Here at Seeds Family Worship, we are passionate about God’s Word. In our sixteen years of existence, we’ve created almost 200 Scripture memory songs to help kids and families SING GOD'S WORD. In fact, when people ask us to sum up what we do, our quick response is ‘we help families sing God’s Word.’ Why is this our consuming passion? Because kids who SING God’s Word, KNOW God’s Word. There’s something about singing that locks the message of a song deep in your heart unlike anything else. And when you regularly sing God’s Word, those songs and verses will likely stay with you the rest of your life.
There are a few other powerful things that happen when you hide God’s Word in your heart: God’s Word protects, renews, and guides.
Psalm 119:9-11 are some of our favorite verses here at Seeds. Verse 11 says, “I have store up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Storing up, or, hiding God’s Word in your heart is a powerful protection against sin. Singing God’s word hides God’s Word in your heart in a fun, effortless, and near-permanent way. The amazing part of this is that when you’ve hidden God’s Word in your heart, God’s Word will come to mind when you need it. Since it’s hidden in the heart, it can be retrieved by the mind and put to use when needed most. In another article, 11 Tips for Christian Parents from a Teen's Perspective, Brandon Houser shared how God used the Seeds Family Worship song of Philippians 4:6-7 to comfort him in difficult times. I know many Christians can speak of those moments when God’s Word came to mind right when it was needed most. Those who Sing God’s Word, know God’s Word.
Another verse we love to quote all the time here at Seeds is Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” There’s a lot that could be unpacked from this verse, but the two ideas we focus on are renewal and transformation. God’s Word hidden in the heart begins a work of renewal, through the Holy Spirit, that transforms the mind and makes it new. Sin has stained every one of us, has left our minds tainted and impure. We have all filled up our heads with false ideas about who God is and who we are. We have believed lies about the world, about success, about true happiness, we have all denied the truth in an effort to self-justify (Depressed yet?)
But like bleach on a stain, God’s Word works to transform and renew our minds. He makes all things new through His Word, and when we sing His Word and hide it in our hearts, we come to know God’s Word, and the Holy Spirit uses that stored up truth to cleanse our minds and restore purity. The enemy hates purity and seeks to destroy it, but God’s Word is truth and points us to true life in Christ.
Proverbs 6:20-22 says, “My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching. Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.” God uses those commands we’ve hidden or bound on our heart to guide us, to protect us, and to watch over us. It’s through His Word that we know how to live out our lives day-to-day. Imagine the insanity of a conversation like this:
Traveler: “Well I’m about to set off on my trip. Wish me luck!”
You: “Oh, how exciting! Where are you headed?”
Traveler: “No idea.”
You: “Ok…. well… how long will you be gone?”
Traveler: “Not the slightest.”
You: “Right. How will you get there… wherever there is?”
Traveler: “Still no idea.”
You: “Sounds… interesting at least. When will you return?”
Traveler: “Say what? Hadn’t thought about it.”
You: “Well…. Have fun.”
How will our merry/oblivious traveler make any decisions without knowing where he is headed? Sure, setting out on a journey with no details can be a fun adventure, but it is no way to live your life long term. Without a road map, a guide, to direct you, you’ll ultimately end up wandering aimlessly without any ultimate purpose or anchor.
But God’s Word is the ultimate source of truth in this world. When everything is going insane, when people say that up is down and a boy is a girl and right is wrong, what will you grab on to for some measure of meaning and direction? God’s Word is truth, and those that sing God’s Word know God’s Word, and His Word will guide you into all truth.
As passionate as we are at helping people sing God’s Word so that they can know God’s Word, there’s another step beyond this that is our greatest prayer. The reason that we want to help people sing God’s Word and know God’s Word is not to just fill up their heads with facts and knowledge. The ultimate goal is found in Mark 12:30-31, which says, “‘And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.’” The two greatest commandments, the ones that sum up everything the Bible teaches, call us to love. When God’s Word is at work in our hearts, guiding, protecting, transforming, and renewing, we should become more loving. Our prayer at Seeds is that as your family sings God’s Word, your family will know God’s Word, and that will lead to a greater love for God and for others.
I think every parent reading this has that as their greatest burden for their children, that they would become more loving toward God and others. The knowledge of God’s Word without love is, as Paul says in I Corinthians 13, like a “noisy gong or clanging cymbal.” (v.1) If I accomplish things that seem important to other Christians, even ‘deliver up my body to be burned,’ yet don’t have love, ‘I gain nothing’ (v.3). Love is the goal. Not a gushy, empty, modern definition of love, but a sacrificial love that models Christ’s love for the church, a love that seeks to please Him in all things. That is our hunger and burden for your family. We’ve all experienced people in the church who have tons of knowledge but don’t have love, and there are few things that sadden us more than that. But we pray that your family, as they have fun singing God’s Word, would fall in love with knowing God’s Word, learning about His Word and that the Word, hidden in their hearts, would go to work transforming their hearts and minds, making each of us more loving toward God and others. What an amazing power God’s Word has!
This is the mission and motto that Seeds Family Worship is following, Sing, Know, Love. We are praying God uses us to help your family Sing God’s Word, Know God’s Word, and Love God and others.
