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Worship!

Five of us from Grace were at a worship conference called Sing 17 last week in Nashville, Tennessee. Karen Sawyer, Bruns Varaksa, Sean Smith, Caron Ward and Don Ward attended for our church. If you have sung the modern hymn, In Christ Alone, you have encountered the Getty Music ministry. Over 4,000 pastors, worship leaders, musicians and church leaders from around the globe gathered at the massive Brentwood Baptist Church for several days of worship and seminars. The highlight of the conference was the Monday night worship in the famous Grand Ole Opry. Incredibly talented musicians led us in an evening of worship in a historic venue. It was beautiful and unforgettable.

I believe in the months ahead you will experience the fruit of our time there. I expect a sermon series in 2018 on worship that will offer you some tools for our worship together, and for your personal and family worship. It was a joyous time and a time where are heads hurt for all the information jammed into our brains in the short few days we were there.

The focus of the event was the power and priority of congregational singing. In a moment I’ll show you scriptural teaching on congregational singing. Modern worship music (which I personally love) has led to the temptation of the community worship time becoming a performance where musicians sing and play great songs, and the people of God watch the team up front worship. Some venues for worship enhance this by making it difficult to see and interact with other worshippers. The volume of musical accompaniment may inhibit congregational participation as people can’t hear others sing.

Congregational singing is an ancient practice of God’s people. The psalms are full of invitations and commands for congregational singing. Among many other examples, Psalm 98 is a fine invitation to sing together as God’s people

Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The LORD has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises! Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody! With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD! (Ps. 98:1-6 ESV)

 

The psalms make it plain that there are great reasons to join our voices together in prayer. Of course, we don’t have temples and festivals as they did in the old order of things. Did the new testament church value singing?  Consider these examples:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Col. 3:16 ESV)

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, (Eph. 5:18-20 ESV)

 

Both of these passages are instructions for the worship believers have together in the local church.  God’s word is central both in the spoken word and in the sung version. Our singing is not only to God, but we are “addressing one another” in songs and hymns. Stop and ponder that. Your job in singing is not merely to let Jesus hear you sing. You have a service to the other worshippers to singing to encourage them and cheer me on.

Have you ever had a moment like this: “It’s just me and Jesus right now…ya’ll go away!” In other words, you were in a worship setting with other Christians, and you were longing for Jesus and wanting a one on one with him right then. While there is lots to commend about wanting nearness to Jesus, let’s not forget the part of worship that is “addressing one another.” Jesus is fine whether we sing to him or not.  He deserves our praise and should get it. Someone might need your help next Sunday. Perhaps a discouraged person hears you singing wholeheartedly, and finds hope. In our church, you may know someone who has been through difficulty. How does it make you feel when you see them singing with their whole heart to the Lord? Doesn’t it teach you something? While they are worshipping God, they are “addressing us” in song, reminding us of God’s faithfulness through everything in life!

Here are a couple of suggestions, and of course more is to come in the future, God willing. Do some preparation for Sunday worship before you come. Pray for your own soul to be fed, but also to be ready to worship and “address others in song.” Pray for those leading in worship. Pray for the preaching to be biblical faithful and spiritually rich. If possible, go to bed a little earlier. Come ready to worship. Don’t throw the bulletin away, but bring it home. Sing some of the songs at home. Reread the bible passage and recall the main things that stuck out for you. Let the worship of the congregation move you into a worshipful life!

God bless you!

Don

Don Ward

Senior Pastor

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