Lyre by the Fire is an evening where stories crackle, voices rise, and the fellowship runs thick. At Redemption Hill Church, we gather to hear and tell, to sing and shout, to soak in the glory of Christ through tales and tunes that echo His name. It’s not just a night of worship—it’s a night to remember why we worship. This time, I had the privilege of kicking things off with a short exhortation, and here’s how it went.

Welcome to the Firelight—or the Firefight, or as we like to call it, Lyre by the Fire.

Tonight, we are not here by accident. This fire, crackling and alive, is no mere ambience. It is a deliberate act of rebellion against the world’s obnoxious noise. Tonight, we sing not because the world approves, but because the world doesn’t. Tonight, we testify with harmony against the disharmony of sin, chaos, and despair. Tonight is about courage—the kind that picks up a song and flings it into the dark like a spear.

The fire before you is alive, yes, but it pales in comparison to the deeper fire Christ has ignited within you. That fire burns, and it demands a voice. Your voice—whether polished or rusty, steady or trembling—is the overflow of that flame. And tonight, your voice is a weapon. Every note sung punches a hole in the enemy’s shadow, every story shared plants a flag in conquered ground. This isn’t just singing; this is spiritual warfare.

The songs we lift tonight are not mere tunes; they are declarations of allegiance. They proclaim who our King is, and they remind us—His sometimes weary, sometimes battle-worn soldiers—of why we stand, why we sing, why we fight. The stories spoken into this circle are not filler; they are arrows dipped in the truth of God’s reign, loosed into the night with purpose.

So let the fire warm your face and steel your resolve. Let your songs rise, whether strong and bold or soft and faltering—it doesn’t matter. Just let them rise. Let the stories anchor you to something ancient, something eternal, something far more solid than the shifting sands of this world.

This is not a performance; this is worship. It is defiance in the face of the enemy and devotion in the presence of the King. Christ is on His throne. The fire burns. The darkness doesn’t stand a chance.

So sing. Share. Be brave. And remember—this is worship. This is war. This is glory.