SEVEN BIBLICAL REASONS WHY SINGING MATTERS, A Music Sunday Presentation, St. Paul United Church of Christ, Taylor, June 14, 2015

Transcription

1 SEVEN BIBLICAL REASONS WHY SINGING MATTERS, A Music Sunday Presentation, St. Paul United Church of Christ, Taylor, June 14, 2015 Have you ever wondered why we sing in church? Or pondered the role that singing should play in the life of Christians like ourselves? Why do worship and song always seem to go together? You may not know it, but God has already answered these questions for us in the Bible. In fact, he supplies seven reasons why music and songs are so important, so vital for the well-being of his own people in Jesus Christ. For our Music Sunday this morning it seems to appropriate to share these answers, these reasons. Just a brief note: we are indebted to Pastor Tom Olson of Orchard Evangelical Free Church for these pithy insights and wisdom on God, his Word, and the importance of music and song for us as men and women of faith, which I have taken the liberty of adapting and amplifying. 1. When you sing, you obey. Singing isn t an option in scripture, it is a command. In his Letter to the Ephesians 5:18-19, Paul declares: And so not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart. As Paul makes clear, God s people are more than just invited to sing. When we sing, we re doing what God asks of us! 2. When you sing, you dig deep roots into the Word. In another letter that Paul wrote to Christians gathered at Collosae (Colossians 3:16), he says: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. In this simple statement, Paul makes clear that alongside teaching and preaching, singing is one of the chief ways that God s comes to dwell in us richly.

2 Singing not only helps illuminate God s Word as enshrined in the lyrics of hymns. It also provides an opportunity for us to engage with God s message in a deeply emotional and spiritual way. Yes, singing helps to make God s precious message all more real and meaningful for us in a way that can truly echo throughout our daily lives 3. When you sing, you build up others. Whether we immediately realize it or not, we build up fellow believers when we sing. The Apostle Paul understood and appreciated this. That s why he exhorted the Christians at Ephesus to [address] one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. (Ephesians 5:19) When we do what the Paul in the Bible says and sing together as a church family, we are hearing confessions of faith all around, proclaiming Jesus as our savior. Think of the impact this shared confession can have on the heart of someone who doesn t know Christ already, or who in that moment is struggling with doubt and despair. Yes, singing imparts and renews faith, building up others in the body of Christ. With good reason, it has been said worship full of singing together is naturally evangelistic. 4. When you sing, you help combat sin. Bet you have never thought about singing as a way of combatting sin. But as we sing we emotionally and spiritually arm ourselves against sin and put it to flight. It s no coincidence that that the Apostle Paul s commands of both Colossians 3 and Ephesians 5 to share in song comes right on the heels of his stern admonitions to put sin to death and to make the best use of [our] time because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:16) In the face of any sinful temptation, singing encourages us to be more gracious, generous, unselfish, faithful people, providing a positive example for others in a fallen world. 5. When you sing, you are spiritually strengthened for trial.

3 With a song in our hearts and on our lips, we are spiritually strengthened for trial. Singing not only leaves us less afraid to confront the sin of the world sin around us but equips us to cope with whatever others want to inflict on us. In the Book of Acts of the Apostles, there is the wonderful story of the Apostle Paul and Silas who are arrested for simply sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. (Acts 16:25) They are thrown into prison with reason to fear for their lives. What do they do? They start singing! The melodies they share spiritually strengthen them by helping them to contain their fear. Besides keeping their minds clear for prayer, this singing reminds them of God s love and his eternal promise to stand with his people In the battle for civil rights in America during the 1960s songs sung together emboldened folks to keep marching for justice even in the face of water hoses and snarling dogs and all kinds of contempt and prejudice. To this day singing continues to spiritually strengthen and empower the persecuted--as the compelling testimony of another Christian pastor imprisoned for his faith underscores. As the pastor lived to explain: When we were I prison we sang every day because Christ was alive in us they put chains on our hands and feet to add to our grief. Yet we discovered that chains are splendid musical instruments! When we clanged them together in rhythm we could sing, This is the day (clink, clank), which the Lord has made (clink, clank), which the Lord has made (clink, clank). If singing worked for these people in their great, think how it can strengthen you! Even in suffering, sing! 6. When you sing, you walk a God-designed pathway to joy. Here is a small sample of what the Bible s Book of Psalms have to say about singing: Psalms 5:11: Let all who take refuge in you, rejoice; let them ever sing for joy

4 Psalms 9:2: I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. Psalms 59:16, 63:7: I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress in the shadow of your wings, I will sing for joy. Perhaps inspired by the Psalms or by his memory of singing with his own halfbrother Jesus at the time of the last supper, the Apostle James declared: Is anyone cheerful. Let him sing praise. (James 5:13) If you study the Bible closely, you ll notice that sometimes singing gives birth to joy and sometimes joy gives birth to singing. But always joy and singing seem bound together: one begets the other! If you struggle for joy in you life, sing! If you are joyful, sing as well! In God s perfect understanding of the human condition and amid his larger design for us, he has bound joy and singing together for our sake. Let s be grateful and sing! 7. When you sing, you glorify God. True obedience, deep roots in God s word, building up others, combating sin, preserving in faith, finding joy all these things bring glory to God and the realization of our own purpose in God s creation. In a sense every song sung is a song for God. But hymns and spiritual songs that directly acknowledge and praise God glorify him best and most. Singing has such a unique way of aligning our heart, soul, mind, and strength together to focus entirely and completely on God. In an age of distraction signing grabs the attention of all our senses and focuses us on God as few things except prayer and preaching can. God likes the sound of our songs and the good things that come of them. This is why the music will continue even when we depart from this earth. In the Book of Revelation, the Apostle John offers a wonderful glimpse of eternity with a great multitude of people from every tribe, peoples, and languages singing

5 before God and the Lamb: Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the lamb. (Revelation 7:9-10) Will you be among that multitude, that no one can number, singing the song of the Lamb, singing his praises? I hope we all will. Sing now. Sing forever. Singing matters. And it matters that we do it together. Amen.