What motivates us to live as followers of Jesus? How is our discipleship formed and shaped? How can music be an active catalyst for these actions? Just as this series is a dance between the Gospel of Matthew and Paul’s letter, it is a dance of these two questions of how and why.

An excellent hymn that brings together many of the themes for this series is “A Place at the Table,” 3149 in Worship & Song. Click here to read the History of Hymns article.

Another excellent song for this series is “The Servant Song,” 2222 in The Faith We Sing, which sets forth the theme of journeying toward discipleship together and helping one another along the way.

Week 2 - The Word is Near You

This week, the texts celebrate who we are while giving thanks for all that we already have. Sing “I Sing the Almighty Power of God” from The United Methodist Hymnal, 152, for example, or “I Sing a Song of the Saints of God,” United Methodist Hymnal, 712, as a way of giving thanks for the people around us and among us. A more contemporary song is “Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart” found in The Faith We Sing, 2036. This is a great congregational song but can also be a solo or duet. See “History of Hymns: ‘I Sing a Song of the Saints of God’” and Don Moen, “Give Thanks” on YouTube.