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Posts Tagged ‘god’

Why is No One Singing?

Posted in Church in Crisis, Worship in Cirisis, Worship, Praise and Music, tagged , , , , , , on October 16, 2024| 2 Comments »

I recently went to a church where very few people in the congregation were singing. In many of the churches that I am familiar with, that is the case. The musicians are basically playing songs that are somewhat unknown to the congregation, so they just all stand there and listen, like they would at a concert. Then there is some light applause after each song.

Have we have lost our way? The purpose of having a time of praise and worship is to allow the congregation to lift their voices in one accord unto the Lord, to exalt His name. We are to be “filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father”. It is a participatory event that is both God-ward, and meant to encourage your brothers and sisters in the Lord. In many churches that is not happening anymore. I remember hearing from a British pastor years ago, “the musicians have hijacked the worship”. Boy was he right!

Praise and worship leaders have lost their way. They have lost it by focusing on the music, on the groove they can create and the vibe. It is all about the latest popular praise songs on the internet and in many cases created for one reason, that reason is to create a hit song, just like the world. We have pushed the Spirit out out and replaced it with a hit. No wonder no one is singing, it is more like a concert than a praise and worship service.

Praise and worship leaders have to get back to singing songs that the congregation knows. They are to lead the congregation, not perform for the congregation. That might mean singing an old hymn or simpler songs. They have a responsibility to make sure the lyrics of the song are theologically correct. It is not just about being a musician. Too many times a church picks a musician just because he is talented. What about the spiritual maturity of that musician? Getting up and leading praise and worship on a Sunday morning can go to your head. It can be exciting to be on a stage, believe me, it can go to your head. The concern has to be, bringing the congregation to a time of praise. Making the congregation lift their voices to the Lord in one accord, God is worthy of that. That is what a leader should do! Play songs that the congregation knows, play songs that are theologically correct, playing songs that are easy sing and easy to follow. People in the congregation need that. The congregation is filled with people who can sing and with people who really can sing very well. Some are musical and some are not. Some can sing on key, others can not. As praise and worship leaders, we need to be sensitive to all of that. I ask you all, please take heed to this!!!

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Knowing God

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on September 24, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Is it possible to know God? We are far removed from the days when Jesus walked the earth. It would have been wonderful to see Him, to see Him having mercy on people and healing them. And His wisdom when He spoke would have been unsurpassed. And to see Him after He rose from the dead, that would have been amazing. It would have been much easier to believe in Him then than it is now, in our troubled world. In John 20 when Thomas still doubted, he saw Jesus risen from the dead. Jesus told Thomas to put his hand in His side and Thomas exclaimed, “My Lord and my God”. What did Jesus say then? Verse 29 says “Because you have seen Me, have you now believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed”.

It is a prophetic word to our generation, to all of us who did not see what Thomas saw, “Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed”. For those of us who have believed in Jesus without seeing Him in the flesh, Jesus has pronounced a blessing, a blessing on us! We are blessed when we come to know Him.

How do we really know that we have come to know Him? This how we know, if we accept Jesus and obey His commands set forth in the scriptures. 1 John 2:3-6 says “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever follows His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says that he remains in Him ought, himself also, walk just as He walked”.

When I came to know Him, the way that I walk changed! I used to walk to please myself, doing whatever was good for me. When I came to know Him, I wanted to walk as He walked on the earth. We are to keep His commandments. If we keep them, that is how we know that we have come to know Him. In our hearts, we desire to be like Jesus. It is a hard saying, “If you say you have come to know Him but do not obey Him, you are a liar”. Those are His words, not mine. It is possible then to have some religious beliefs and not really know Him. There is a kind of Christian religion that embraces some of the moral aspects of the teachings of Jesus, but in reality does not fully obey Him. Matthew 7:21 says “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter“.

We should search our hearts and seek to know Him better thru understanding His words. And we should work toward being obedient to those words. Let those words of Jesus spread in to all areas of our lives, and live in a manner worthy of the calling that He has on us.

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