[Please join me in praying for the Church on Sundays this year.]

“Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:18-20 NIV)

What do you think of this song?

Verse 1:

From the mountains to the oceans,

His power reigns supreme

The creator of the universe,

God’s love is a dream

With grace and with mercy,

He guides us every day

Through trials and troubles,

He shows us the way

Chorus:

Great is the Lord, above all the earth

His love and mercy, have given us worth

With open hearts, let us sing and proclaim

Great is our God, forever the same.

Verse 2:

In the beauty of nature,

His wonders we see

The stars in the sky,

A reflection of His glory

In every breath we take,

His presence we feel

With every step we make,

His love is real (Chorus)

Bridge:

We lift our voices, in praise and in thanks

For all that He has done, and all He will do

Let us sing of His greatness, let it resound

Great is our God, forever we’ll be found. (Chorus)

A few weeks ago someone was showing me the amazing genius of the artificial intelligence “Chat.” Chat can answer questions and have conversations with people. It can also create things, unlike any A.I. before now. This person asked Chat to create a worship song and within a minute it spit out these lyrics. Pretty cool technology, huh?

However, this song gave me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I’m not opposed to technology per se, but I am opposed to technology replacing humanity’s responsibility to God. It is not ok for God’s people – those highest in his created order on earth – to allow machines and technologies to create our songs of praise or worship. Our songs must come out of our unique and communal relationships with God and each other. Our songs must be inspired by God’s Spirit as we seek to honor the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in our personal and corporate worship. God created us with the ability to create amazing machines and technology, but not with the intention of replacing our creativity or our responsibility to write songs for God. Songwriting is a Holy Spirit-inspired art – a gift from the Giver of All Good Gifts – and we are to use this gift in our worship. May God’s people – especially his songwriters – never be replaced by artificial sources and may they always write the songs God needs us to sing today.

Creative God,
We your Church sing to you a new song, praising your name and proclaiming your salvation and marvelous deeds day after day. Thank you that we were created in your image and can reflect your creativity in humanity and in our individual lives. Thank you for the amazing songs you’ve given us to sing – psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs – that have been sung for generations to give you praise and worship. Thank you for the many talented people who have listened to Holy Spirit’s leading and have created songs for your people to sing. Forgive us when we do not use the gifts and graces you have given to us. Help your Church to never cede our responsibility to reflect your Image and Creativity in our songwriting and our worship. Fill your Church with more of your Spirit so that we fully desire to honor you with our songs and our gifts. Pour out your Spirit on songwriters and other creative people so that when we worship you follow your leading, in Spirit and in Truth. We ask in Jesus’s name, AMEN.

“Sing to the Lord a new song;
    sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, praise his name;
    proclaim his salvation day after day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous deeds among all peoples.” (Psalm 96:1-3 NIV)

“The true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24 NIV)

“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” (Colossians 3:16 NIV)

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27 NIV)