the Early Christians Did It
During the first three centuries of Christian history, the early Christians fellowshipped and worshiped in small groups in their homes. Their groups had a specific structure and followed specific habits. Among those habits was a cappella singing that was guided by the Holy Spirit. In other words, the early Christians sang informally from memory, without sheet music or musical instruments, and they sang three types of songs: The hymns of their day
We know that Early Christian singing was guided by the Holy Spirit because Paul’s letter to the Christians at Ephesus, Turkey, says Christians should be “filled with the Holy Spirit” as they sing.[4. Ephesians 5:19-19.] Why was that necessary? It was necessary because, as Paul says in his letter to the Christians at Philippi, Greece, “We worship in the Spirit.”[5. Philippians 3:3.]
We also know that early Christian singing was so simple that children and new Christians could sing along. Paul mentions one of these simple hymns in his letter to Ephesus.[6. Ephesians 5:14.] Nobody knows the hymn’s melody today, but its lyrics are about a non-Christian who’s about to become a Christian. The non-Christian is about to have his or her inner spirit awakened to Spiritual life by being indwelled by the Holy Spirit – so the song is sung to the inner spirit of the non-Christian, urging it to “wake up” from its Spiritual “death,” and become a Spiritual motivator for the new Christian. With this background, here are those ancient lyrics:
“Wake up, oh sleeper!
Rise from the dead,
And Christ will give you Light.”
Today, small groups can still follow the same structure and habits that the First Century Christians followed by singing simple hymns, psalms, and Spiritual lyrics as the Holy Spirit guides them – without instruments, sheet music, or song books. One of the quickest ways to learn this is by singing Old Testament psalms from the King James Version of the Bible (the “KJV”). Groups do this because the words of the KJV are so poetic, and because for so many years the KJV was the only Bible version available. (In fact, 55 percent of today’s Christians still read the KJV as their main Bible.)
Listed below: Are twenty-five KJV Scriptures that small groups enjoy singing. Each has links to its melody and lyrics. The melodies are played on a guitar to help the learning process. But guitars, pianos, violins, drums, and other musical instruments aren’t necessary in small groups, and can actually be a distraction that suppresses the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
Special note: These recordings were made non-professionally in an actual Christian small group. Please overlook the quality of the singing, and focus on learning the melodies and the lyrics. These tunes are infectious and help Christians of all ages and backgrounds learn to sing in the Spirit.[7. It’s not necessary to learn all the words of all the songs at once. Groups can learn one or two lines at a time, one or two songs at a time, until over a period of weeks they can learn the whole list. After that, the Holy Spirit can start guiding the group from song to song as He desires.]
Groups can also add any other simple Christian tune they know, such as: “Jesus Loves Me,” “I’ll Fly Away,” “Amazing Grace,” “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus,” and dozens more. Here are the 25 KJV Scripture songs.
a) To hear the melody, click the White Triangle at the left of the Media Bar.
b) To read the lyrics while listening, click the “Lyrics Link” at the right of the Media Bar.
| 1. Melody To: “Thou Art Worthy” | Lyrics Link: [sg_popup id=”7″]”Thou Art Worthy“[/sg_popup] |
| 2. Melody To: “Goodness And Mercy” | Lyrics Link: [sg_popup id=”8″]”Goodness And Mercy“[/sg_popup] |
| 3. Melody To: “Be Still And Know” | Lyrics Link: [sg_popup id=”9″]”Be Still And Know“[/sg_popup] |
| 4. Melody To: “Thy Loving Kindness” | Lyrics Link: [sg_popup id=”10″]”Thy Loving Kindness“[/sg_popup] | 5. Melody To: “I See The Lord” | Lyrics Link: [sg_popup id=”11″]”I See The Lord“[/sg_popup] | 6. Melody To: “This Is My Commandment” | Lyrics Link: [sg_popup id=”12″]”This Is My Commandment“[/sg_popup] | 7. Melody To: “Silver And Gold” | Lyrics Link: [sg_popup id=”6″]”Silver And Gold“[/sg_popup] | 8. Melody To: “Great Is The Lord” | Lyrics Link: [sg_popup id=”13″]”Great Is The Lord“[/sg_popup] | 9. Melody To: “Rejoice In The Lord” | Lyrics Link: [sg_popup id=”14″]”Rejoice In The Lord“[/sg_popup] | 10. Melody To: “Some Trust In Chariots” | Lyrics Link: [sg_popup id=”15″]”Some Trust In Chariots“[/sg_popup] | 11. Melody To: “Let God Arise” | Lyrics Link: [sg_popup id=”16″]”Let God Arise“[/sg_popup] | 12. Melody To: “I Will Sing Forever” | Lyrics Link: [sg_popup id=”17″]”I Will Sing Forever“[/sg_popup] | 13. Melody To: “They That Wait” | Lyrics Link: [sg_popup id=”18″]”They That Wait“[/sg_popup] | 14. Melody To: “Filled With The Spirit” | Lyrics Link: [sg_popup id=”19″]”Filled With The Spirit“[/sg_popup] | 15. Melody To: “My Glory” | Lyrics Link: [sg_popup id=”20″]”My Glory“[/sg_popup] | 16. Melody To: “Blessed Be The Lord” | Lyrics Link: [sg_popup id=”21″]”Blessed Be The Lord“[/sg_popup] | 17. Melody To: “Stand Fast” | Lyrics Link: [sg_popup id=”22″]”Stand Fast“[/sg_popup] | 18. Melody To: “Praise Ye The Lord” | Lyrics Link: [sg_popup id=”23″]”Praise Ye The Lord“[/sg_popup] | 19. Melody To: “I Was Glad” | Lyrics Link: [sg_popup id=”24″]”I Was Glad“[/sg_popup] | 20. Melody To: “Blessing Of The Lord” | Lyrics Link: [sg_popup id=”25″]”Blessing Of The Lord“[/sg_popup] | 21. Melody To: “Oh Praise The Lord” | Lyrics Link: [sg_popup id=”26″]”Oh Praise The Lord“[/sg_popup] | 22. Melody To: “He Showed Thee” | Lyrics Link: [sg_popup id=”27″]”He Showed Thee“[/sg_popup] | 23. Melody To: “Unto Thee Oh Lord” | Lyrics Link: [sg_popup id=”28″]”Unto Thee Oh Lord“[/sg_popup] | 24. Melody To: “That Men Would Praise” | Lyrics Link: [sg_popup id=”29″]”That Men Would Praise“[/sg_popup] | 25. Melody To: “The Law Of The Lord” | Lyrics Link: [sg_popup id=”30″]”The Law Of The Lord“[/sg_popup] |
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