Musical Worship

Well, good morning, if you will, please.

Take out your copy of God's Word and turn to two places.

!

We're going to spend our time considering musical worship.

We're going to do that for three reasons.

First, the men who lead our music attended a conference this week,

which was actually every man on the stage this morning was at that conference together.

It just has me thinking a lot about how we sing together.

I'd like to spend, this is reason number two,

I'd like to spend a bit more time with Romans 13, verses 11 through 14.

Romans 13:11–14

And thirdly, we periodically preach sermons like this morning's,

not to defend how we conduct ourselves when we gather,

but to equip you to understand.

Don't simply assume you know why we do what we do

and why we do what we do the way that we do what we do.

What's underneath that?

Why is it that we do the things that we do

and do them the way that we do them?

It's important to know this.

Be equipped.

Share it with others.

Help people to wrap their minds around what we do.

Don't just see it as a preference.

The last time we considered musical worship was about four years ago,

and we have gained new members since then, praise God.

So this topic seems due some attention.

So, if you've not been around for very long,

we do these sermons from time to time

that I call the Why We Do What We Do

and Why We Do What We Do the Way We Do What We Do sermons,

which is a lot of Ws.

So, today, specifically, our music together.

When we gather together as a church,

why do we engage in musical worship

and why do we engage in musical worship the way that we do?

I want to begin with an aside

concerning our language, concerning music.

In recent decades, for most of our lives,

the music sung in church has been often referred to as worship,

and the individual leading the music as the worship leader.

Music, rightly sung in our church gatherings,

or otherwise, certainly is worship.

But it is not the totality of worship,

and the individual leading the music is certainly leading us in worship,

but not in the totality of worship.

To call our singing together worship

and the individual leading the music as the worship leader,

and to not use this term in other spheres,

suggests that our worship of God is reduced

to a bit of time during a service on Sunday morning

and implies the exclusion of our prayers

and scripture reading,

ordinance administering,

and preaching.

So, everything we do when we gather together as a church

ought to be rightly taken up an act of worship.

So, we want to be careful about this.

We want to reject that kind of language.

So, Paul stated in Romans 12, verse 1,

Romans 12:1

And we were there not too long ago.

I appeal to you, therefore, brothers,

by the mercies of God,

to present your bodies as a living sacrifice,

holy and acceptable to God,

which is your spiritual worship.

And we talked about how that word body

means your being, your whole self.

So, God means for all of ourselves,

all of our lives,

to be committed to His praise.

So, we will never call the music here worship

or the individual leading the music

the worship leader

at the exclusion of using that term elsewhere

because it is confusing.

I encourage you to toe this line.

Some will say,

well, you know what I mean

when being corrected on the matter,

but the problem is that words have meaning.

They actually mean things, believe it or not.

And you cannot be so cavalier

with your use of words

because my response will simply be,

I don't know what you mean.

The words you're using don't make sense

the way you're using them.

This is why we will speak

in terms of musical worship.

There you go.

We're using the word worship, right?

But we're qualifying what we mean.

We're talking about musical worship

and why we will call

whoever is leading our music

our music leader.

The subject of musical worship in churches

has been a highly contested one

in my lifetime.

These conflicts are often called

the worship wars.

Isn't that a tragic title?

And they've revolved particularly

around the debate

between contemporary

and traditional music.

Much heat

with very little light

in these conflicts.

The current solution

has seemed to be

for small churches

to work to serve

a particular demographic

and for larger churches

to cater to every demographic

with multiple services.

None of this

is good for your faith

or for the community

of faith.

It is not proper

for a church

to serve

preference

over purpose

in the way

that we gather.

Is it okay

to have preferences?

Of course it is.

It's okay to like

particular types

of music.

But that's not

why we arrange music

the way

that we do.

It's serving

a purpose.

It is not

healthy to meet

felt needs

at the expense

of real needs.

To promulgate

consumerism

in the worship

of our God.

I don't really care

if you like our music

if you're here

and you're learning

truth

in the process

of our singing.

But oh,

praise God,

if you do like the music,

I think that's good

for you.

In the very early days

of our church,

Wes,

one of our founding elders

and our music leader

for the first nine years

of our existence

and myself

were equally frustrated

with the conflict

we saw on this matter

and desired to lead

our small gathering

well.

I mean a tiny group

of people

to sing well

together.

I'm so glad

for the good input

we received

from those

faithful Christians.

Praise be to God

that he led us

to the doctrine

of the sufficiency

of Scripture,

believing that it

contained within it

everything we needed

to guide the church

and that he granted us

grace to seek

his wisdom

from his word

on that very matter.

All a measure of grace.

A miracle

that we didn't just

trend off

into some

happening thing

that was going on.

We very recently

bought a fogger,

hear me clearly,

a fogger

for the building

so that we could

fog cleaning supplies

and help keep

things tidy around here

especially when we have

these waves of sickness

that come through

the church building

and I chuckle with Sam

that our church

finally has a fog machine.

We have arrived.

All right.

So Colossians chapter 3

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

and verse 16

and Ephesians chapter 5

Ephesians 5:18

verse 18 and 19.

I'll begin in Colossians.

Before I read,

let me remind you,

beloved,

that this is God's word

to us written

for his glory

and our good.

And so we would all

do well to listen to it

in order to believe

its promises

and obey its commands.

Paul writes,

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.

And in Ephesians 5

Ephesians 5:18

verse 18 and 19,

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.

So why do we sing together

when we gather?

The Bible commands it

for God's glory

and our good.

Psalm 33 and verse 3

says,

sing to him

a new song.

Play skillfully

on the strings

with loud shouts.

Psalm 47 and verse 6,

sing praises to God,

sing praises.

Sing praises to our King,

sing praises.

These are songs themselves

written for congregational singing.

The Bible contains

over 400 references

to singing

and 50 direct commands

to sing.

The longest book

of the Bible

by verse count,

the Psalms,

is a book of songs.

We have the example

of Jesus

in Matthew chapter 26

Matthew 26 · chapter mention

and verse 30.

This is before his betrayal

when they had sung

a hymn.

They went out

to the Mount of Olives.

And we have the example

of heaven

in the book

of Revelation.

Besides the book

of Psalms,

you know the book

in the Bible

that has the second

most songs in it?

It's the book

of Revelation.

We get to peer

into heaven

and see what the music

looks like there.

And there John records

Revelation 15

Revelation 15:2

verse 2 and 3,

And I saw what appeared

to be a sea of glass

mingled with fire

and also those

who had conquered

the beast and its image

and the number

of its name,

standing by the sea

of glass with harps

of God in their hands.

And they sing

the song of Moses,

the servant of God,

and the song

of the Lamb,

saying,

Great and amazing

are your deeds,

O Lord God,

the Almighty,

just and true

are your ways,

O King of the nations.

And the example

of Paul and Silas

in the Philippian jail

are not arguing

that they were a church,

but gathered Christians

thrown in jail.

We see about midnight,

Acts 16 and verse 25,

Paul and Silas

were praying

and singing hymns

to God.

James says in James 5

and verse 13,

Is anyone cheerful?

Let him sing praise.

John Calvin once said,

Wherever faith is lively,

holy rejoicing will follow.

So, we should sing

when we are gathered.

Praise God that we do.

What are we to sing?

We're to sing psalms

and hymns

and spiritual songs.

Psalms are those

found in the book of Psalms.

We should sing

from God's song book.

And we probably do this

more than you realize.

We may need to actually

help you with that

from time to time.

A wonderful example of that

is the song

from the rising of the sun.

We should sing hymns.

Hymns are not just the songs

found in a hymn.

No, we could misunderstand this

to be sure.

You might think hymns

are all those found

in that book

that we put on your chairs.

And spiritual songs

are the ones

that are in the bulletin.

No, not so.

Hymns are songs

to or about God

and what He has done.

To or about God

and what He has done.

An understanding

of an early Christological hymn,

a lot of commentators think

it's because of the structure

of the Greek language,

is found in Colossians 1,

Colossians 1:15–20

verse 15 through 20.

If you'd like to turn there

and look at it,

you may be familiar with this.

We actually sing this

set to a modern tune.

He, Jesus Christ,

is the image

of the invisible God,

the firstborn of all creation.

For by Him

all things were created

in heaven and on earth,

visible and invisible,

whether thrones

or dominions

or rulers or authorities.

All things were created

through Him

and for Him.

And He is before all things

and in Him

all things hold together.

And He is the head

of the body,

the church.

He is the beginning,

the firstborn from the dead,

that in everything

He might be preeminent.

For in Him

all the fullness of God

was pleased to dwell

and through Him

to reconcile to Himself

all things,

whether on earth

or in heaven,

making peace

by the blood of His cross.

Man, I would have loved

to have been

in a first century church

and sang that with them.

I'm glad I get to be with you

and sing that with you.

So, all God word, right?

To or about God

and what He has accomplished.

Other examples.

How great thou art

or holy, holy, holy.

So, psalms and hymns

were also to sing

spiritual songs,

which most agree,

there's a little ambiguity here,

but most agree

that these are songs

to or about us.

So, we might sing to each other

or about us

in relation to God

and what He has done.

Two examples

would be Amazing Grace

and It Is Well.

Some ones you may be

familiar there with.

So, we are instructed,

right,

to sing all kinds

of songs.

Humans are wired

to give and receive

through song.

Musicians have been

wildly popular

for good

and for bad

throughout history.

Every movement,

every uprising,

every cultural expression

has its music.

We are musical beings.

Everyone will tap their foot

or bob their head

to something.

Something will move you

in that way.

Singing in the church

should engage

our minds,

but it also

connects

to our affections.

So, when we sing,

when we are gathered,

it is our hope

that our feelings

catch up to the truth

we believe.

Right?

It's good

for us to

feel

the truth.

Jonathan Edwards

once wrote

in his work

Religious Affections,

the duty of singing

praises to God

seems to be appointed

wholly to excite

and express

religious affections.

No other reason

can be assigned

why we should

express ourselves

to God in verse

rather than in prose

and do it with music,

but only that such

is our nature

and frame

that these things

have a tendency

to move

our affections.

My translation of that

is just,

we're musical beings.

God seems to have

wired us up this way

and when we can

combine His truth

with good instrumentation.

Right?

Our feelings

can catch up

to the truth.

So, we should sing

when we gather together

as a church.

So, why do we do it

the way that we do it?

There's a lot of churches

this morning

that have sung songs

in various ways.

Well, if you look again

at Colossians 3.16

and Ephesians 5.18 and 19,

they show us

that our singing together

is the result

of the Spirit of Christ

dwelling within us.

There's a striking parallel

between the two texts.

They both have Paul

as their author,

which allows

for an incredible connection

to be drawn from them.

So, again, notice,

he says,

Colossians 3.16,

Let the Word of Christ

dwell in you richly.

Take up residence.

Inhabit.

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.

And then,

Ephesians 5.18 and 19,

he says,

there's a warning here,

a prohibition.

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

and making melody

to the Lord

with your heart.

You see how closely parallel

these two passages are.

And I think what Paul means

to communicate to us

is that to be filled

with the Spirit

is to let the Word of Christ

dwell in you richly.

To have the truth

take up residence,

to inhabit you richly,

in abundant.

Let the Word of Christ

fill you.

Read it.

Meditate on it.

Memorize it.

And song is useful to us

in this way.

I don't find myself

particularly musical.

If you ask me off the cuff

to tell you my favorite song,

I would draw a blank.

It wouldn't be helpful to me.

But there are times

in my life

that I'm thinking about

a particular thing,

I'm feeling something deeply,

and God uses

good songs,

right?

Scripture-rich songs

by the power of the Spirit

to bring truth

to my mind.

I'm so grateful

for years of singing

good songs

that get embedded

inside there.

often,

because I'm not

a musically inclined person,

I have to actually

go look at the lyrics,

and then I use that

to drive me

to the text itself.

It's one of the reasons

that you hold

hymnals in your hands.

We think it's good

for you to see

the words

in their totality,

to buy a copy of it

and have it at home.

Keep it on your desk,

on your kitchen counter.

Take that bulletin

home with you

that you'd have

those lyrics

of those songs

that aren't contained

in that particular

hymnal,

that you would be able

to let the Word of Christ

fill you

and song being a tool

to serve to that end.

In case

this connection

between Colossians

and Ephesians

is just too vague for you,

if you're saying,

I don't know if you can do

what you just did,

a couple of other places.

Romans 8.5

Those who live

according to the flesh

set their minds

on the things

of the flesh.

But those who live

according to the Spirit

set their minds

on the things

of the Spirit.

To be filled

with the Spirit

is to do what?

To set our minds

on the things

of the Spirit,

which is

the truth

about Christ.

Proper worship

of God

is Spirit-filled

worship of God,

which is

mindful

worship

of God.

I mentioned to you

some weeks ago

when we were on

sabbatical,

and as a teaching

opportunity for our boys,

we took them

to a rather large

attractional

prosperity

megachurch

in our area.

And the music

was well done.

I mean,

the production value

was very high.

But I was left

the entire time

going,

why?

And what?

Like,

we're supposed to be

praising God right now,

but you've given me

nothing of any substance,

and I wanted to cry out,

right?

My heart is weak.

Tell me some truth

that I can praise God for.

Perhaps I walked in

forgetting

all of the glorious

truths

of God

in Christ

to me.

Give me something

to hang on to

that would move me

to praise.

And it was

paltry

and shallow,

thin,

not untrue,

but just nothing

of substance

found there.

We want to have

mindful

worship.

Our singing together

must be that.

It must be mindful,

and

it should be

affectionate.

again,

Colossians 3.16,

teaching and

admonishing one another

in all

wisdom,

addressing one another

in these

psalms and hymns

and spiritual

songs.

John Owens

once said,

we must not allow

ourselves to be

satisfied with

vague ideas

of the love

of Christ,

which present

nothing of His glory

to our minds.

hearts.

You don't need to

hear about a

sloppy,

wet kiss

of God's love.

It doesn't serve

you at all.

You need to be

reminded of

Christ's

sacrificial death

on your behalf.

That's something

that you can hang

on to.

Paul writes in

1 Corinthians 14,

1 Corinthians 14:15

verse 15,

I will sing praise

with my spirit,

but I will sing

with my mind

also.

And Jesus says

in John 4,

John 4:23

verse 23,

but the hour is

coming and is

now here when

the true

worshippers

will worship

the Father

in spirit

and truth.

For the

Father is seeking

such people

to worship

Him.

So in brief,

I've answered

the question,

like,

why do we sing

when we get

together?

We're commanded

to do so.

Why do we do

it the way

that we do it?

Because of all

of this,

the mindful

need of our

worship,

we use three

parameters in

considering the

songs that we

sing together.

And as an

aside,

I just want to

tell you how

grateful I am

for the men

that work hard

at doing this

for us.

They're volunteers

and they put in

the time

and I'm

grateful for

them.

Three

parameters.

And I'm

just by grace

from day

one.

Number one,

truth.

The songs

that we sing

should be

true.

So that

question is

asked,

is the

song

true?

Does it

contain

within it

any

error?

So,

I'll give you

an example

of a song

that we do

not sing,

Reckless

Love

by Corey

Asbury.

Here's a

little lyric

for you.

This is the

chorus,

I think.

Oh,

the overwhelming,

never-ending,

reckless love

of God.

Oh,

it chases me

down,

fights till

I'm found,

leaves the

99.

I couldn't

earn it,

and I don't

deserve it.

Still,

you give

yourself away.

Oh,

the overwhelming,

never-ending,

reckless love

of God.

Yeah.

For some

reason,

I included

that in

the lyric.

Now,

so much

is right,

so much

is true

in that

chorus.

A lot

of that

is true.

But God's

love is

not reckless,

which means

aimless.

Right?

John Piper

wrote this

little wonderful

article defending

Corey Asbury

and saying,

I don't think

he means what

the word

actually means

by that.

And then

Corey responded,

no,

that's what

I mean.

no purposeful,

right?

Oh,

the overwhelming,

never-ending,

purposeful love

of God,

right?

That chases me

down,

fights till I'm

found,

leaves the 99.

So,

we're not

going to sing

a song.

That's just

not true.

That's not

true.

So,

is it true?

Is it as

precise

as it should

be?

Sometimes

there are

songs that

we say,

I mean,

I think we

know what

they mean.

I think

that we're

on the

same page.

And I'll

use an

example of

a song

that's found

in your

hymnal,

How Deep

the Father's

Love for

Us.

So,

if you

know the

song very

well,

you know

that we

changed

a small

part of

that song.

And I

don't

think

that what

they wrote

was wrong,

but maybe

a little

misleading,

so maybe

not as

precise

as it

might have

been.

So,

in How Deep

the Father's

Love for

Us,

we sing,

It was

His love

that held

Him there.

It was

written,

It was

my sin

that held

Him there.

So,

when we first

started singing

this song,

it just rubbed

me wrong,

and so I

raised the

question to

Wes,

who was again

leading music

at the time,

and I just

said,

do you

think

that's

the best

way to

communicate

that?

And what

was in

my mind

was John

10 and

verse 18,

where Jesus

says,

No one

takes my

life from

me,

but I

lay it

down of

my own

accord.

Now,

saying our

sin is

what held

Him there

is not

suggesting

that we

had the

power to

take

Christ's

life.

It's not

running in

direct

contradiction

to that,

but perhaps

could confuse

somebody when

they take

up John

10,

18.

So,

we just

thought,

perhaps we

should

replace

that

small

phrase.

And so

we did.

It was

His love

that held

Him there.

Now,

it's in our

hymnal.

If we sang

it that way,

that'd be

fine.

If you

went home

and listened

to it

that way,

you're

probably

not going

to find

a recording

that has

It was

His love

that held

Him there.

We're not

worried

about that,

but we

want to be

as precise

as we

possibly

can be.

The third

in the

thought of

truth is

the song

tied to

any false

teaching

movements.

There are

some beautiful

songs that

express the

truth,

but are so

tied to a

particular church

or teaching

that we do

not sing them

because we

don't want to

give tacit

approval of

false teachers.

We want to be

careful that we

don't connect

you into a

world of music

that's tied to

teaching that

could lead you

astray.

so we

don't sing

songs as

an example

from

Elevation

Worship,

Hillsong

United,

Bethel

Music.

We don't

and we

will not

do so

because we

don't want

you to

get out

there and

find yourself

confused.

So,

that's the

first parameter,

truth.

Second

parameter is

depth.

Does a

song merely

skip a

stone off

the surface

of the

truth or

does it

sink deep

into it?

Does a

song teach

us something

about God

and His

work?

Is a

song

content

rich?

Can we

take hold

of it?

So,

we sing

wordy

songs.

We have

limited time

together in

congregational

gathering.

So,

we don't

want to

waste a

moment of

it.

We want

it to

all be

packed

full of

goodness.

I grew

up now

having

sung lots

of hymns

in my

adult life.

I grew

up in

a Southern

Baptist

tradition

that often

skipped

the verses

that were

about

sanctification.

They started

with salvation,

they ended

with glorification,

wonderful things

to sing

about,

but they

left no

music for

me to

think about

how I

live my

Christian

life in

between

those two

states.

I'm so

glad for

verses

2,

3,

and 4.

good and

rich for

today and

to carry

with me

throughout

my week.

Our time

is limited,

so let's

not waste

any of

it.

True

and deep

and lastly

our parameter

is singable.

Singability

is a song

congregational.

We're

commanded to

teach and

admonish

each other

in all

wisdom

addressing

one another.

It means

we need

to be

able to

sing

the song.

We need

to be

able to

sing it

to one

another.

Does it

have a

recognizable

rhythm

and a

range

designed

for the

average

human?

Our

musicians

work at

picking keys

very carefully.

I'm grateful

again for

Wes,

who had a

much higher

range than

was comfortable

for most

people,

and he

let me

be the

average

human

and say

to him

still too

high,

still too

high.

I think

the first

year we

were at

church,

he had to

step songs

down so

that I

could sing

them.

And I

can remember

in those

early days

my wife

Sam coming

to me and

saying,

a lot of

these songs

are too

low for

the women,

they're hard

for us

to sing,

and my

response to

her was,

do you

want the

men to

lead,

even in

music?

She said,

oh yeah,

that's okay,

then this is the

key,

we've got to

be right

here,

this is the

pocket where

these men

are going to

be able

to sing.

So,

can we,

can we sing

the song

together is

an important

question to

ask.

Can it be

played well

by our

musicians,

right?

Is the

instrumentation

too complicated?

And style

is not the

question here

at all.

We do music

the way we

do music

because the

Lord's given

us these

musicians and

it's the

way they

like to

play.

That's the

extent of it.

We've never

had a

single

style

meeting.

If we

had a

little old

lady and

an organ

and I

had to

sing,

that's the

way we

would do

music.

Praise God,

that is not

the way it's

happening.

I have

talked about

this on

numerous

occasions and

I would

often threaten,

you know,

if we don't

have musicians,

you've got me.

So,

praise God

for our

musicians.

And during

the pandemic,

there was a

Sunday that

none of our

musicians were

available,

either sick

or out of

town.

And I

mean none.

We looked.

And you

know what we

did?

I led music.

We sang three

songs,

acapella,

and I did it.

I turned the

mic on,

I turned it

back off again,

I got it started

and I turned it

back off again,

and we were

done.

But you know

that traditionally

throughout the

history of the

church,

the person who

most often led

to music was,

the pastor got

up and sang.

And I'm sure

they didn't all

sing incredibly

well.

We're not

concerned about

how we play

music.

We want to

try to match

the instrumentation

up to the

truth that you

would get your

feelings caught

up to it.

The guys are

very thoughtful

about the way

they try to do

arrangements to

that very end.

We keep the

lights on,

you might notice.

I think it's

good to look

around and see

each other

singing.

We try to

keep the

volume at a

place where

you can hear

those folks

around you

singing songs

because we're

trying to

fulfill this

commandment to

teach and

admonish one

another and

address each

other,

psalms and

hymns and

spiritual songs.

So let me

just briefly

walk you

through two

songs,

two songs that

we sing often

together and

just show you

the truth that's

contained within

them.

Had I planned

this way in

advance,

they'd be songs

we're singing

this morning,

but I

didn't,

so they're

not.

But maybe

you'll enjoy

hearing these

lyrics all

the same.

The first

is a

modern song

called

Come Behold

the Wondrous

Mystery.

If you want

to see these

lyrics,

you can find

it in your

hymnal.

It's hymn

number 184.

of interest to

you,

one of the

mats that

helped write

this song

is local.

He's from

Gainesville.

Verse 1

says,

Come behold

the wondrous

mystery in the

dawning of

the King.

He, the

theme of

heaven's

praises,

robed in

frail humanity.

In our

longing, in

our darkness,

now the

light of

life has

come.

Look to

Christ who

condescended,

took on

flesh to

ransom us.

So we see the

incarnation of

Christ in this

text.

John 1,

John 1:1–5

verses 1-5.

In the

beginning was

the Word,

and the

Word was

with God,

and the

Word was

God.

He was in

the beginning

with God,

all things

were made

through him,

and without

him was

not anything

made that

was made.

In him

was life,

and the

life was

the light

of men.

The light

shines in

the darkness,

and the

darkness has

not overcome

it.

We also see

the purpose

of his

incarnation in

verse 1.

Luke 19

and verse 10,

For the Son of

Man came to

seek and to

save the

lost.

Verse 2,

Come behold

the wondrous

mystery,

he the

perfect Son

of Man,

in his

living,

in his

suffering,

never trace

nor stain

of sin.

See the

true and

better Adam

come to

save the

hell-bound

man,

Christ the

great and

sure fulfillment

of the

law.

In him

we stand.

We see

his active

obedience in

this verse,

his keeping

of the law

on our

behalf.

We also

see his

passive

suffering,

his death

on the

cross,

paying the

penalty for

our sin.

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 5:21

5,

verse 21,

For our

sake he

made him

to be

sin who

knew no

sin that

in him

we might

become the

righteousness

of God.

Romans 5,

Romans 5:17

verse 17,

For if

because of

one man's

trespass,

death

reigned

through that

one man,

much more

will those

who receive

the abundance

of grace

and the

free gift

of righteousness

reign in

life

through the

one man,

Jesus Christ.

Verse 3

goes on to

talk about

the passive

obedience of

Christ.

Come behold,

the tree,

in the stead

of ruined

sinners,

hangs the

lamb in

victory.

See the

price of our

redemption,

see the

Father's plan

unfold,

bringing many

sons to

glory,

atonement of

Christ.

1 Corinthians

15,

13,

For I

deliver to

you as a

first importance

what I

also received,

that Christ

died for

our sins,

in accordance

with the

scriptures.

Verse 4,

Come behold

the wondrous

mystery,

slain by

death,

the God

of life,

but no

grave could

e'er

restrain

him.

Praise

the Lord,

he is

alive.

What a

foretaste

of deliverance,

how unwavering

our hope,

Christ in

power

resurrected,

as we

will be

when he

comes.

What a

foretaste

of deliverance,

how unwavering

our hope,

Christ in

power

resurrected,

as we

will be

when he

comes.

So there

we see the

resurrection

of Christ,

1 Corinthians

15,

4,

he was

buried,

that he

was raised

on the

third day

in accord

with the

scriptures.

Glorification

of the

saints,

Colossians

3,

4,

when Christ

who is

your life

appears,

then you

will also

appear

with him

in glory.

You

cannot

leave

on a

Sunday

morning

that we

have

sung

this

song

and

say

that

you

weren't

fed

the

truth

of

God.

If you

do,

you

are

tuned

out.

Look at

it,

take it

up,

read it,

sing it

with joy,

right?

We've

seen the

incarnation

and the

purpose of