Hymns about Service

Christian service is the glad labor of those who have been bought with a price and therefore glorify God in body and spirit. Scripture presents service as discipleship expressed in deeds: washing feet, bearing burdens, feeding the hungry, preaching the Word, and doing all as unto the Lord. Hymns of service call the church from idle hearing to obedient doing, without turning the gospel into a wage.

True service flows from love of God and neighbor. It is shaped by the example of Christ, who came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many. Hymnody on this theme often prays for willing hearts, steadfast hands, and wisdom to spend strength well. It resists both self-glory and despair, remembering that our labour is not in vain in the Lord.

These songs fit commissioning services, mission Sundays, offerings of time and talent, and moments when a congregation renews its vows of discipleship. In personal devotion they examine motives and ask for grace to continue when unnoticed. They belong beside themes of consecration and love, for service without love is empty, and love without service is incomplete.

To sing of service is to offer oneself afresh. Let these hymns stir diligence tempered by humility, and zeal tempered by dependence upon the God who works through earthen vessels.