Wow - I didn't expect that reaction...

Wow - I was stunned - it was such a cool moment in worship. The image above is a photo of my church's screens with a slide from Joel Houston's song The Stand. Twice my church has had amazing worship moments due to the combination of this marvelous song and right image accompanying it on the screen.

The first time, the congregation was singing The Stand - a favorite at the church.  Surprisingly we were sitting as we sang the song. This is very odd because of the lyrics say:

So I'll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the One who gave it all
I'll stand
My soul Lord to You surrendered
All I am is Yours

Towards the end of the song the Pastor stood and the whole church followed as one - it was a very special moment. 

That was many years ago - it's an older song and we have not sung it in a long, long time. But this week we sang it during the worship service and this time the worship leaders had us standing from the beginning.  We also sang the chorus twice after the benediction. It is our churches' tradition to stand and hold hands during the last song. On Sunday, the lyrics combined with an image of people standing and holding hands in the air created an unexpected reaction... a few teens in the front raised their hands while continuing to hold their friend's hand.  Quickly the whole church followed and sang the song loudly.  It was such a joyful moment - and everyone left smiling,