of distress that I see in Scripture AND in Avril Lavigne's new song, "Head Above Water." When we're drowning in life let's cry out to God for rescue because "salvation belongs to the Lord!" Let's talk about Jonah, Jesus, and the folly of taking things into our own hands.

The world today has a way taking good and noble things and twisting them into something God never intended. As we spend time in Scripture inspired by Sanctus Real's song "Confidence," the stark contrast between God's way and the world's way rises to the surface. Join me as we jump into God's Word and combat bad ideas with truth.

The Psalmist readily acknowledges that all of creation praises God. Humans are mentioned in just two verses that call on God's heavenly and earthly creation to worship Him in Psalm 148. Hillsong United sings of this in their song "So Will I" when they lyrically recognize that our praise is not unique to humankind. Join me as we consider the ramifications of our worship.

What we believe matters. It will impact how we think and how we live. In the song titled "The Way" by Pat Barrett, he sings of a fundamental belief that Christians hold -- that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. As we explore the area of Scripture where this doxology originated we discover this belief is important in so many ways. Join me as we meditate on the words of Christ and find comfort in the process.

The waters of our soul are deep. The cry of the song "Oh My Soul" by Casting Crowns reminds us that we can bare our souls to the One who created us inside and out. If we spend some time tending to our souls, we can experience the faithfulness of God in the deepest places of our being. The Psalms include many soul-baring moments, and Psalm 42 contains an example of this. It won't be hard to relate to the psalmist this week!

The Rolling Stones really captured the essence of culture when they sang, "I can't get no satisfaction." Our world is in a constant state of discontent. When you weigh the philosophy of this week's song by The Sing Team, "Satisfied In You (Psalm 42)," you discover that our satisfaction doesn't lie in our effort as sung by our friend Mick, but rather in God. There are unlikely discoveries in a Psalm you may know in part. Join me this week as we pore over Psalm 42.

No matter what, once you truly belong to Jesus, you are HIS, and if you are HIS you will remain HIS. This does not mean a perfect life, but one that is marked with evidence and imperfect progress walking in newness of life and not returning to a life of death. Ryan Stevenson sings of this question in his song "No Matter What" and it leads us to examine a letter from Paul and Timothy to the Colossians. Let Scripture answer your many questions about whether or not you can lose your salvation.

There's no free pass from suffering for Christians. I wish there were. I have dear friends who are wrestling with God during sickness, conflict, strife, and injustice. Habakkuk wrestled, too. In fact, his name means embrace like a wrestler. May we embrace God's character through faith while wrestling through our circumstances. Perhaps Micah Tyler's song "Even Then" can be a part of the soundtrack.

Stale. Fake. Dead. Dying. Faded. Worthless. Delusional. There are all kinds of hope in this world, but believers in Christ are born again into a living hope. Phil Wickham's song "Living Hope" leads us straight to Scripture where we discover that a Living God gives us a Living Hope through a Living Savior. The original recipients of 1 Peter needed assurance of their living hope as they were suffering greatly. Let's explore it together.

You are not invisible. You are known. Tauren Well's song "Known" sings about it and so does David in Psalm 139. When you let the truths of this Psalm sink into your being it will change you. Join me this week as we break it all down.

My eyes are different now that I'm older. When something is too close to my face it gets all blurry and I can't see it clearly. That's how suffering is. When we're too close to it we sometimes can't see clearly how God might be able to use it to develop our character or impact His Kingdom. Riley Clemmon's song "Better For It" reminds us that our good is on the other side of it all. Joseph had some growing up to do and his suffering not only made him "better for it," but changed the course of history.