Mark Dever had some choice quotes about the importance of coming to church for corporate worship gatherings. Here’s two from his book The Deliberate Church:
Church leaders who have been committed to seeing the church reformed according to God’s Word down through the ages have had a common method: read the Word, preach the Word, pray the Word, sing the Word, see the Word (in the ordinances). Often referred to by theologians as the elements of corporate worship, these five basics are essential to the corporate life, health, and holiness of any local church (p. 81).
Wait! There’s more!
Jesus uses His Word to build or edify the church. So it makes sense that we only sing songs that use His Word both accurately and generously. The more accurately applied scriptural theology, phrases, and allusion, the better – because the Word builds the church, and music helps us remember that Word, which we seem so quickly to forget
You as the pastor must be theologically discerning in what you encourage and lead your congregation to sing. It also means you must show courage in not allowing yourself to be guided by the musical preferences of the culture or the congregation, or even the passion of a music director, but rather by the theological content of the songs and their edification potential (p. 84).
This is not always easy, but it must be done! What say you?