Sermon Notes, October 9, 2016 AM
Why Do We Sing? (1)
Steve W. Reeves
INTRODUCTION:
A.
Sunday, September 4, 2005 was a day I hope to remember as long as I live. Six days
earlier Hurricane Katrina crashed into the Gulf
Coast causing extensive damage in
Mississippi and Louisiana. There were huge evacuations and
over 200 people ended up
at our church building in Southaven, Mississippi. We turned the
building into a hotel
where we provided lodging, food and clothing for over three weeks. I had never been
involved in anything of this magnitude. Even First Lady Laura Bush came to visit one
afternoon. Of all of my memories of that time none stands out more than our worship
service Sunday
morning. We invited our guests to worship with us. Most of them came.
Most of them had never been part
of a worship service in a church of Christ
before.
We carefully explained each part of the
service so people would understand what was
taking place. I was amazed at how attentive everyone was.
Just before the sermon our
song leader led, “The Greatest Command.” As the song progressed
with each part being
added verse by verse you could feel the release of tension that swept over
the crowd. As
we repeated the song several times I looked around and saw tears flowing from
every
person I could see. There was one family who
were shrimpers from Chalmette who had
lost everything. The man and his sons were
big,tanned and strong. They didn’t know the
words but tears ran down their cheeks. There was a young couple from New Orleans
who were
expecting their first child .They too had tears. The baby was born in our local
hospital later that week
and before they left we married them and baptized them. I turned
to my youngest daughter who
was sixteen at the time and said, ‘Brooke, don’t ever
forget this day. This is a once in a
lifetime experience.”
1. I do not remember what I preached that
morning.
2. I cannot tell you who led the prayers or
presided at the Lord’s Table.
3. I have no clue how much the offering
was. I’m not sure who led the singing.
4. I will never forget how the singing
touched our hearts and made such an impression
on so many people.
B. I
am very concerned about the status of singing in churches of Christ. I fear
that we have
forgotten why we sing.
1. Singing us such an important part of our
worship.
2. Singing involves the entirety of our
being.
a. It is not merely auditory. We listen
to prayers, communion thoughts and sermons.
b. Singing involves active
participation. It involves heart, head, ears and mouth. It
requires thought and articulation.
3. Singing is the earliest form of worship
recorded in the Bible. Job 38:7 - “Where were
you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, 5 Who
set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched
the line on it? 6 “On what
were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7 When
the morning stars sang
together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
4. When God created us He gave us the
ability to express words in song. No other
creature on earth has that ability. Birds and other
animals may sing a beautiful melody
but they cannot do what God gave human beings the ability
to do. There is no higher
use of our tongues than to bless and honor God in song.
a. After Jesus instituted the Lord ’s
Supper the apostles sang a hymn before going out
to the Mount of Olives (Matthew 26:30).
b. When Paul and Salas were imprisoned
in Philippi they were heard at midnight
singing and praying to God (Acts 16:25).
c. Singing has always been an important
part of the Christian faith.
5.
Singing is the only act of current worship that will carry on for eternity.
a. There will be no need for prayer
since we will be in the presence of God.
b. There will be no need for the Lord’s
Supper since we will be with the Lord.
c. Aren’t you thankful that there will
be no sermons?
d. There will be singing in heaven!
1.) Revelation 5:9-11 – “And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy
are You to take
the book and to break its seals; for You were
slain, and purchased for God with
Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and
people and nation.10 “You have
made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they
will reign upon the
earth.”
2.) Revelation 14:2-3 also refers to
the “new song.” Revelation 15:3 says they sang
the “song of Moses and the lamb.” I do not
know what that singing is going to be
like just as I do not know what our risen body will
look like (there is much
symbolism in Revelation) but I know that there will be praise to God
eternally.
C.
Since singing plays such an important role in our worship I think it is essential
to ask
the question, “Why do we sing?”
I. TO PRAISE GOD
A. There are many differences between
Israel’s worship in the Old Testament and our
worship today under the New Testament. The
common thread between them is
praising God.
1. The book of Psalms was the song book
of Israel and also the song book of the early
church. One of the consistent themes of the
Psalms is that of praise.
a. Psalm 22:22 – “I will tell of Your name
to my brethren; In the midst of the asembly
I will praise You.”
b. Psalm 68:4 – “Sing to God, sing
praises to His name; Lift up a song for Him who
rides through the deserts, Whose name
is the Lord, and exult before Him.”
c. Psalm 69:30 – “I will praise the
name of God with song and magnify Him with
thanksgiving.”
d. Psalm 92:1 – “It is good to give
thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to Your
name, O Most High.”
e. Psalm 100:1-2 – “Shout joyfully
to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Serve the Lord with
gladness; Come before Him with joyful
singing.”
f. Psalm 149:1 – “Praise the Lord! Sing
to the Lord a new song, And His praise in the
congregation of the godly ones.”
B.
The writer of Hebrews refers to Old Testament passages as he encouraged
Christians to remember that we have a better
covenant.
1. Hebrews 2:12 – he quotes the Psalm
22:22 passage - “I will proclaim Your name to
My brethren, In the midst of the
congregation I will sing Your praise.”
2. Hebrews 13:15 – “Through Him then,
let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise
to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give
thanks to His name.”
B. One of the great challenges of singing
is to maintain our focus on the praise of God.
Many of you have heard of Alexander Campbell a
19th century leader of the American
Restoration Movement. Several years ago I visited
Campbell’s home in Bethany, West
Virginia, and also Bethany College located nearby. At
Bethany College I saw a
songbook published by Campbell. It had no notes. There was no four part
harmony.
Campbell did not want anything to distract from the meaning of the words. We may
think
his view was extreme but I pray that we will never allow anything
distract us from
the purpose of praise.
II. TO GIVE THANKS TO GOD
A. Singing also expresses thanksgiving to
God.
1. After God had parted the waters of
the Red Sea allowing the Israelites to escape
from Pharaoh’s grasp the people sang a
song of praise and thanksgiving recorded
in Exodus 15.
2. Nehemiah 12:27 describes the
dedication of the wall of Jerusalem as the people
sang hymns and songs of thanksgiving.
3. Ephesians. 5:19-20 – “speaking
to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs, singing and making melody with your
heart to the Lord; 20 always giving
thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to
God, even the Father.”
4. Colossians 3:16-17 - “Let
the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom
teaching and admonishing one another with
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Whatever
you do in word or deed, do all
in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks
through Him to God the Father.”
B. Andy Ritchie’s dad, Andy T. Ritchie,
Jr., wrote a book, Thou Shalt Worship The Lord
Thy God. In the book he compares our singing to
water flowing from a well. Have you
ever felt so thankful you had to sing?
III. TO EDIFY ONE ANOTHER
A. Worship has a vertical and a horizontal
dimension.
1. The vertical dimension is our relationship
to God. It concerns the attitude of our
hearts and approaching God with reverence and
awe.
2. The horizontal dimension acknowledges
that I do not come before God alone as an
individual but as a part of a community. My
worship not only expresses my
relationship to God it identifies my relationship with the
people of God.
B. In 1 Corinthians 14 Paul addressed a
church that was very selfish in the use of their
abilities. Paul told them that the gifts they had
been given were not for their selfish use
but tor the benefit of others. In verses 15-17 – “I will
pray with the spirit and I will pray
with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the
mind also.
16 Otherwise if you bless in the spirit only, how will the one who fills the place of the
ungifted say the “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are
saying? 17 For
you are giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not edified.”
C. There is a teaching aspect in singing.
In her book, Traveling Mercies, Anne Lamott,
tells of a time in her life when she was caught up
in despair, drugs, alcohol and
cocaine. One day she went to a Flea Market in Martin City,
California. While there she
noticed a small, run down church building. Coming from the building was
singing unlike
any she had ever heard. Eventually the singing drew her in and ultimately led
her to
faith in God. In Colossians 3:16 Paul wrote, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within
you,
with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns
and
spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
IV TO EXPRESS EMOTION
A. As you look over the American religious
scene there are a lot of abuses of people’s
emotions.
1.
Do you remember Tammy Faye Baker? She and her first husband had a religious
TV show called the PTL Club. She wore heavy
eye makeup and was always crying
causing the mascara to run down her cheeks.
2. Though there have always been those who sought to take advantage of people’s
emotions I hope we don’t go to the extreme of
negating emotions in our worship of
God.
3. Worship involves all of our emotions.
a. There is joy and celebration.
b. There is love for God and one
another.
c. There is sadness over sin and its
effects in people’s lives.
B. Both the words and music of songs express
emotion. Music reaches a part of our
brain that words do not.
1.
James said, “Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone
cheerful?
He is to sing praises” (James 5:13).
2. Are you familiar with the song, “Love
for All and Can It Be?” The song tells the story
of redemption through the eyes of the
prodigal son. As you sing and reflect on its
words they generate tears.
3. The song, “When We All Get to
Heaven,” generates feelings of anticipation.
4.
Thee song, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” provides us with reflection on
the
death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.
How can this not affect you emotionally?
V. TO DEMONSTRATE UNITY
A. This past week we have been going about
our lives. We have gone in different
directions and done different things. We have pursued
different interests and enjoyed
different tastes. But in this assembly we have been united as we
sing praises to God.
1. Singing exemplifies, “the unity of
the spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).
2. Is it any wonder Satan tries to
create controversy with singing? Churches have
divided because they couldn’t agree on which
song book to use, whether or not to
use Power Point or the singing of old and new songs.
B. Singing should strengthen the common
love we have with each other, it should be a
common gift to the Savior and should celebrate
the common bond that holds us to
the Lord.
CONCLUSION:
A. I
sat in a small church building on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent looking
out the
window as the sun set. The church was singing “What a
Friend We Have in Jesus” in
their distinctive voices. They sang with such enthusiasm and emotion.
I couldn’t help
but think of how the God who created such a beautiful setting wanted to be my
friend.
B. We
worship a God who is worthy of our worship. I hope you will consider your
relationship
with Him today and put your faith in Him. If you
have never turned to Him in
repentance or been baptized for the forgiveness of sins we want to encourage you to do
so as we stand and exhort one another in song! Will you come to Christ today?
