The Unbreakable House of the Lord
1 Corinthians 3:16 — “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”
Do you remember the day the world shut down? It felt like a single, collective gasp. Stores closed their doors, streets emptied, and even the churches locked their gates.
I remember standing there, staring at my calendar that had just gone blank. Concerts, church services, small group gatherings—canceled overnight. Plans evaporated, and the sense of normalcy we clung to vanished in an instant.
I asked myself, “What does church look like now?”
But then I started to notice the small things. My wife’s smile as we walked the neighborhood. A neighbor’s wave from a safe distance. A phone call that turned into an unexpected lifeline. Even behind masks, I saw the same eyes of kindness and compassion that had always been there.
It dawned on me that the house of the Lord was not bricks and wood. It was us—ordinary people carrying God’s presence into the everyday. COVID-19 did not cancel that. It revealed it.
That was the moment my song “House of the Lord” came to life. I wanted to sing about the real church. It’s the one that cannot be shut down by a virus or anything else. It’s a family that laughs and cries together, that keeps showing up even when the world feels shaky.
Even with the “new normal” now behind us, I keep hearing “House of the Lord” on the radio, and I remember that the truest kind of worship is not found in the stage or the pew. It is found wherever we choose to love each other, to stand together, and to encourage each other in the Lord.
The body of Christ is a family that stands strong through every season. That is the house of the Lord, and it is waiting for you to find your place in it, no matter where you are today.
— Phil Wickham
Lyrics
Verse
We worship the God who was
We worship the God who is
We worship the God who evermore will be
He opened the prison doors
He parted the raging sea
Our God He holds the victory
Chorus
There’s joy In the house of the Lord
There’s joy in the house of the Lord today
And we won’t be quiet
We shout out Your praise
There’s Joy in the house of the Lord
Our God is surely in this place
And we won’t be quiet
We shout out Your praise
We shout out Your praise
Verse
We sing to the God who heals
We sing to the God who saves
We sing to the God who always makes a way
He hung upon that cross
Then He rose up from that grave
My God’s still rolling stones away
Chorus
There’s joy In the house of the Lord
There’s joy in the house of the Lord today
And we won’t be quiet
We shout out Your praise
There’s Joy in the house of the Lord
Our God is surely in this place
And we won’t be quiet
We shout out Your praise
Bridge
We were the beggars
Now we’re royalty
We were the prisoners
Now we’re running free
We are forgiven, accepted
Redeemed by His grace
Let the house of the Lord sing praise
Cause we were the beggars
Now we’re royalty
We were the prisoners
Now we’re running free
We are forgiven, accepted
Redeemed by His grace
Let the house of the Lord sing praise
Chorus
There’s joy In the house of the Lord
There’s joy in the house of the Lord today
And we won’t be quiet
We shout out Your praise
There’s Joy in the house of the Lord
Our God is surely in this place
And we won’t be quiet
We shout out Your praise
There’s joy In the house of the Lord
There’s joy in the house of the Lord today
And we won’t be quiet
We shout out Your praise
There’s Joy in the house of the Lord
Our God is surely in this place
And we won’t be quiet
We shout out Your praise
We shout out Your praise
We shout out Your praise
We shout out Your praise
