WELCOME TO TUNE MY HEART

WHY TUNE MY HEART?

As a worship leader, I’m always encouraging my leaders and myself to come prepared for practice and to come prepared for leading on Sundays. 

We give thought to what we’re wearing. If you’re like me, it may include a quick peek at last week’s livestream to be sure I’m not wearing the same thing two weeks in a row. We pick out outfits, make sure we have shoes and accessories that match. Most Saturday nights, I even do my nails. We have a rhythm in our home of not making plans beyond early afternoon on Saturdays so that we’re well rested for Sunday. 

Sunday morning involves showers, doing hair, makeup, warming up voices, maybe a ritual tea drinking, tuning instruments. 

But what about our hearts? It’s so easy to hustle through the necessary routines of Sunday yet completely leave out time for the most important piece. 

There’s a famous quote by Hudson Taylor that says: "Do not have your concert first and tune your instruments afterward. Begin the day with God." 

I’m guessing some of us may even be good at starting our days with God every other day of the week, but there’s something about Sunday that interrupts our usual rhythm—and not always in a good way.

For those of us in vocational ministry, it’s easy to wake up and almost dread the work day aspect of Sundays. Perhaps even the routine of our “work” has replaced our love for worship. For gathering with our brothers and sisters. Or for His church. 

So that’s where this podcast comes in. I want to give all of us a short, five minute-ish show to listen to as you start your Sunday morning. Maybe when you’re getting ready. Maybe on your drive to church. A time to pause, to meditate on the whole reason why we’re about to do what we’re doing (whether that’s leading worship, preaching, teaching or attending).

A time to tune our hearts to the Master tuning peg, our Savior and our King. 

Why the title Tune My Heart? Many of you may recognize that phrase as the song lyric that it is, coming from the 1758 hymn, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, by Robert Robinson. The lyrics of the first verse are a prayer. He says, "Come thou fount of every blessing. Tune my heart to sing Thy grace. Streams of mercy never ceasing call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet. Sung by flaming tongues above. Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it. Mount of Thy redeeming love." 

As a worship leader, a church leader, a Christian…these words remind us why we do what we do. Because every blessing comes from God, because He gives us a stream of endless mercy that we desperately need as deeply flawed humans and because He’s our redeemer and our love. When we tune our hearts to Him, we can’t help but praise from the overflow. 

So subscribe wherever you listen and join me on Sunday mornings to tune my heart and yours.