Use music to focus attention on God and away from self.

• Use songs that everyone can sing.
• Do not offend the weaker--usually the younger and newer believers or seekers--by using too much music that is not relevant to them.
• Work on smooth transitions from one part of worship to another, so as not to lose the thread of devotion and focus on God.

Find in Ephesians 5:19 a purpose of music, including for when we are alone.

Examine in Psalms 73-89 the style of the old hymns (Psalms were Hebrew hymns).

Find in Ephesians 5:17-20 important purposes of music.

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T&M Student Activity Guide page 26b

For the purpose, planning, overseeing of music in worship, Leadership Handbooks of Practical Theology, edited by James Berkeley, Volume 1, section 1-19

For helping the people to sing, section 20

For choir, instrumental group direction, concerts, sections 21 - 23

What are the cultural musical forms that believers themselves find acceptable and useful for worship? Very few musical forms are appreciated the same between cultures, even sub-cultures.

Verify how you can make the best use of music in your church or the churches of your trainees.

• Who among the followers are known for their musical ability and song-writing skill?
• Even new believers can create songs and music that others will like.
• Among illiterate populations, Bible verses put to song have proven a powerful way to teach believers and reach unbelievers.
• God-honoring songs can also be written for all kinds of social events in addition to worship.

If you work cross-culturally, it is always preferable to wait for the Lord to save a songwriter instead of translating Western (or Eastern) songs put to foreign melodies.

• Once a believing community has accepted foreign music as their form of worship, local people will find your worship meetings to sound foreign, even weird.
• Ethnomusicologist, Roberta King, has led workshops in many countries where local people have created new songs in only a few hours following this simple plan:

1. formulate a message or choose a Bible text;
2. begin putting notes to the words that preserve the stress of the language;
3. revise the note sequences until they sound pleasing;
4. adapt other musical instruments to the new song.