Blog | Tips for Sharing Worship Thoughts Between Songs

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Talking in between songs is difficult. You’re often coming out of a highly energetic moment with people engaging in worship and singing along with the team… and then the lights come down, it gets really quiet, and you’re essentially expected to “preach” something of value to everyone.

It can be scary. Even for those who have completely overcome the fear of speaking in front of everyone, it’s not easy to think of something of substance and value for the entire congregation. You’re speaking to people of different ages, demographics, places of life, and daily circumstances. How do you find the right words to say? What do they need to hear?

Here are a couple of tips for forming an impactful worship thought for the upcoming weekend:

Select Songs Based on the Meaning

We often get the worship thought thing backwards. We select songs we like – often for arbitrary reasons – and then we try to work backwards and think about something we can say about it. If you’re constantly finding yourself at a loss for words during worship thoughts, start by looking selecting a song in the setlist based on what it means to you.

Beginning by picking songs that speak something to you is an easy way to start off right. The reason you select the song IS your worship thought. Is it a message about God’s faithfulness that’s impacted you in a time of trial? Is it a proclamation of God’s goodness? Is it a song about being present in the moment in a season where you feel consistently distracted?

Starting with an intentional worship thought for why you pick a song is a great way to make your worship thoughts easy to put together and natural to talk about.

Introducing a Song

This heavily relates to the last point, but there are several different things you can talk about during a worship thought. You may be giving a thought about a scripture, about something you learned this week, or any other potential topic. An easy one to fall back on if you’re struggling to find the right words is simply to offer an introduction to the next song.

What is the next song about? Why should the congregation place their focus on the words? Maybe read off a line from the chorus or bridge – find and share something in the song that hits you particularly hard.

Share a Personal Story

Little psychology trick – people love to hear stories. They really do. Think about yourself in social situations. Usually when someone starts sharing a personal story, everyone tunes it to what they have to say. Worship thoughts in-between songs are an excellent opportunity to share a personal story!

Remember, these stories don’t need to be about some profound God experience. Sure, it can be something more intense like a testimony story. But it can also be something simple like an exchange you had with a cashier, a phone call with a family member, a text from a friend. Think of a story from the last week or month that you can tie into scripture or the worship setlist. It helps people to put an intangible idea to a concrete experience, and really solidifies the meaning and impact of a concept.

Give People Simple Reminders

Sometimes that’s all they need. Remember – your pastor is the one preaching a message, not you. We often put so much pressure on ourselves for worship thoughts, thinking they need to be this profound thought or story with a beginning, middle, and conclusion carefully crafted into a flawless 2-minute speech that carries the congregation on a journey.

Wow, if you can do that, then kudos to you. It’s certainly not the expectation and you shouldn’t stress yourself out trying to build it as such.

Don’t be afraid to use your worship thought as a moment to give people simple reminders. Maybe they need to be reminded to focus and be present in the moment. Or a reminder of God’s goodness in their life. A reminder of the gift of each day. Whatever it is that’s striking you in the moment – it’s often those quick little reminders that pull us from distractions and put us in the moment ready to worship. Don’t underestimate the impact those small truths can have on someone in your congregation.