Church of Christ at Blues Hill

02/12/2022

Face book is eliminating post against certain sins.. they are muffling God's word so this is the last post I will ever do at this location. Sorry to all those that follow but I will not post where my freedom to speak the word of God is forbidden.

02/10/2022

John 4:21-24
21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Beloved this is the fifth lesson in our series about the worship service of the church. I pray that these lessons have been helpful and hope that they will guide you into a greater understanding of just how important the worship is.

It is so very important that we understand that the only proper way to worship God is the way God wants to be worshipped not the way we want to worship him.

The title of today’s sermon is: The Worship Service of the Church VI

Beloved we have covered the requirement of God for us to sing in the worship service, and to pray in the worship service because we want to please God and these are two of the things he requires us to do when we worship him.

The only three things left to study are preaching, the Lord’s supper, and giving of our means. Today we are going to discuss preaching. Or some call it teaching. Both terms are acceptable because preaching is teaching.

Just before King Solomon concluded the book of Divinely-inspired wisdom we now call “Ecclesiastes”, he penned this:

Ecclesiastes 12:12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

If the preacher as King Solomon was sometimes called, had the topic of preaching God’s word in mind, he has been proven right, for there are very many (non-Divinely inspired!) books on the duty of preaching.

Even if there weren’t any, the child of God must still obey the clear scriptural commandments to preach God's Word.

Matthew 10:27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.

Many of the people that believe you must pass one cup while partaking the Lord’s supper because Jesus did it should also then be on the house tops and preach God’s Holy Word.

Because it is commanded. Beloved we must use some common sense when we study the Bible. Let us consider that the hose tops in the part of the world that Jesus lived in were flat.

That was also a place where people gathered out of the heat of the house where they could be comfortable. What is being said is that we are to preach from house to house as well as in the church.

2 Timothy 4:1-4
1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

The declaring of God’s word to the world is necessary for mankind’s salvation and approval before their Maker.

2 Timothy 3:14-17
14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Paul taught us this in:

Romans 10:14-15
14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Like in any other area of life, preparation is the key to effective preaching. There are two matters of great importance as we set out to prepare a sermon: the sermon’s contents and its delivery.

As regards to contents there is no ambiguity; we are to preach God’s word each time we preach. This is not to restrict all we utter while preaching to the very words of Holy Scripture only.

We realize that it is important that we also provide illustrations to clarify, explanations to enlighten and sometimes even parables to clarify what the Bible is saying.

However, all these necessary tools of human public speaking must be focused upon, - and revolve around, - words of scripture which convey the thoughts, ideals, and commandments of God.

When there are more human thoughts put into a sermon than portions of God’s word, there is a possibility that God’s message takes a back seat to human wisdom.

Thus, Christians are warned that the sermon must be a presentation of God’s oracles and the preacher a spokesman of God’s oracles. And not the preacher’s sermon and God as the spokesman.

1 Corinthians 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.

James 3:14-17
14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

1 Peter 4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

The more of the scriptures verbalized correctly and clearly in a sermon the better. Also, while there are many matters of belief, conduct and hope which can be preached from the word of God, priority must be given to the gospel, for it alone is the power of God unto salvation.

Romans 10:16-17
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

And the purpose of each sermon must always be to save sinners from the eternal dire consequences of their sins and to keep them in a saved relationship with God.

Among non-scripture content which can help make clear God’s word are definition of Bible words, illustrations and examples drawn from the world.

Also, we minister sometimes use worldly comparisons and contrasts, along with images such as photographs and other graphics. Many preachers today use the most available technology such as PowerPoint to make illustrations.

However as useful as these things are the minister must ensure that they never “crowd out” the message of scripture which he is supposed to be emphasizing.

Hence, it would not be right to spend an inordinate amount of time on such non-scriptural content, nor to absentmindedly stray away from the scriptures themselves as a result of being so absorbed with these things instead of the scriptures.

Because the scriptures are so vital to our salvation they are to be stressed and so presented as to be thought about by the hearers and not easily forgotten after the sermon ends.

This is easy for me to say but hard for me to do as I get older. Sometimes my wife will ask what the sermon is going to be about this Sunday on Thursday and because I got the sermon on Wednesday, I have to think about it a while before I can tell her.

Because the scriptures are so vital and important it is necessary that the scriptures be quoted verbatim (that is word for word without omitting any or adding any) I always try to read it instead of just simply quoting it.

Sometime I will paraphrase a scripture if you will think you seldom ever hear me mention a scripture-reference to book, chapter and verse without reading it.

A minister must never assume the audience will follow up on your reference in their own time, nor even that they will remember the reference itself!

Since the scriptures are so very important, they should never be rushed through nor cut short when they are read.

Preachers are heralds of God’s word and we must ensure that our hearers do not think less of God’s word, - at least not because of the slipshod or lackadaisical way we handle it when we deliver a sermon.

If any among the hearers are non-Christians, it may just be that whatever sermon is being given could be the first and only occasion for them to be exposed to God’s saving message.
When I consider the fact that if I mess it up they may go away unimpressed by God’s revelation. Or God forbid, that they go away more impressed by my wisdom than by God’s revelation.

The sermon is designed to draw people to God or to bring them closer to God. If the topic and contents of a sermon is left to the preacher, it would be wise of him to first determine his purpose of delivering the sermon.

Each sermon is designed to lift our spirits and instill in us a love of God and of our fellow man.

1 Corinthians 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

A sermon should focus on building faith which comes from God’s Holy Word.

Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

A sermon should focus on building hope in the listeners.

Romans 8:24-25
24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

A sermon should also build love in the hearts of the listeners.

John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

The importance of faith, hope and love is also stressed in:

1 Thessalonians 1:3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

1 Thessalonians 5:8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

Through sermons, the brethren must be regularly reminded to pursue faith, hope and love as all three are centered upon the gospel God’s power to save lost humanity.

Romans 1:5-7
5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:
7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Of course, in sermons as it is in life itself, faith, hope and love are inseparably related. But sermons should focus on one thing at a time whether it be sin, or salvation or many other things in the scripture.

We have seen this in the last few sermons about the worship service and today as we talk about the preaching part of the worship service of the Lord’s church.

A sermon should be long enough to get the message across and short enough to not surpass the listeners attention span. This is difficult to do as some listeners have longer attention spans than others.

Some sermons even concentrate upon the need to eliminate prejudice in a society and especially among God’s children.

All sermons are designed to bring about Biblical-oriented changes in the lives of the listeners. But all sermons are designed to bring knowledge to the listeners so that they may know how to better serve God and what not to do to be displeasing to God.

After the minister determines what he is going to preach upon he then has the arduous task of composing the sermon with the appropriate scriptures. Please note that first the scriptures are to back up what is being preached.

But more importantly the words of the scripture are to back up the words of the sermon. They are both to say the same things. The sermon is simply to emphasize the importance of God's Word. And in some cases, to make clearer God's Word. And never should the sermon change the message God wishes delivered.

Writing the sermon down in considerable detail is preferred to preaching without preparation. To save time turning to the pages of the Bible, passages of scripture to be quoted in the sermon can be written down in full, even if the preacher intends to quote from memory.

Unfortunately, I have not a super great memory so I write the whole sermon and the scripture verses down so that I can recall all that I wish to say.

Do I always say everything I have written down? No I do not sometimes I say more than I have written down sometimes I run out of time and say less.

But I always try to get the message across. All sermons should be scripturally sound. That is they should only speak where God speaks and they should be silent where God is silent.

Sermons are to be designed to encourage one to follow God's Word and to do good beyond the pulpit and the pew but on into everyday life.
There are many things that need to be spoken about when we “speak as the oracles of God” in a sermon.

1 Peter 4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Preacher’s sermons should encourage,

1 Thessalonians 5:11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

Preacher must use the sermon to convince, rebuke, and exhort.

2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

Sermons should also motivate those that need motivation.

Joshua 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

And when needed a sermon should console those that need it most.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

And a sermon should equip the listeners with every thing they need to do good works.

2 Timothy 3:16-17
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Beloved we understand that one sermon does not cover all the things we have discussed today. But each sermon while designed for different things all are designed so that you will be brought closer to God after hearing them than you were before.

Please come back next Sunday as we study about another thing that we do in the worship service and that is partaking of the Lord’s supper.

For the invitation allow me to simply ask a couple of questions, are you sure you are in God’s graces? If you are not sure, don’t you think you should do something about it?

02/03/2022

02/02/2022

John 4:21-24
21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Beloved this is the fifth lesson in our series about the worship service of the church. I pray that these lessons have been helpful and hope that they will guide you into a greater understanding of just how important the worship is.

It is so very important that we understand that the only proper way to worship God is the way God wants to be worshipped not the way we want to worship him.

And yes, there is a lot to learn about the worship and how we should worship because as we have learned God desires and seeks those who worship in spirit and truth.
And he does not seek those who worship as they desire.

The title of today’s lesson is: The Worship Service of the Church V

In this lesson we will learn why we pray in the act of worship. We will learn what the Bible has to say about prayer in the act of worship. And I hope that we will understand our privilege of prayer God has granted us.
God has given us a pattern of worship that pleases him. No other pattern of worship will please God.
When we speak of the importance of prayer both in the world around us or when gathered in the worship service of the Lord, I cannot do justice to the importance of prayer.
On the one hand it is a simple topic. The one true God of heaven listens to our prayers. He hears our petitions because the only begotten Son purchased that right for us through his sacrifice.
God not only hears the prayers of his children he will answer them according to his will.
We are His children and he answers them according to His will.
On the other hand, the topic of prayer is very complex. How does God answer our prayers? How can I compare the prayer of little old me within the complexities of the grand scale of things and the maintaining of the universe?
What kind of prayers does he hear and what prayers does God turn away from?
What kind of things should we pray for? Are there certain things we should not pray for?
Why do we even pray anyway?
I will do my best to explains some of these things for us today. If you have a question that I do not answer then you may feel free to ask me after the service and I will try to answer it for you.
Let us first answer the question of why doesn’t God answer some prayers?
Some times we ask for something God does not desire us to have. Some times we are not Christians when we ask. Sometimes we are simply too worldly.

James 4:3-4
3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

1 John 5:14-17
14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
16 If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.

There are many ways God answers our prayers. Some times we get just what we pray for.
Sometimes we don’t get what we pray for. Sometimes we get something better than what we pray for.
And some times we get what we pray for but not when we expect to get it. Remember God does not run on our time schedule.
We may not understand how God works to answer our prayers we should only have faith that he does.
I compare prayer to the cell phone. I do not know why prayer works and I don’t understand how the cell phone works in any great detail but I know that they both work.
As Christians we must believe in prayer and we must take advantage of it because it is a gift from God to all believers.
Prayer is a blessing and a wonderful one at that. And now that I have discussed prayer and what it is let us look at prayer in the worship service.
After a song or two the church usually indulges in the gift of prayer.

Acts 2:41-44
41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;

Prayer as listed here is shown in the context of the worship service of the Lord’s church.
When the church prays, we should each one join in with our mind and spirit. When the church prays, it does so with combined power of each member desiring the same thing.
Through prayer we have the opportunity and privilege to approach the throne of God and speak directly to him. Prayer gives us the opportunity to thank him for his love and compassion.
To thank him for his son and the salvation we receive through the sacrifice he made for us. Prayer gives us the opportunity to thank God for all the wonderful blessings he showers us with.
Prayer gives us the opportunity to glorify him and to honor him.
Prayer also gives us the opportunity to petition him for what the church needs and to ask for his attentive aid to those of the congregation and our neighbors that are sick or suffering.
Through the avenue of prayer, we may also cast upon him our concerns and burdens. Any problems we may have can be laid upon his shoulders.
In the church when one person leads the prayer, we all should be praying for that reinforces and strengthens the prayer. There fore we need to focus upon what is taking place.
We need to listen to the words of the prayer being offered and we need to join in that prayer with our mind focused upon it and with sincerity of heart.
When prayer is being made in the church the one leading the prayer should try to speak clearly and loud enough for others to hear what is being said.
It is difficult to pray with some one that you cannot hear. The one leading the prayer should realize that others are praying with him and trying to follow his lead.

1 Corinthians 14:15 What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.

We must pray with the spirit because we are directed to worship in spirit and in truth. So then when we pray it must also be with the spirit. As God directs so must we do.
We also approach God on behalf of a member of the church that may have erred from the way. And the way we do that is through the avenue of prayer.

Acts 8:21-24
21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.
22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.
23 For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.
24 Then answered Simon, and said, pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.

When the invitation is offered at the end of the service it is not only for those who have sin sick souls, it is also for those who may have some physical sickness as well.
Or even some one who may need the prayer of the church simply to lift their spirit or to remove a burden from their shoulders. Or maybe they want prayers of the church for a sick loved one.
There are many reasons to approach when the invitation is offered but the most important one is for those that have not been baptized and added to the Lord’s church.

James 5:13-16
13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Now that we have covered the need to pray in the worship service let us understand that prayer should extend beyond the worship service. Before the church makes any important decision, it should pray for direction and guidance.
When we read of Christians in the early church you cannot separate them from prayer.

Acts 12:5 Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.

Romans 1:8-10
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;
10 Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.

Ephesians 1:15-17
15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

Not only does Paul practice prayer he instructs other members of the church to pray as well.

1 Timothy 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;

We could cover who we are instructed to pray for, but that is a sermon for another day.

1 Thessalonians 5:17-18
17 Pray without ceasing.
18 In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

As Christians we are not only able to pray for those in need, we can request prayers for ourselves as well.

Romans 15:30-31
30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;
31 That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints;

Ephesians 6:18-19
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

Before we offer the invitation, please allow me to hold up before you our example of and teaching of our savior when it comes to prayer.
As an example of praying before we make an important decision Jesus prayed before selecting the 12 apostles.

Luke 6:12-13
12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
13 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;

Jesus also found time to pray in private.

Matthew 14:22-23
22 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.
23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.

Even like our Lord, we should set aside some time to pray privately to God. We should let him know what is on our mind.
We should offer thanks and praised to God in private as well as publicly and in the worship.
When we study prayer in the Bible, we see that Jesus spent considerable time in prayer. Should we ask ourselves how much time do we spend in prayer?
Think about this: Prayer is a necessity for our salvation. Therefore, if God does not answer prayer, we are without hope.
We know that we must believe

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

We must confess Jesus as the Son of God.

Matthew 10:32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

We must repent

Luke 13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

And we must be baptized for the remission of sin.

Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

These initial steps will allow us to be added to the church however following our initial obedience to the Gospel, we then have the responsibility to live faithfully for the rest of our lives. But we cannot live perfectly.

1 John 1:7-10
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

James 5:15-16
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Always remember Life is fragile and should be handled with prayer. Believe in it. Utilize it.

01/29/2022

Beloved this is the fourth lesson in our series about the worship service of the church. I pray that these lessons have been helpful and hope that they will guide you into a greater understanding of just how important the worship is.
And yes, there is a lot to learn about the worship and how we should worship because as we have learned God desires and seeks those who worship in spirit and truth.
And he does not seek those who worship as they desire to please themselves. After all God is the object of our worship and he must decide what he wants and how he want it.
The title of today’s lesson is: The Worship Service of the Church IV

After we have enjoyed fellowshipping and visiting with one another and have had the announcements read it becomes now time for the worship of our Lord to begin.
This is after all the primary reason for us being there in the first place on the first day of the week. And the worship begins with singing.
This bring up a question why do we sing? Why don’t we play music with our singing?

Psalm 95:1-7
1 O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.
5 The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
7 For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today if ye will hear his voice,

“This is not a sermon about instrumental music; it is a sermon about singing.” Well, Rannie why would you say that? Why would you even make that statement?
I believe that we in the church of Christ have heard so much about how the church is not supposed to have music in the church worship that many of us have come to believe that the only thing that matters is that we don’t use musical instruments.
Beloved we sing in the worship not to entertain ourselves but because God demands it and it pleases him. And he is the one we sing these praises to.
And yes, it should lift our spirits and we should receive joy from it because it pleases God. When we sing praises to God, we are complying with His demands of us.
In discussions with other denominational worshippers over the use of instruments in worship their response is usually, “The New Testament does not say we can’t use instruments of music in the worship of our Lord”,
That is a true statement there is not one single passage in the New Testament that says not to play music in the worship. All the Holy Bible says if to sing and make melody in your heart.

Ephesians 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

So, the only place where music is mentioned in the New Testament is making music in your heart. And we know that when the Bible mentions the heart it is talking about the one between our ears and not between our ribs.
The Bible does however mention singing. A vocal acknowledgement that God is our savior, our provider, and our horn of salvation.
Now that being said I would like to point out that we are not the only one that believes in a Capella singing only.
The Reformed Presbyterian Church, Some Baptist churches, the Plymouth Brethren, some Eastern Orthodox churches, The Amish and some Mennonites, and the Lutheran Divine Service are among the ones that I know of that only sing vocally and not with musical instruments. If there are others I do not know of them.
This sermon is not about why we do not use instruments, it is about why we sing. And even the denominational churches that use instruments will say the same things about singing.
Singing connects us to God.

Psalm 42:1-5
1 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, where is thy God?
4 When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.
5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
Now this psalm was written as a song. It was not written simply as a passage but as a praise to God. It was written to lift our spirits when we are down and out.

It was written to expand our hope in God and to praise him for all that he does for us.
Is that not the reason why we sing? Because we know we need God? Do we not sing because we want to praise and thank him for his blessings? Do we not remind ourselves that God is a great part of our lives?
Our singing connects us spiritually with our God. We know when we sing to him as he directs he does hear us and because he demands that we sing to him in the church we understand that he likes to hear his children sing.
God fills our hearts with awe, joy, and love thus we express that with singing.
Singing also joins us to each other as we lift our voices to God. Many will say well I don’t sing good so I will remain quiet and not participate in the singing.
Beloved God commands us to sing. He does not command us to sing well, in tune, or beautifully.

Hebrews 2:12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.

The I will sing is referring to Christians. You and me. We must sing praises to God. We cannot just remain silent. God wants to hear from his children, all of them.
Think of what we say in our songs to God when we sing. All the songs in our song book are about thanking God for what he does for us and about praising him for being our God.
For sending Jesus to be our guide and way into God’s graces and the comfort we get by being there.
I believe that the New Testament add a dimension to our singing that I do not see in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament they sang exclusively to God but in the New Testament we are to sing to God and each other.

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Notice that we are told in this verse to teach and admonish each other with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. And we are farther told in:

Ephesians 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

Would it not have been great to have been with Jesus and the disciples when they sang? And we know if we remain faithful we will one day.

Matthew 26:30 And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.

Mark 14:26 And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.

You know one day we will be able to sit at Jesus’ feet and sing songs with him. I can only imagine how beautiful his singing will be. I can hardly wait to hear him.
Now allow me to ask you a question, how does our songs affect you? Are you moved to come closer to Jesus? Do they make you joyous and glad that you are singing praises to God?
Why do we sing a song before we partake in the Lord’s Supper? Is it because we want to give the servers time to get up and walk to the front of the church?
Or is it to focus our minds upon the sacrifice our Lord made to purchase our salvation? Is it to remind you of the high cost of our sins, and the fact that only Jesus was able to pay that high cost?
What about the singing at the invitation of the Lord? Is it merely something to do while we look back at our lives to see if we need to come forward? Or is it designed to touch our hearts and let us know that we should make changes and come forward to do so.
I believe that singing connects us to power. Music has the power to move us closer to God or to push us away form God, depending upon what kind of singing is done.
Singing should be at the center of our lives. Sometimes I will get a song in my mind and will sing it all day long in my mind. Now some times I even sing them out loud.
I was singing a spiritual song last week and after a while I noticed that my wife was not around so I got up and looked for her. I found her on the porch sitting in the rocking chair.
I ask her why she was out there. She said it was because I was singing loudly and she didn’t want the neighbors thinking that she was torturing me.
Not sure what she meant by that.
Our singing in church connects us to power because it strengthens our faith and lifts our spirit. We can talk about the fact that God is love but when we sing it there is a different feel to it the affect is different it is stronger it has more power.
Our singing is both intellectual and emotional. We know that the psalms are actually songs. And the psalms were designed to do the same thing our singing in the Lord’s Church is designed to do.
By singing we engage in a foretaste of something we will do in heaven, because as the Book of Revelation shows, we will sing there. We will be heavens instruments. We know that instruments do not play themselves, but we play them.

Revelation 15:3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.

We are God’s instruments and we must thus sing. I believe God likes singing and he wants to hear it in heaven and on earth. God not only wants us to sing he commands it.

Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.

So we see that when we sing we do something that the Lord enjoys and that makes a connection with him and he hears our singing.
Understanding that all these things are true, let us improve our singing by making it more meaningful to ourselves.
Rannie how can we do that? I am so glad you ask that or the sermon would end much to quickly.
Here are some things that I suggest.
Let us see ourselves as musical instruments in the hands of God, we must always allow God to guide our voices in song or in word. Let us sing and make melody in our heart to the Lord.
Let us sing to the glory of God,

1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

Let us sing with love in our hearts.

1 Corinthians 16:14 Let all your things be done with charity (meaning love)

Let us sing to the best of our ability what so ever that is.

Colossians 3:23-24
23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

The greatest thing that we can sing about is our salvation. We understand that God saved us from our very own sins and thus delivered us out of hell fire.
Can you think of a greater reason for rejoicing in song than salvation? If you do not sing as God directs us to do why not? Didn’t God sn**ch you out of the grasp of Satan?
Did not God remove you from the second death and cause you to be reborn to walk in newness of life?
Or have you forgotten how God through the suffering and death of his son purchased you from the chains of sin?
Is singing praise to God too much to ask. Beloved there is not many of us in this little church but we should lift the roof off of this building with our singing.
Every one in the area that is not in church should hear our singing because we are the saved of the Lord.
As this lesson grows to a close, I would remind you of all that we do in the worship service of the Lord. We sing, pray, preach or if you will teach, we partake of the Lord’s supper, and we give as we are prospered.
Next Sunday be sure to be back when we will study prayer and why it is so important to the church and us individually.

Beloved, it is a great comfort being in God’s graces. We find peace that passes all understand in God’s graces. We understand the love of God when we are in God’s graces for we know just how much God loves us.
If you are not in God’s graces or if you have any doubt of your standing with God do something about it today.