What Happens When We Worship | Week 13

Welcome today to New Life Community Church.

Glad that you're here. My name is Kyle serve as lead.

Pastor here. If you're visiting extra, thanks

to you today from showing up and we pray that your heart would be

edified along with the rest of ours.

If you have your Bible with you today, you can open the

Colossians chapter 3, the book of Colossians chapter 3, they're

Colossians 3 · chapter mention Colossians 3 · chapter mention

kind of in the middle of those New Testament letters and give

you a second to find it. We are entering the the very

home stretch of this series on worship.

This is the first of our last four weeks together in the

series and which we've been examining what happens when we

worship. And again, we're faking not

specifically about the songs, we sing, but more of the totality

of the service, what's going on in the worship service?

Why does it matter? And so today, we're going to

examine a bit more closely songs why We sing and worship service.

What's the purpose of singing? The title of today's sermon is

singing a new song. In the point, I want to make to

you, is this that you have been given.

If you have been regenerated by the holy, spirit's you've been

saved to new lives by the work of Christ and the work of the

father through him. Then you have been given a new

song to sing. Amen.

We're going to talk more about that in a moment.

Martin Luther said this Martin Luther, was one of the initial

reformers in the early 1500s and he said, this about singing.

He said the good news of Christ, great Deliverance, Tunes.

The heart to sing Luther was big on singing, especially singing

the word of Christ. And so the good news of Christ,

great Deliverance, Tunes, the heart to see, regenerated

Hearts. Then what we're saying is, Is

that regenerated heart, sing a new song, quite literally.

And so to do, they sing and worship of their great Lord and

Savior Jesus Christ. So Jonathan Cruz and his book

lays out a helpful outline for singing.

Why? It's important and I've summed

it up this way, you can write this down.

If you're taking notes, God's Gift of song, equips us with a

fitting way to praise him. Pray to him and Proclaim him.

God's Gift of song, equips us with a fitting way to praise

him, pray to him and Proclaim him.

Now, if you would, would you stand to your feet, as we read

God's word. Today, Colossians 3 just reading

one verse today. Verse 16.

When I'm finished, I'll say this is the word of the Lord and I

would ask that you respond. Thanks be to God.

Austin's 3, verse 16. 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.

This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God, let me pray

for something, you can be seated.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word.

We thank you for christ and his work of Salvation that by him.

We have a new identity. We are brothers and sisters with

our lord Jesus. We are children of God, born of

your spirit and we praise you for that literally, Lord wheat,

seeing a new song, You have given us a new identity and out

of that new identity, we praise you.

And you've given us the gift of Saul Lord, music is yours, and

you've created it so that people might worship and magnify and

pray, and pray. Claim truths to one another

Lord, we love you and we thank you for this gift.

I pray. Now that as we study your word,

that you would open our hearts and Minds by your spirit that we

might understand. It may our hearts be good soil

today. Soil, that the word is planted

into and bears fruit in due season for Generation season.

Lord, we love you. It's in the Name of Christ.

We pray. Amen.

So just want to start with this general question of why do we

sing? Because if we're honest, singing

in community seems to be coming becoming this extinct not

distinct. We wanted to be distinct but

seems to be coming more and more extinct, right?

It's not normal for us to see people singing in communities

anymore. There once was a time really not

too long ago where it was perfectly commonplace.

Ace to sing at parties neighborhood, Gatherings or with

a few close friends over dinner, or after dinner with your family

after dinner, you see in many war movies men, singing together

after battles, or as they're gathered in foxholes, as ways to

encourage their own heart, for the battle that lays ahead But

now our singing is largely limited to the privacy of the

shower or our vehicle rights. Like I'm going to sing there

because no one hears me. I'm going to sing there because

I won't embarrass myself. I'm going to sing there because

it's Anonymous, right? And there's nothing wrong with

that. We might sing happy birthday,

right? I was at a party yesterday from

mr. Ethan we say, happy birthday to

him and Easton as well. And we might seem Take Me Out to

the Ballgame if we're at a baseball field.

You might sing at a concert with a bunch of strangers may be

there with a few friends but it's a collection of strangers

singing familiar songs together. So people do sing but it takes a

special occasion to get the majority of people singing, One

author, wrote about The Disappearance of singing in the

Atlantic the on the website, the Atlantic.

She said this, she said the reasons why we do not sing or

many We are insecure about our voices, we don't know the words

we resent being forced into an activity together.

We feel uncool, and since we're out of practice as a society,

the person who dares, to begin a song risk, having no one join

them, right? So, you end up seeing alone.

And what this means is that our culture may find our weekly

congregational singing weird, It's weird to come together and

seeing if you're not normally, in places where you sing now,

you might think of color racial seeing is perfectly normal.

I hope that you do right, and it's not so recently where we've

inserted singing in the home groups, or even a Biblical

manhood where you start to think menaces kind of strange, right?

Because it's supposed to happen here but we start taking out of

here and it gets odd. Some may find it surprising But

there's nothing quite like a church of people who were

willing to sing together, we're willing to lift their voices,

and proclaim, the truths of God's word, alongside one

another. So, why do we sing?

Why do we do it? Why, and why do we do so much of

it? The short answer is that

regardless of our culture's feelings, about singing God

commands, his church to sing God's gifted.

His church with voices to sing, God has created Created music

for singing. He's given his people, a new

song to say. And so it's important for us to

understand why we sing on Sundays.

Why are we seeing on Wednesdays and hungry?

Why are we singing biblical manhood?

We need to know what is happening when we worship

through song. And the main thing I want to

show you is that God's gift to the main truth.

We're going to Rally around. Is it God's Gift of song, equips

us with a fitting way to praise him to pray to him and to

Proclaim him? Amen.

Let's talk a bit more about singing.

Singing is intended to be Melody, with theological

meaning, Christian singing ought to be Melody with theological

meaning so looking Again, at Colossians 3:16, let the word of

Colossians 3:16

Christ dwell richly in you or in you richly teaching and

admonishing one. Another in all wisdom, singing,

Psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs.

I want to say something about that, that's not necessarily

categories for, so that was the way.

Let me, let me do it this way. That was the way the Septuagint,

which was the Greek old. But that's the way it breaks up

the Psalms it, breaks them up into songs and hymns and

spiritual songs. Those are categories in the

Septuagint, for the songs. And so we may rightly deduce

that these are the kinds of songs we can sing.

Yes, but not just any song, not just any him and not just any

Psalm, the ones that the word of God would approve of amen.

And we're to do that with thankfulness, you do it with

thankfulness and in your heart to God.

And so first, we must understand that all our singing is Melody

with theological meaning. In other words, both the roots

and the aim of singing is theological it must form from

Theology and it must declare. The words of theology.

It must declare truth about God and beef come come from be

rooted in the truths of God's word.

It's rooted in the work of God through Jesus Christ.

And so, therefore, it is aimed at worshiping God for his work

through Jesus on our behalf. If we don't understand this and

we began to see, we are going to write songs and sings songs that

are vain, they're going to have no meaning, worshipful singing

is not determined by the emotions that you feel.

As you see, whether it is about understanding that God, God is

worthy of our songs. He is worthy because of the

Redemption, we have through the Gospel of Jesus.

Now, this is not to say that worship should have no emotion

to it. That's not what we're saying.

But worship is not only emotional, amen.

We should sing songs that make us joyous.

We should sing songs that inform our tears, whether they're happy

tears, or sad tears. We should sing songs that are a

buttress and a truth for us. When we're going through great

sadness or Darkness. Or that help us fly high on the

wings of the Lord. Amen.

And so there is much emotion in singing.

You know this if you've heard any song at any point in your

life that moved you in some way, whether it moved your foot to

start tapping or your body to start making movements that you

shouldn't have done in public or it moved your heart toward your

wife or toward your husband, or it moves you to tears.

Tears in some way, or cause you to reflect on the goodness of

God, right? Music moves.

But I want you to understand that music moves, because God

designed it to do this. It's his first.

And so, like anything else that belongs to the Lord, we can

misuse it. And so not all music is good.

Not all music is healthy for you.

Not all music is good for you spiritually and I'm not going to

preach that sermon this morning. We don't have time for that.

We just need to recognize this, that, just because something is

musical, does it mean it's Godly?

Amen. We want to be careful of that.

And so, our songs are worshipful when the word of Christ dwells

richly in us. That's what Colossians is laying

out here. When our songs, teach us, when

our songs admonish Us in all wisdom, then we can understand

that, we are singing the word of Christ, and then we can sing

with thankfulness to God. And the songs which is the

greatest song book of God's covenant, worshippers we are

instructed repeatedly to sing a new song.

One old comment, one Old Testament.

He was probably old as well, but one Old Testament, commentator

said this, he said a new song is a, what is in?

So he's talking about, what is Psalms mean?

When it says, we are to sing a new song, he sang a new song is

a Hymn of victory. It's sung after God has made all

things new by his defeat of the forces of evil.

And so on the songs when they were instructed to sing a new

song, it was to declare something that the Lord had done

on their behalf in the defeat of evil.

And so singing songs like that, only come from receiving a new

song from God, which really means that we sing songs with

new songs with a new heart. Once your heart seems one at one

time, your heart saying the songs of the world but now your

heart sings, the songs of worship to God.

If you've been redeemed by him Jesus Christ victory over sin

and death by his death on a cross and his resurrection from

the tomb informs and inspires all of our worship, all of our

sons. And so we have said over and

over again during the series that there is no part of our

worship. There's nothing that we're doing

when we come together. There's nothing in our meeting

with God, that is possible without the past, present, and

future work of Jesus Christ in view.

The same is true for our singing.

It must declare the truths of the Lord, it is Jesus who gives

us a new song to sing? He is the content of the songs

in heaven. As we look at Revelation in the

songs that will be sung and heaven, or at least get glimpses

of the kinds of songs that will be sung of Heaven.

Guess who the man Main player is and all of those songs Christ,

the Risen Christ, the one who triumphed over death and sin,

the one who has brought to himself a people from every

tribe tongue and nation that. They might declare the

excellencies of the Lord and to enjoy new excellency's from the

Lord Without End for eternity. They are singing the victory of

Christ. And so of Christ is the message

of the song is of heaven, then we can Riley.

Say the Christ has to be the message of the songs of Earth.

Amen, the ones that were singing here he informs and inspires all

of our songs And so we must be the constant and so God gives us

with Saul. It gives us with the ability to

sing and to play music. All of this as a fitting way to

praise him, to pray to him to Proclaim him to one another,

don't think Cruz said this, he said, so whether we were

praising God for the work he's done.

Whether we're praying to him and our trouble or were proclaiming

the truth of the Bible to one another.

Every song is Possible. Only Because Jesus has made it

so amen. So let's look at praising him.

As first point of Praise Him, let the word of Christ dwell in

you richly teaching and admonishing one.

Another in all wisdom singing songs, and hymns, and spiritual

songs with thankfulness in your hearts, to God, in a word, you

are praising God. The gift of song equips us to

praise God. For his work in us, and to

praise him. For his work, for us.

And this is Is what Paul was charging this church of colossi,

these Colossians and this is what he's telling them to do.

He's saying let the word of Christ dwell in, you richly

singing songs with thankfulness in your hearts.

The word of Christ here is the content of the good news of

Salvation. It's the same word of Christ

that's mentioned in Revelation. Sorry, Romans chapter 10, where

Romans 10 · chapter mention

we read there that, how can they believe if they have not heard.

And how will they hear if they've not have a preacher and

then says faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of the

Lord or by the word of Christ? When we say the word of Christ

were talking about the totality of the Gospel.

We're talking about the content of your new testament.

We're talking about all the things that are revealed in Old,

and New Testaments about the work and the person of Jesus

Christ. Amen, this is what's to dwell in

US richly As we sing. It's the word of Christ.

It's the content of the good news of Salvation through Jesus

Christ God's word teaches us. And when that gospel word,

dwells in you, or in other words lives in you, When you are a

Made Alive by this word of Christ and that word of Christ

is what causes you, your heart to beat, and your mouth to sing.

That's when you sing the new song that you've been given its

by a redeemed heart and you'll sing it with great thankfulness.

In other words, you will praise him.

To say more bluntly, you can't help but praise him.

It's the natural response of a heart that is overflowing with,

love for God. C.s., Lewis.

Once said this. he said to not appreciate God is to have lost

the greatest experience and in the end to have lost all when I

read it again, because I think it's really important for us to

understand this To not appreciate God is to have lost

the greatest experience. What's the experience?

The appreciation of God is the greatest experience of the human

heart and mind and soul. And if you don't have that, he

says in the end you have lost all.

I don't want you to miss this point either.

Praise is a command from God, yes, but it's a command that's

meant for the Delight of your soul.

Amen. Praise is a command from God.

That's meant to be a delight for you.

And here's something else to understand, God, never, ever,

not once commands, his people to do something that if they obey,

it won't result in their deepest delight and all satisfying

pleasure in God himself, This is the point of the commands of

God, they're not to put a thumb on you.

They're not so just box you in and keep you from experiencing

the greatest Pleasures that you might experience as the world

would have you believe. But they're actually to unleash

upon you the greatest Pleasures available to man which are the

very pleasures of God himself and this is why the psalmist in

psalm 16 says you make known to me the path of Life at your

right hand, another words as were walking together on this

path. Your right hand is just leaving

for me Pleasures forevermore he says, Incredible.

This is the greatest experience for you is to know the all

satisfying, deepest delight in God.

C.s. Lewis went on to say this which

is again, very hopeful. We Delight to praise what we

enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes

the enjoyment. It is the appointed

consummation. That means it is the appointed

end of the prey. Raise.

And so let me explain it to you this way.

A husband who enjoys his wife Her beauty.

Her love her presence. Her feminine nature.

Her glory. A husband who enjoys all of

those things about his wife, yet never expresses, his enjoyment

and verbal praise or in gift to giving, or in an Embrace is

missing out on the divinely designed consummation of his

enjoyments at best. It's only a partial enjoyment to

look at something that is beautiful and lovely, and not

say that's beautiful. And lovely to not, praise it.

In some way is to It's to relinquish or to hold onto the

designed end of noticing, the something as beautiful and

lovely, you're withholding it. And so, you're missing out on

the greatest experience. And so, we take this to our

thoughts about the Lord, to recognize that the Lord is

awesome. To recognize that the Lord Is

Holy and just that he is altogether different than I am.

Where I am riddled with sin and a nature that wants to run as

far from God as I could, he is in his goodness pursuing me.

He is in his goodness, allowing me to persevere by his Spirit.

He is in his goodness. Holding me so to speak. and if I

look at that, And I don't say something about it, and it just

sits here. I've not finished the praise

yet. I'm not come to the end of the

praise. Yet.

The end of the praise is to acknowledge that he is good and

holy and just and righteous and altogether different and lovely

and perfect and all of his attributes.

Rice. The enjoyment comes, as you

begin to say those things about the Lord, the enjoyment comes as

you as I praise my wife. That's where it comes.

And so God commands us to praise him because he is the expression

of true enjoyment. Listen to this, God is the only

He's the only being who can demand praise for for himself.

And it not be egomaniac. Equal, right?

Because he's the only one worthy of Praise.

Anyone else demands? That someone Praises them.

They're an egomaniac. But when God does it, he's

perfect and he's righteous and he understands that your

greatest enjoyment and all of life will come in the praise of

his glorious name. but the greatest enjoyment in all of

your life will come as you recognize his glorious Grace

Amen. And this is the purpose of

worship. It's the purpose of what God's

done in your life. It's to create a people for

himself, who loved him and who Praise Him and who submit to him

and all of life and bring him the utmost Glory, because giving

God, the utmost glory is for the utmost, good of his people.

Amen. And you don't want to miss that.

You don't want to miss that because all of the commands of

God are tied to pleasure. They're tied to your pleasure,

all of the commands of God are tied to bringing him glory.

And if you start thinking that God is Like a disgruntled

parent, who's just trying to keep you from having fun?

You're going to resent God and you're not going to want to

submit to him anymore. You're going to really struggle

with sin. Not only, you're going to

struggle with sin. You're going to struggle with

his providential acts in your life, the giving and The Taking

of things because you won't see those as good either.

And you'll think that God is like a maniac, will lover, whose

emotions go up and down, who are like the wind or the waves

they're unpredictable. But he's not, he's not he's

well-thought-out everything that he does is according to the

counsel of his perfect will for the praise of his glorious

Grace, and his name in all the Earth.

Amen. And when we see that will trust

him. Will live for will honor.

Him will sing songs that magnify his name?

Above all names? Amen.

The psalmist in Psalm 92 verse 1 says, it is good to give, thanks

Psalms 92:1

to the Lord to sing, praises to your name.

Almost hi, that's the response of a heart that's been

transformed by the love of Christ.

It is good to give, thanks to the Lord, to sing, praises to

your name. O, most high to praise him, is

to be an all of him to praise him as to Revere him.

And this must be the posture of our heart.

As we sing these songs to God, alongside our brothers and

sisters each week. We rightly praised God as he

calls us into worship as he pardons us of sin as he

illuminates, our hearts and minds and with the word as he

invites us to his Heavenly table as he blessed.

Those with this high and holy calling and purpose.

We sing to him because of these things.

And so God's Gift of song, equips us with a fitting way to

praise him. The second thing it does, is it

equips us with a fitting way to pray to him.

Again, 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, We are commanded to do all of those things to God

with thankfulness and our hearts to God.

And so, truly Christian singing is an address to God.

Its first and foremost in addressed to God, truly

Christian singing is not about the congregation singing.

It it's not about the songwriter thinking of those people.

It's not about thinking first, and foremost of how will this

song Moves someone? It's not about how to get, you

know, this course right with this bridge or this verse with

this chorus. It's none of those things are

first and foremost, and singing. Singing is first and addressed

to God, We're addressing the Lord, and if we're addressing

the Lord, then it is prayer. It's a form of Prayer.

Now, we are going to look at in just a moment.

How singing also does address those around us but first and

foremost, it's about addressing the Lord in prayer, is any type

of direct address to God and so singing falls into this

category. the reformer, John Calvin taught this, he said, as

for public prayers, there are two kinds The one consists

simply of speech, which is when we say, let's pray as I did

before the sermon, the other is song.

The idea of sung prayer goes against the grain of mainstream

evangelicalism which mostly employees upbeat and joyful

songs and worship. Should we sing songs of praise?

Yes. And amen.

Absolutely. We should we've noted this just

a second ago, right? This is one of the first things

were meant to do is to praise the name of the Lord to sing in

major Keys. Amen.

However, we must also leave room for songs of petition and

supplication. I'll admit that when it comes to

music, I'm boxing way outside my weight class.

All right, I cannot sing. I cannot play.

I cannot do any of the sort mostly what my music knowledge

is is some weird form of preacher theory about music,

right? I'm just analyzing songs, that's

what I do. And I'll analyze the mess out of

them from the tune to the words. All of it.

I want to know why we're seeing what we're seeing.

Why it matters. I'll let the professionals do

the playing amen. They're the ones that need to

lead us in that. The crews had a quote in his

book. Deeply resonated with me that I

want to read the see, it's a bit lengthy and so I apologize for

that. I try not to use leafy quotes

but I did want to read this one to you because it it struck me

in a profound way and I think it's worth reading life.

He says does not always play out in a major key.

So why should our salts The students to be more of an issue

in those striving after an entertainment aesthetic and

worship after. All, what does entertaining

about Sin Calamity or distress? But life, he says it's difficult

and messy. Can God wants us to come and

cast our cares before him? Moreover.

He goes on to say church singing offers a cathartic forum for us

to express our deepest troubles without having to pretend like

everything in life is a okay. The heavy concentration of

Psalms of lament and distress, and the Psalms he says, shows

that it is appropriate to come to God with our troubles,

concerns problems and worries. And not just come to him, but to

come to him insult. Amen.

Over the last six months since when he passed Psalms of Lament.

Songs of despair. Songs of trust when trust is not

what you want to do. Songs of Hope.

When Hope is the last thing, you think you have have been really

close friends for our family. There are many times I've

struggled to pray. I've struggled to get words out

and so songs become my prayers. I have to playlist on Spotify

for this very reason. One is Hope and Christ, oh,

aching heart and the other is heart strengthening jams.

These have taught me a first-hand experience this

season of life. I should say his taught me by

first-hand, experience the importance of singing songs of

lament. That provide deep gospel truths

and so they enrich our petitions to God in times of trouble and

trial So many of modern worship songs are really just all about

us. The focus is on our side

typically and it's not nice but I typically call them Jesus is

my boyfriend songs. And I've joked with Patricia

that I could insert her name where his name is and it would

just be a love song to her because there's nothing deeply

theological about them, the songs.

We sung this morning I could not sing to my wife Right.

It declared things about God that no human possess his.

And so it matters what we sing but many songs today are all

about me. Me and me why?

Because me sells itself help music in a self-help world.

And we must be very careful. But let me tell you when you

lose your daughter. Or you come face-to-face with

some other tragedy, you're not going to go searching for a song

that makes Christ your boyfriend.

You're going to go searching for a song that comforts you and

strengthens your faith. You're going to crave something.

With some meat in it, you're going to sing songs that dwell

richly in the word of Christ, because that's what your soul

needs in those moments. and so singing songs that have the word

of Christ dwell in you richly in them each week, those songs are

going to become the soundtrack for your life.

And so it matters. I praise God.

We have a team that thinks deeply about what we seeing and

why we sing it. Our singing must teach us how to

pray it. Informs our prayers.

They must teach us how to praise God.

And how to cry out to God. At the same time, when we call

out to him in prayer or singing, he hears us because of Christ

Our mediator, amen? We know the Christ.

Takes our cares before the father.

We know that in Christ, our prayers, become his prayers are

request, become his petitions to the father and as our great high

priest, he sings our humble Soul into the father's ear and so we

can know that we are heard, amen, this is why you're

instructed in Hebrews 4 to come boldly to the throne of grace,

that you might receive grace and mercy and your time of need,

because you have a great high priest in heaven, who is not

unable. Able but is totally able to

sympathize with you and your weaknesses though he was

tempted. He is without sin. and so you

can be confident, you can come boldly to him and he hears you

God's Gift of song, equips us with a fitting way, to praise

him to pray to him, and finally, to Proclaim him.

Want to read Colossians 3. One more time.

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, so what we learned here is that singing is

a means of proclaiming God's truth to one another It's not

just from the worship team to us, right?

It's not just that they're up here singing songs and we're

just joining in the focus of the team up here is to hear our

voices. Amen.

And so that we Proclaim truth to one another.

So our singing though, we're looking this way are singing is

also sideways It's to the person sitting next to you.

The person in front of you, the person behind you.

And so, when we sing on Sunday mornings, we are proclaiming.

We're doing so much so much has happened.

But one for sure, thing that we're wanting to get right in

our singing is that were proclaiming truths.

Deep, gospel, truths, that are going to grow your face.

Grow your love for others. To one another, amen, we're

trying to edify one another in our singing.

It's why we won't have a drum solo or a guitar solo or

something that's drawing the attention away from the singing.

We want to promote the singing. Amen.

It's about the voice. And so whether we've got a full

team up here, where we come in, and no one's available, Right?

And somebody's going to stand up here, I'll do it.

If I have to, okay, I don't want to, but I will, if I have to

somebody's going to stand up here, and we're going to sing

together, amen. Because we're going to proclaim

the truths. Alan said, it really well in an

elder meeting recently. That what we do in here must be

able to be replicated, anywhere else in the world, Right.

If I can't do in here, if you can't take these songs and sing

them in a group in the jungle of Brazil somewhere.

Then what we're doing here isn't gospel-centered, it's not

christ-centered, he goes everywhere.

Amen. Pragmatism does not.

And so we must not be pragmatics first.

We must be gospel-centered christ-centered men and women

first. Amen that travels that goes

everywhere. Cruz says this congregational

singing acts as a sort of communal preaching, singing

allows the word of Christ dwell in us.

Singing as a means by which faith in the gospel is plan.

Stood. And cultivated in our hearts, a

moon, one of the tried and trued ways of learning, anything is in

song, you learn this in grade school, right?

Used to and in many ways, it still is grade.

School is the time where you're memorizing things.

Why are you memorizing things? So that you can later build on

the things, you've memorized it's the learn things.

And so many of the things in kindergarten grade school are

taught through song. How did you learn your ABCs

assault? Right, catechism with children

throughout church history and even in adults, as largely

happened in song or just in short memorization of truths

about the Lord, memorizing things is essential to learning

things to getting truths in us so that we can build on those

trees expound on the streets. And so we sing for memorization,

it's a great tool to memorize And so this is an effective

Communicator of God's truths. I would dare say, it's one of

the great things that God has wired into music.

I've messed with people for a long time who say they don't pay

attention to the lyrics of songs.

And yet when I hear them, they're not reciting.

The beat of the song, The reciting the words of the psalm,

right? Those things stick driving down

the road and you're listening to your radio.

Those those things stick even if you're not totally paying

attention, but you'll find yourself singing along.

Why God has made music powerful? It's impressive.

What music does? Martin Luther new this again,

he's the reformer. I mentioned earlier, he knew

this and so he began to write music like crazy that he could

get into the hands of people that they might sing God's

truths. And he said this, he said music

and notes which are wonderful gifts and Creations of God, do

help gain a better understanding of the text talking about the

scriptures especially when sung by a congregation and sung

earnestly. We are made better.

He goes on to say and stronger and Faith when his holy word

isn't Pressed on our hearts by sweet music.

Amen. Like a good singing German man,

right? And this kind of gospel

saturated truth. This magnifying singing is never

better than when song in the company of the Saints in the

house of God. This is where truly shines,

Yeah, I mentioned to you earlier that I listened to songs to help

my prayers, to help my heart, seeing when it didn't want to.

But my favorite place to sing is every Sunday in here with you

guys. My favorite place to saying is

on Wednesday night, sitting in a circle in my whole group

awkwardly trying to figure this out, right?

But it's amazing once it starts to come together.

And it's important for what we're doing.

Singing must be a part of weekly worship so that we learn to

praise God. For his work.

So we learn to pray to him and are desperate times and we learn

to Proclaim God's truth to one another.

Again Alan read Psalm 149 earlier but verse ones can read

it, praise the Lord, sing to the Lord, a new song, his praise in

the Assembly of The Godly. This is what we're after the

best part of singing. God's truth says that we are

teaching God's truths to one another.

When we sing songs that are soaked in the word of God, we

must realize that God is using those songs to deepen our faith

in Christ to grow our love for our neighbor.

Where and when we sing, We partake of the glory and the

Splendor of God. John Wesley.

Methodist, you know, basically founder of the Methodist

movement but he wrote this at the beginning of his hymnal.

He said, Beware of singing, as if you were half dead or half

asleep, but lift up your voice with strength, be no more afraid

of your voice noun or more ashamed of its being heard.

Then, when you sung the songs of Satan, he just said it.

Like it was. He goes on to say have an eye to

God and every word you sing aim at pleasing him more than

yourself or any other creature. So, shall your singing be such

as the Lord will approve of here and reward when he cometh and

the Clouds Of Heaven, Hey Beth God gives us with song and in

doing so he's equipping us with a fitting way to praise him.

Pray to him and Proclaim him. Let me see if I can tie all this

together real quick. Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Once said this he said the heart sings because it is overflowing

with Christ. If the word of Christ is

dwelling richly within you, you will be unable to do anything

but sing. Therefore, it is of utmost

importance than that. Our songs be richly filled with

the word of Christ and nothing but the word of Christ.

Amen. Again, a helpful quote, from

Crews word, centered songs will produce a word centered people

songs based on in filled with scripture songs that are

godward, not man word Christ, Focus not self-indulgent,

grounded and objectivity not aimlessly, floating and

subjectivity. Amen.

And so brothers and sisters, we aim then to be the kind of

church where men and women and boys and girls sing aloud.

The new song that God has put into our hearts, we need not be

a shame. Amen.

And Men, I always want to encourage you but I especially

want to encourage you in singing.

We Must lead the congregation in singing.

Men's voices must be loud and singing not to drown out the

women. I'm not saying anything of the

sort, but we are under the assumption, I think.

At least in practice that singing is effeminate mostly.

But singing is masculine as well, singing is meant for boys,

and it's meant for girls. Singing is meant for men and

it's meant for women. Amen.

Singing is for all of God's people, and it's must be a big

Mark of a congregation. That's pursuing the Lord

faithfully and so men, I encourage you to sing.

If we want to lead our holes, we must be men who sing if we want

to lead our church and having the word of Christ dwell richly.

And us, we need to be Men Who scene.

It must be deeply committed to singing songs that teach and

admonish us with the word of Christ and we must do so with

thankfulness in our heart to God, we don't want to sing

begrudgingly. We don't want to sing shyly.

We don't want to sing without courage or without boldness, we

want to be courageous and bold and singing.

We want to sing with Vigor with love for Christ, with love, for

our family and with love for our church.

Amen. Amen.

Let me pray for us, heavenly father.

I thank you for today. I think you for your word, I

thank you, Lord that you have created song that you've given

it as a gift to us that we might one.

Praise you? That we might to Proclaim your

name and three pray to you father.

Oh Lord, all of these things are great benefits of song, their

huge, huge Health, to our spirits I thank you Lord for

these truths. I thank you Father for a people.

Who loved you enough to examine the songs.

We sing to think deeply about them.

And to not be unafraid father to just say that one's not for us.

Let's sing this one Lord. We pray that you would help us

to be a people of men and women and boys and girls who love you

whose Hearts so singing to you. Because of all that you've done

and our lives and for us through Christ Jesus, our lord.

Lord, forgive us for being shy and singing.

Forgive us for thinking that singing is mostly about how I

sound. Lord, it's true.

You've gifted some of us. With a voice that should be

heard allowed. From a stage leading.

Others in singing. you've gifted some of us with music ability to

pluck, it strings, and to beat on drums, But Lord, all of us,

all of us have been given the gift of solo.

All of us have been given the gift of belonging to the people

of God redeemed as those who are in Christ.

And we've been given a new song in this.

And then our new song We Are to sing loudly.

But we might not be on the worship team.

But oh, are we in the congregation?

Are we among the saints, the people of God who are belting it

out week after week. So Lord is true.

Sometimes we come in here and our hearts fail us.

Hope Wayne's were overcome with difficulty and pain and trouble.

And so your Saul lifts us as though, an eagle on wings, And

we praise you for it, Lord. We praise you.

Thank you, Lord. Let us commit now to be men and

women and boys and girls who seem to hear it's in the Name of

Christ. I pray.

Amen.