Sunday 7th December 2025
Dan Carmichael
May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 15:5
Singing Practice
This verse seems a bit like a singing practice for a carol service. Paul is the conductor giving out instructions like “keep together!”, “listen to each other!”, “sing from the heart…and smile!”
Paul was writing to a mixed bunch of people. There were those who thought they were strong and superior in their faith, and those who knew they were the exact opposite! There were people of different backgrounds and cultures. There were disagreements and questions about theology, the right food to eat and all sorts of things. Imagine how these tensions might have played out in day-to-day life. Try to picture the expressions on different people’s faces as they listened to this bit of the letter being read out for the first time. Imagine their reaction to hearing Paul direct them to pull together.
Paul drew the Christian family together to unite in praising God the Father for the gift of Jesus … a bit like a carol service. In the midst of their life together as a Christian community – their worship, their meetings and discussions, their mission and service – he asks them to pull together like a choir. He signals to them to sing out the story of God’s love in Jesus, with no one voice dominating, and a smile on their faces as they glorify God the Father.
In our own challenges there may be times when we may not feel very much like singing, let alone singing together. Yet Paul’s words affirm that the One who drew and united early Christians in praise is the same ‘God of steadfastness and encouragement’ who is among us now.
Pause for a moment and let the words ‘steadfastness’ and ‘encouragement’ speak to you of God’s nature and presence with you now.
Shall we pray?
The Message Bible translates ‘steadfastness’ and ‘encouragement’ as ‘dependably steady’ and ‘warmly personal’. We can use this as a prayer for the Church, the world, and ourselves:
May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all. Then we’ll be a choir – not our voices only, but our very lives singing in harmony in a stunning anthem to the God and Father of our Master Jesus.
Rev Dan Carmichael is Depute Clerk of the Presbytery of Edinburgh and West Lothian and lives in North Berwick.
Thinking it through:
How does the image of the Church as a choir inspire us? Or challenge us?
Are there ways that the description of God as ‘the God of steadfastness and encouragement’ brings us hope?