Jump Start # 3634

Colossians 3:16 “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.”

Our verse today reminds us that we teach though singing. And, this passage puts to rest two common thoughts about the role of women in the church. Not understanding a statement, nor the context in Corinthians, some declare, “Women are to be silent in the church.” If that be true, then only men can sing. And, close to that, “women do not teach men.” Again, if that be true, then women shouldn’t sing because a man might be taught. More careful understanding of those passages keeps one from extreme and inconsistent positions.

There are a few ways that we teach through singing. One is to state and remind us of Biblical principles, such as “Jesus is coming soon.” Many of our songs will do that. As we sing those songs, they remind us of what the Bible teaches.

Another way that our songs teach are to remind us of the godly practices that we embrace. Love one another is such a reminder. O to be like Thee, blessed Redeemer, is another.

And, still another way our songs teach is by asking questions. Thought provoking questions. Questions that move us to actions. Questions such as, “Are you washed in the blood?” Or, “What will your answer be?”

One of the questions that we sing is, “Does Jesus care?” It’s a song about a heart broken by sorrow and pain. Does the Lord notice? Does the Lord even care? The chorus of that song loudly answers the question, “Oh yes, He cares, I know He cares.”

I wonder why someone would ask the question, “Does Jesus care?” It seems that a person wasn’t sure. Maybe the Lord doesn’t care. And, here are some thoughts we need to remember:

First, the quality of my life is not a measure of God’s care and love for me. I think we have it in our minds, especially we Americans, in this time, that if God loves me then things ought to be easy in my life. Struggles, hardships, sufferings are an indication of something not right and very possibly, that God has looked away from us.

Yet, such thoughts are not the conclusion one gets from a careful study of Biblical history. Israel in Egypt, and they cried because of the oppression. Judah taken in Babylonian captivity. The suffering Jeremiah. The beheading of John. The murder of Stephen. The abuse of the apostles. The death of James and Antipas. Had God turned His back upon these people? Were they doing wrong?

Righteous suffering is a result and consequence of righteous living.

Second, when we think that things are not right because of hardships, we fail to realize that suffering is God’s classroom. We see more and learn more in the storms of life than we do in the sunshine of life. Blessings are wonderful, but it’s the pain that takes us to our knees in prayer. And, our culture doesn’t do well with hardships. We avoid them at all costs. We want a pill to take away all pain and all sadness. Give us counselors, therapists, funny videos and put all suffering out of our minds and ways. And, because of that we live on happy street and are none the better. No lessons learned. No character developed. None the better.

Third, if the storm clouds that roll in make me question my faith, then my faith wasn’t very strong to begin with. Our Lord went to the cross. He was the suffering Savior. Fair weather Christians don’t last when a loved one is in the hospital or death circles a family member. Panic, fear and doubt fill hearts where faith never had deep roots.

One of our hymns reminds us, “This world is not my home, I’m just passing through.” Think maybe we ought to let that thought sink in more deeply. This world is not my home. My home is with the Lord. My home is His home. The passing of a Christian, though sad, especially for the family, ought not to move our foundation. They are the blessed ones. They are the ones we wish we could be. They are finished with this place. They have completed the course. They have a home with the Lord. We grieve with hope, the Thessalonians were reminded. The hopeless despair belongs to those who have no faith. That’s not us.

Does Jesus care? Yes. He has always cared. He has never stopped caring. His life is a demonstration of His care. A greater question we ought to ask is, “Do I care?” Do I care as much as He cares? Do I care about my soul as much as He cares about my soul? Or, is it that I care more about my money, my things and my fun than I do my soul?

Our songs teach us. There are many lessons that take place on a Sunday morning.

Roger

Jump Start # 3434

Colossians 3:16 “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.”

We are in the midst of a special singing workshop this week in our congregation. We have brought in one of the best to help both our song leaders and the whole congregation step it up a few notches in our singing to the Lord.

I’m glad we are doing this because this puts a major reminder before our eyes of how important singing is.  The modern church has given up on congregational singing. They don’t want to hear it. Instead, rock bands are hired to perform before the audience. Rather than singing praises to God, a concert to entertain the crowd is where many are today. And, once again, trying to please the masses rather than the Master, they have failed to see the value and importance of singing.

Outside of worship, just think about how important songs are. Before ballgames begin, the crowd stands, and our country’s national anthem is played. Hand goes on hearts, and hats come off of heads, as respect is shown. Every high school and college has their own fight song. The first few beats of those songs and the crowd shouts in joy. Music plays a major role in movies. Without the music, the movies would not be as exciting. And, for many of us, we learn our ABC’s, the books of the Bible, the names of the apostles all through singing.

And, whenever this topic comes up, some always has to ask, “What’s wrong with using an instrument,” or, “God never said we couldn’t.” And, those that keep pushing that button do not know history or Biblical authority. I have looked through countless books about the history of music and there is a consistent understanding that the early church did not use instrumental music. These are books used in colleges to teach music majors. Running through the N.T., one will find nine verses about music and the church and each time, every time, it’s singing. Then when one understands the parallels to the O.T. it makes even more sense. In the O.T., there was physical temple. Today, the church is the temple. In the O.T. there were physical sacrifices. Today, we are living sacrifices. In the O.T. physical instruments were used to praise God. Today, we are the instruments. We are what praises God.

Now, some other thoughts:

First, singing is something we all can do in worship. Not everyone can preach. Not all can lead a prayer. But all of us can sing. Little ones and big ones can sing. Old ones and new ones can sing. Those hymns remind us, teach us, encourage us and help us.

Second, one doesn’t have to have good quality to sing. One doesn’t have to understand notes or music to sing. And, just about all of us have a favorite hymn or two that we really like. That hymn may remind us of something long ago. That hymn may have been sung at a funeral of a loved one.

Third, hymns is something that one can take with him and one really does not need anything else to help. If you want to listen to a sermon, you need to get to a website, YouTube, have a phone, tablet or a computer. But it’s not that way with singing. You can sing by yourself. You can sing in your car. You can sing quietly. You can have some people over and sing. Anywhere you go, you can sing.

Fourth, singing in worship illustrates unity. We are singing together. We are singing the same song. Together we are praising the Lord. The booming voices and the quiet voices, all blended together. All lifting up the Lord.

And, singing is something that God likes. This is not something that we came up with. We are following His plan and His blueprint and that included singing. Think about the music of nature. The sound of a creek rushing over rocks. The sound of a waterfall. The sound of rain coming down. The different song birds. A rooster in the morning. A cow calling out. The sound of a dog. The purr of a cat. We may call this the sounds of nature, but it’s truly God’s own orchestra. It is His music.

And, think how many times the words of a hymn have helped you.  Safe in the arms of Jesus. Does Jesus care? Faith is the victory that overcomes the world. Farther alone we’ll know all about it. Because He lives I can face tomorrow. It is well with my soul. We’re marching to Zion. This world is not my home. Thank you, Lord.

We can sing these hymns in our car on the way to worship. We can silently sing these songs as we have treatments. We can be encouraged by these hymns. They can bolster our faith and keep us going when the storm clouds build on the horizon. These hymns remind us. These hymns ask probing questions. These hymns honor God.

Singing to the Lord. What a wonderful way to express our faith and teach others the beauty of God.

Thanks to Tim Stevens for reminding us of the joy of singing.

Roger

Jump Start # 3111

Colossians 3:16 “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.”

I’ve been preaching for a long time, more than four decades. I have no idea how many sermons I have written, thousands I suppose. A while back someone said to me that with all those years behind me I ought to be able to write a sermon in ten minutes. I guess he was indicating that I could spend the rest of my time doing something else. Write a sermon in ten minutes? I probably could and it probably would seem like I wrote it in ten minutes. The longer I have done this, the writing of sermons hasn’t gotten any easier nor faster. I guess I’m too picky and I want every sermon to be the best that I can do.

All of this leads us to our verse today. You see, on a Sunday morning, there is more than one sermon that is preached. Oh, we recognize the sermon from the pulpit, with the powerpoint and fill in the note blanks that go along with that. But there are other sermons taking place all throughout that auditorium. Most times we don’t recognize them and many of us would not even call them sermons, but they are. Our verse today reminds us that we are all teachers as we sing hymns together. We are reminding, praising, thanking and warning one another through those powerful, powerful songs. When we put faces and names behind the words we sing, there is more passion in our proclamation.

Here are a few other sermons that are preached throughout a worship period:

• You preach a message of cheer when you say, “Good morning” to those you meet. Often people drag in worn out and beat up from the world. Some come carrying troubles and trials in their hearts. Some gather with sorrow on their faces and tears in their eyes. Some are scared. Some are worried. Some need a friend. And the cheerfulness of a greeting can remind someone that this is the place to be. The Gospel is Good News and we need to be reminded of this. The world is full of bad news. Things are not right in this country. Some are new and not sure if they have a friend among us. Some are feeling the burden of guilt and are not sure that they ought to be there. But your smile, the warmth of your joy will send the message that we are glad you are here, and you made the right choice. You preach that every time you smile and welcome someone.

• You preach a sermon of reverence every time you bow your head during a prayer. You are showing to God and to those around you, that God is greater than you are. We don’t stand toe to toe and eye to eye with the Lord. Our heads our bowed, our hearts are humbled before our amazing God. Little ones watch you. I’ve had children tattle “My dad didn’t have his eyes closed during the prayer.” I asked them how they knew that. But they notice. Others hear you say, “Amen,” as the prayer ends. Solemn. Sacred. Special. Our worship points upward to the Lord.

• You preach a message of hope when you open your Bible and follow along with the reading of God’s word. It doesn’t matter whether your Bible is on your phone, tablet or in print version, you are showing that you are interested and want to see for yourself what God says. We only remember so much of what we hear. We remember more when we hear and see. We remember even more when we hear, see and write. Taking notes is a great way to learn more about God’s will. Brining a Bible and using it during worship is a sermon that you preach.

• You preach a message of hope when you leave worship rejoicing. The world is dark. God is not. The world is lost. God is not. The world doesn’t know. God does. We leave with our heads held high. We leave with the reminder that our God is on the throne. Gloom and despair belong to the world, not the people of God. What wonderful expression of faith and hope we see when people in conversations, talking, sharing, hugging and thankful for one another.

• You preach a message of salvation when you encourage others to come back to services. You are saying, “We’ve found something that is good and I want you to be a part of it.” You see the wonderful benefits of fellowship. You realize that no where else will you find the comforting hope, the assurance of faith, the joy of promises, and the trust that is only in Jesus. You will declare, “It is good for us to be here.” And, that optimism and joy spreads to others.

You probably won’t put the hours into writing a sermon like the preacher does, but in many ways your sermons can be more effective and more powerful than what comes from the pulpit. So many sermons on a given Sunday. We only hope that someone is listening.

Roger

Jump Start # 2476

Colossians 3:16 “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.”

This week we are focusing upon thankfulness. Thanksgiving is nearly upon us. There will be turkey, laughter, and lots of conversations. The little ones will show off. The big ones will look for a nap. But all around that day, and every day, for the child of God, is the spirit of thankfulness.

There are four steps to thankfulness. So far we’ve seen: SAY IT (express your thankfulness); PRAY IT (tell the Lord). The next step comes straight out of our verse today. It is to SING IT. The thankful heart is a joyful heart. A thankful heart is upbeat, positive and optimistic. The thankful heart sings. We tend to sing when we are in a good mood. And, here in our verse, we are told to sing with thankfulness to God. Thankfulness in our hearts. Sometimes we try to sing in pitch. We try to sing in tune. But those things are secondary to singing with thankfulness in your heart to the Lord.

We think of the example of Paul, late at night, sitting in a Philippian jail, hurting because he had been beaten. And, there he is singing praises to God. That example from Acts 16 humbles and shames most of us. Singing out loud, so loud that others can hear me, is not on the list of things that I think I would be doing. Unfortunately, I’m afraid that I would be complaining and mad because of what had happened. But the apostle is singing. In the dark he is singing. Hurting he is singing.

Singing with thankfulness has a way of just turning your mood around. If we are not careful, we pick up on the way others act and feel. It’s easy to jump on the complaining bandwagon. It’s easy to see everything that is wrong. But to sing with thankfulness, what a bring ray of sunlight that is. It has a way of changing our perspective and opening our eyes to things that we failed to see.

We have a lot of songs that surround thanking the Lord. We ought to. That’s an important aspect of our relationship with Him and our walk together with one another. It seems that ancient Israel forgot that. We can do the same. For Israel, rather than thanking, they complained. And, that complaining got old very quickly and it irritated God. Their hearts did not show an attitude of gratitude. They were demanding more. They were wanting other things. Unhappy. Not content. Selfish. Put those three things in a pot, and stir them around two times and you get a heart that sees nothing to be thankful about.

Have you noticed how often children like to sing? They learn the alphabet, the books of the Bible and other things through songs. They often sing in their Bible classes. We adults, are much better than that, or, we think we are. So we don’t sing as much as children do. And, it could be that is why we often struggle with being thankful. It’s hard to sing a happy song without smiling.

Just think about some of our hymns that focus upon being thankful:

Thank You, Lord

Sing and be happy

Count your many blessings, name them one by one

Joyful, joyful, we adore You

This is my Father’s world

Great songs. Great reminders. Maybe as you gather with the family tomorrow, you can find a moment for everyone to sing. Sing a song of praise and thankfulness to God. Sing from your heart. Sing, realizing how wonderful God has been to you.

We have hope, life, direction, purpose, salvation and love through the Lord. It is because of Jesus that we stand and fight another day. It is because of Jesus, that we know the worst is really not all that bad. It is because of Jesus, that we know things will only get better. It is because of Jesus that there will never be a “The End” to our story.

Singing with thankfulness in your heart to the Lord. SING IT. SING OUT.

Roger

Jump Start # 736

Colossians 3:16 “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.”

This week is Thanksgiving. It’s an awesome holiday. Families gather. There is a feast. There is football on TV.  Many are off of work. It kicks off the Christmas season. Many remember traveling to grandparents for Thanksgiving. There the aunts and uncles and all the cousins, some of which they have not seen in a year have come to spend a day with each other. It’s a great time.

Our passage today reflects the thankful spirit. That is characteristic of a saved person. There is so much to be thankful for. The spirit of thankfulness comes from a humble heart that is not spoiled or selfish. The thankful heart creates joy and contentment within.

Paul shows us three layers of instructions in this one verse.

First, the word of Christ needs to dwell in us. We must have the Bible in us. Faith comes from the word of God. The more Bible I have, the greater my faith. Paul’s words are not that we know some Bible verses, but that the word dwells richly within us. Dwelling is where something lives. When I travel, I often stay in hotels. Although those places have beds, lamps, TV and bathroom, as my house does, I never feel like the hotel room is home. I may stay there but I don’t dwell there. There is a difference! God’s word doesn’t just pass through us, it stays. It dwells within us richly.

Next, Paul says, we are to teach and admonish each other through songs. Not just any songs, but spiritual songs, and hymns. We often do not see our singing as a teaching process. It is. Remember when Paul and Silas were in jail. At midnight they were singing hymns. An earthquake opened the doors but none of the other prisoners raced to freedom. They stayed. The singing had an impact upon them. This passage isn’t implying a gathering of the church on Sunday. I think Paul is describing the heart of a Christian. I remember my grandmother humming hymns as she worked in the kitchen. Singing hymns affects the singer. It reminds you of God and the big picture of things. It also affects those who hear. Have you ever just sung hymns throughout the day? Doing that puts a person in a good mood.

Finally, Paul said to sing those hymns with thankfulness. I’m not sure how else one could sing hymns, unless it was out of duty. The thankful heart is singing to God. Those songs and thoughts will remind a person that today is a gift from God and what a blessing that is. Those songs will teach us that God is good to us. They have a way of driving out the commercial and  materialistic thoughts that seem to creep in our hearts.

Do you have a favorite hymn? Why that one? Sing today as you drive about town. In doing this you’ll find a new thing to be thankful for—and that is hymns. There are a long of hymns. Some are the old traditional ones that are classics. Some are peppy. Some are deep in thought. Some are very simple. What a variety. If you don’t have a song book at home, that would be a great gift for someone to get you for the holidays.

Singing with thankfulness…that sure lifts the cloud and turns the grumpy guy into a different person. Have you noticed how often children sing? Could it be that’s one reason why they are so happy and adults, who don’t sing much, are so sour? Sing with thankfulness… It doesn’t have to be in the church building…it can talk place Monday morning at work. It doesn’t have to be loud, I can sing to myself. It doesn’t have to be pretty, just honest and thankful.

Thankful singing…what a blessing!

Roger