Pastor Don Carpenter
Sing! / Hebrews 10:24–25
A pastor went to visit a man who had been absent from church for some time. When the pastor arrived at the house of his wayward parishioner he found him sitting by a fire of glowing coals. The man fully expected his pastor to rebuke him for his tardy attendance at services. But instead the pastor drew up a chair alongside the fireplace where the man was sitting just peering into the fire.
W/ the tongs the pastor reached into the fire & took one of the red hot glowing coals and placed it by itself out on the hearth. W/I no time at all the coal began to lose its glow until in a few minutes it was black.
The man looked up into the face of his pastor who hadn’t said a word and he said “I’ll be there next Sunday.”
For the past six weeks we have been studying what the Bible has to say about singing. We have learned that we were created to sing. We then discovered that we were commanded in God’s Word to sing. As we continued to consider these truths, we saw that as we meditate on who God is and what He has done we cannot hold back, we are compelled to sing. We saw that our singing must not be phoned in, but must be done passionately with all our heart and mind. Last week we discovered some very practical ways we can sing as a family. We say that when we take church home through out the week, our families will be more at home in church. Today we will finish our series with the climax of this study. Our passage tells us that we must not forsake the assembling of the believers. We are told that one main purpose for that assembly is to encourage each other. Therefore we must sing with oour brothers and sisters in person. We must Sing with the Local Church!
Hebrews 10:24–25 KJV
And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Sing Together
The Giant’s Causeway is a world heritage site minutes away from our front door in Northern Ireland. It is a geological marvel, consisting of forty thousand naturally occurring and mostly hexagonally shaped rocks, joined together at varying heights and rising up beside the wild Antrim coastline. Through many different weathers (most frequently rain) people come from all over the world to climb on the rocks and look out onto the waves. SING – Getty
->There is something church like about this sight.
1 Peter 2:4–5 KJV
To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,
Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
Like these multi-angled stones, even with our sharp points and rough edges we who are God’s people are being built together upon the solid Rock that is our Lord Jesus. The church is the only structure that will stand forever. Nothing—not even the very storms of hell—will prevail over it. Today, as you read, people from every nation, tribe, and tongue are coming to take refuge from the waves, just as we have done. SING – Getty
“The best most perfect way that we have of expressing a sweet concord of mind to each other is by music” – Jonathan Edwards
Sing As Living Stones
• Singing is an audible expresion of the bonds we share
• We are cut from the same elements of faith.
• We are filled by the same Spirit
• We are brought to the same church.
• We are being chiseled and refined through our singing just as we are through every aspect of our lifes.
• Music in church has been elevated in importance, but there is a danger of lowering the importance of singing TOGETHER.
• Consumer Christianity flies in the face of the Biblical purpose for our assembly in the first place. We replace robust congregational singing with entertainment that comes from the professionals on stage.
Hebrews 10:24–25 KJV
And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
• Encourge others when you sing
• Be encouraged by the fact that others are singing with you and to you.
• Individual stories meet at the cross section of the worship service.
• We are reminded that we are not alone, but members of a multi-generational, multi-ethnic, multi everything family.
We are reminded that we are not the center of the universe, but just one voice and heart among the great worldwide throng of people praising the One who is. And we remind each other of all this as we sing together. SING – Getty
You Can’t Sing Together if You Go It Alone
Hebrews 10:24–25 KJV
And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Matthew 16:18 KJV
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
1 Corinthians 12:25–27 KJV
That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
• God never intended the Christian life to be a solo act.
• The misunderstanding of the Universal Church and the selfish individualistic consumerism of our society has led folks to move away from weekly assembly as a priority. COVIS has just added to the frey.
• The solo act is a result of seeing our faith as individualistic with no church involvement.
• It leads folks to leave church because they are getting nothing out of it… consumerism.
Think about the churches to whom Paul was writing in the decades after Christ’s ascension. Each was an eclectic collection of tastes, experiences, and backgrounds. They contained both the educated and the unschooled, those with plenty in their pockets and those struggling to make ends meet. They came from a variety of religious and cultural backgrounds, with many resulting tensions. They were susceptible to the vicious winds of false teaching and exposed to the waves of persecution that had begun to sweep through the Roman Empire. They had nothing in common, except that they had everything that mattered in common: faith in Christ, who joined them by His Spirit. And Paul told them that a sign of this would be seen in their congregational singing:
SING – Getty
Ephesians 5:18–20 KJV
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
• Songs were the flagpoles saints could rally around.
So when you are called to sing at church, stop drinking your coffee for a moment, put your phone away, and look around and listen to the people standing about you. You are not an only child. This is your family. SING – Getty
When we see our singing together in this way, we will happily compromise when it comes to the style of the music, the instruments used in the music, and so on. SING – Getty
An old question: “Can I be a Christian without joining the church or attending worship?”
Answer: “Yes, it is possible. But it is something like being:
a. A student who will not go to school;
b. A soldier who will not join the army;
c. A citizen who does not pay taxes or vote;
d. A salesman with no customers;
e. An explorer with no base camp;
f. A seaman in a ship without a crew;
g. A businessman on a deserted island;
h. An author without readers;
i. A football player without a team;
j. A politician who is a hermit;
k. A scientist who does not share his findings;
l. A bee without a hive.”
Why should we go to church? The importance of assembling is both subjective and objective. It benefits the individual with spiritual stability and growth, and it benefits objectively by its positive effect on others. The church meeting is far more than a place for one to be entertained or to hear, for these can be accomplished through radio or television. The purpose for the assembling is for participation in worship and fellowship and with one another.
Singing Together Will Help Reclaim the Millenial Generation.
Most churches are painfully and personally aware of the significant drop-out of late teens and twenty-somethings from church, and often from Christian faith altogether. David Kinnaman, the president of the research company Barna Group, writes in his book You Lost Me: “The ages eighteen to twenty-nine are the black hole of church attendance.”
• Some erroniously suppose that in order to draw younger folks in we need a concert like atmosphere, but the opposite is true. Millenials are searching for the very elements God has created us to crave.
Creativity
Given that the standard of production and use of technology are extremely high in so much we digest outside of church services, it is often the most simple thing done well and sincerely in church that will make the most significant impression. A stunning melody with clear and moving lyrics, sung with gusto and authenticity by a congregation, is a more powerful statement than a song that’s difficult to play or is awkward for the congregation to sing. SING – Getty
Communication
Biblically rich content in songs, sung by people who look like they mean what they are saying, helps teach the gospel as something that is credible and powerful rather than cultural and optional. SING – Getty
Community
We live in an increasingly fragmented age, where social media creates niches in which we can live without ever hearing from or thinking about the perspective of anyone older than us, younger than us, who is different than us, or disagrees with us. We are more connected than ever before, and lonelier than ever before. And our churches are often, sadly, not so different. We are whisked from the baby room to the toddler room, to children’s church and then on to student ministry, to a church full of college students, and so it goes. A church that sings together—across generations, standing side by side, putting community unity before personal preferences—is making a powerful and attractive statement to those who yearn for community more authentic than can be enjoyed online and friendship deeper than is found in counting your Facebook friends. SING – Getty
Singing Together Shapes Our Legacy
Antoni Gaudi, the great Spanish architect, laid the first stone of his Sagrada Família cathedral in Barcelona, Spain, in 1882. It is due to be completed by 2026, by which point construction will have taken 144 years. Gaudi died long ago without seeing its completion, and many others have added their expertise to his. But his cathedral will stand as an enduring legacy. He has left something beautiful behind. SING – Getty
• Our generation will leave our sings behind.
• We will leave the memories of Sunday worship.
• We will leave the momories of the music played at home.
• How we sing and what we sing together will shape the faith we pass on to the next generations.
A little girl with shining eyes,
Her little face aglow,
Said, “Daddy, it is almost time
For Church……let’s go!”
They teach us there of Jesus’ love, Of how he died for all
Those who on Him call.”
Oh, no!” said Daddy, “Not today. I’ve worked hard all week; I’m going to the creek,
for there I can relax and rest,
And fishing’s fine they say.
So, run along; don’t bother me. We’ll go to Church someday.”
Months and years have passed away
But Daddy hears that plea no more –
“Let’s go to Church.” Those childish days are o’re.
And now that Daddy’s growing old, when life is almost through,
He finds some time to go to Church –
But what does Daughter do?
She says: O Daddy, not today!
I stayed up almost all night;
I’ve just got to get some sleep. Besides, I look a fright.”
Then Daddy lifts a trembling hand
To brush away the tears,
As again he hears the pleading voice
Distinctly through the years.
He sees a small girl’s shining face upturned, with eyes all aglow,
As she says, “It’s time for Church……………. Please, Daddy, won’t you go?”
— Author Unknown
Something sacred happens every time we get together. Every time God’s people sing to themselves, each other, the angels and to God Himself… something happens! When we assemble we are not to be consumers, looking to be entertained, but servants, looking to meet a need. When the worship service begins, you are needed. Someone needs to hear you… you need to hear others. While I am thankful for the online options, this kind of dynamic worship that we were built for only takes place in the local church. God has created, commanded, and compelled us to be believers who sing. So sing with all your heart! Sing through out the week with your family. And prepare yourself for the highlight of the week to sing in Church!