\n\t\tCreated to Sing!\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\t\tPastor Don Carpenter\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\t\tSing! \/ Psalm 139:13\u201314; Revelation 4:11; 2 Peter 1:3\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\t\t A number of years ago Orel Hirscheiser was pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers. They had just won the World Series, & Orel had been named \u201cThe most valuable player of the series.\u201d\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\t\tOne of the TV shows about the series showed him in the dugout just before the 9th inning started. He was leaning against the wall & his lips were moving. It was obvious that he was saying something to himself.\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\t\tSo when he was a guest on the Tonight Show, Johnny Carson asked him what he had been saying. \u201cI wasn\u2019t saying anything,\u201d Orel responded. \u201cWell, then, tell us what you were doing.\u201d Finally Orel replied, \u201cI was singing.\u201d\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\t\t\u201cYou were singing?\u201d Johnny said. \u201cI didn\u2019t know you were a singer.\u201d \u201cAw,\u201d Orel said, \u201cI\u2019m not.\u201d Johnny persisted, \u201cWhat were you singing? Sing it for us now.\u201d \u201cNah, I don\u2019t want to sing.\u201d But by that time the audience was chiming in with \u201cC\u2019mon, sing it, sing it to us!\u201d\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\t\tFinally, Orel Hirschheiser started to sing, \u201cPraise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below.\u201d And Johnny Carson was speechless. The whole audience was dead silent. Then one person started clapping, & soon the whole audience joined in applause.\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\t\tThis morning we are going to launch a series that focuses on singing and why believers should take this seriously. The Bible has much to say on this subject. I want to start by tying a couple of verses together and driving home a point.\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\t\t \u2022\tWe were created by God to do His pleasure\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\t\tRevelation 4:11<\/em> KJV<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tThou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\t \u2022\tWe are commanded to sing.\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tPsalm 30:4<\/em> KJV<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tSing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, And give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tPsalm 33:2\u20133<\/em> KJV<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tPraise the LORD with harp: Sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. <\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tSing unto him a new song; Play skilfully with a loud noise.<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tPsalm 68:4<\/em> KJV<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tSing unto God, sing praises to his name: Extol him that rideth upon the heavens By his name JAH, and rejoice before him.<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tPsalm 96:2<\/em> KJV<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tSing unto the LORD, bless his name; Shew forth his salvation from day to day.<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tEphesians 5:19<\/em> KJV<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tSpeaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\t \u2022\tWe have been given all we need to obey Him\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\t2 Peter 1:3<\/em> KJV<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tAccording as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\t \u2022\tTherefore God has created us to sing. Scriptures lead us to conclude then that we have been designed to sing. We have been given unique voices to use. We have been made to sing in God\u2019s image. When we sing praises to God we are joining all of creation in a chorus of praise. Brothers and Sisters we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and we have been made to Sing!\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tWe Are Designed To Sing<\/strong>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tPsalm 139:13\u201314<\/em> KJV<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tFor thou hast possessed my reins: Thou hast covered me in my mother\u2019s womb. <\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tI will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: Marvellous are thy works; And that my soul knoweth right well.<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tA Desire To Sing<\/strong>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tSing! How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church <\/sub>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tWe have three young daughters, and it has surprised us with each of them how early they could sing. Simple melodies with mumbled words grew into phrases like \u201cO sing happylujah,\u201d or a bizarre mixture of \u201cHoly, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty\u201d and \u201cTwinkle, Twinkle Little Star.\u201d To sing is written into our human DNA; it is part of God\u2019s design.<\/sub>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tA Desire to Make Instruments<\/strong>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tGenesis 4:21\u201322<\/em> KJV<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tAnd his brother\u2019s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. <\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tAnd Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tThe Physical Ability to Sing<\/strong>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\t \u2022\tVocal cords form at 12 weeks in the womb.\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\t \u2022\tWe sound different but all have the same vocal apparatus.\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\t \u2022\tLungs. voice, tongues and lips all made to sing, not just speak\u2026 and that is by design\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tThe Psyche to Sing<\/strong>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tSing! How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church <\/sub>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\t. When singing praise to God, so much more than just the vocal box is engaged. God has created our minds to judge pitch and lyric; to think through the concepts we sing; to engage the intellect, imagination, and memory; and to remember what is set to a tune (we are confident that, right now, 99 percent of this book\u2019s readers can remember more lyrics set to music than can recite Scripture by rote). God has formed our hearts to be moved with depth of feeling and a whole range of emotion as the melody-carried truths of who God is and whose we are sink in. <\/sub>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tWe Are Designed To Sing Uniquely<\/strong>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tEphesians 5:19<\/em> KJV<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tSpeaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\t2 Peter 1:3<\/em> KJV<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tAccording as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tIf You Can Speak, You Can Sing<\/strong>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tSing! How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church<\/sub>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tSometimes we meet people who say, \u201cI can\u2019t sing\u201d\u2014as in, \u201cThe sound that comes out of my mouth when I try to sing is not what I was hoping for.\u201d <\/sub>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tGod Cares Whether and What You Sing More Than How Tunefully You Sing.<\/strong>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\t \u2022\tThe beauty of the song starts with God making a beautiful heart.\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\t \u2022\tWhen believers unite with heartfelt songs of redemption, the world around them is changed.\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tEzekiel 36:26<\/em> KJV<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tA new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tPsalm 40:3<\/em> KJV<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tAnd he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: Many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tPractice Makes Better<\/strong>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tSing! How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church <\/sub>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tTo learn to walk takes time, and we first must learn to press down on our feet. To learn to speak takes time, and we must first open our mouths and make sounds. To praise God in tuneful song takes time, and we grow better at singing by singing. And once we\u2019ve reached our peak, if it is still some way short of the tuneful heights, a sense of humor is a useful ally. Some people do have a special gift of singing absolutely every note slightly off pitch (which is, ironically, very hard to do). Since we sing to encourage and praise, not to impress and earn praise, we can smile about that and sing anyway. <\/sub>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tWe Are Designed To Sing In God\u2019s Image<\/strong>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tGenesis 1:26\u201328<\/em> KJV<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tAnd God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. <\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tSo God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. <\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tAnd God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tCreated to Enjoy Beauty and Creativity<\/strong>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tSing! How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church<\/sub>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tWe can tell the difference between an orchestra tuning up and them then playing a coherent piece of music\u2014suddenly, there is a \u201crightness\u201d in how the notes sit together. We know that sense of throwing back your head or raising your hands to sing a great hymn with every ounce of your being and the feeling of losing interest in a mediocre one. This is why for a songwriter, it\u2019s worth striving day after day for months (or years) to compose that one melodic idea that is fresh, compelling, and might touch another person\u2019s soul.<\/sub>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tCreated To Benefit From Beauty in Creativity<\/strong>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\t \u2022\tWe don’t just recite the lyrics to our national anthem.\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\t \u2022\tKids learn the alphabet to rhyming songs rather than monotone spoken sounds.\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\t \u2022\tOur senses and memories are engaged through music.\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\t \u2022\tImagination is another dignity God has given humans above the other animals, part of being in His image.\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tCreated to Communicate To Each Other and To God Through Beauty.<\/strong>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tWe are not only made, but made in the image and likeness of a Maker. – J.R.R. Tolkien\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tPsalm 19:1\u20132<\/em> KJV<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tThe heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament sheweth his handywork. <\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tDay unto day uttereth speech, And night unto night sheweth knowledge.<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tSing! How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church Chapter <\/sub>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tWe show our God-inspired creative spirit when we make music\u2014not just in the songs themselves, but in the many different creative ways we arrange and express the songs together. Whether it is the rhythmic vibrancy of sung worship led by the African Children\u2019s Choir, or the pristine beauty of a chorale echoing within the ancient walls of a European cathedral, or the blended accents in the increasing number of international churches in cities around the world, we seek to create beauty because that\u2019s how we\u2019re designed. <\/sub>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tAnd as we create, we communicate\u2014just as God does through His creation: <\/sub>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tSing! How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church Chapter<\/sub>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tWhen His Church sings together, voice upon voice like arms linked across a room, and indeed across all the gathering places of His followers around the globe, across history, we are doing what we were designed to enjoy\u2014using our God-given voices to sing praises together to the One who gave us those voices. It expresses what unites us, and it reminds us of our interdependence. <\/sub>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tWe Are Designed To Sing Along With The Rest of Creation.<\/strong>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tPsalm 98:4\u20139<\/em> KJV<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tMake a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: Make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. <\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tSing unto the LORD with the harp; With the harp, and the voice of a psalm. <\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tWith trumpets and sound of cornet Make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King. <\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tLet the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein. <\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tLet the floods clap their hands: Let the hills be joyful together <\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tBefore the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: With righteousness shall he judge the world, And the people with equity.<\/em>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\t In C. S. Lewis\u2019s The Magician\u2019s Nephew, the great lion Aslan creates Narnia by singing it into existence. The character and timbre of the song are seen in the shapes and colors of all that springs up out of the nothingness. Lewis delights to point out that the song could not be separated from the Singer and that when your eyes saw the Singer He eclipsed everything else. \n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\t\u201cGod is the ultimate musician. His music transforms your life. The notes of redemption rearrange your heart and restore your life. His songs of forgiveness, grace, reconciliation, truth, hope, sovereignty, and love give you back your humanity and restore your identity.\u201d – Paul Tripp\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tGod\u2019s design is perfect. He tells us to Sing. He has designed us with the ability to sing. He has designed us with unique voices we can use to offer up in song. He has designed us in His image with the ability to create and appreciate beauty in lyric and song. When we gather as believers and join our voices, we join all of the rest of creation in praise to God. Brothers and Sisters we were created to SING!\n\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\t\tExported from Logos Bible Software, 2:43 PM January 28, 2021.\n\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Created to Sing! Pastor Don Carpenter Sing! \/ Psalm 139:13\u201314; Revelation 4:11; 2 Peter 1:3 A number of years ago Orel Hirscheiser was pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers. They had just won the World Series, & Orel had been named \u201cThe most valuable player of the series.\u201d One of the TV shows about the … Continue reading Created To Sing!<\/span>