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1. |
Our Music in
Church Will Honor and Worship God Alone |
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| A. |
Because He commands it (John 4:23; Exodus 20). |
| B. |
Because He is worthy (Ps.18:3; Ps. 30:4; Rev. 4:11). |
| C. |
Because we want to (Ps. 57:7; Ps. 89:1). |
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In other
words, music is a outward reflection of the heart (willing
obedience, reverence, and gratitude). |
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2. |
Our Music in
Church Will Edify the Saints |
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A. |
Music (in a corporate setting) should minister to one
another. It is also a means of strengthening and expressing
unity in the church. When we sing we are not only worshiping
the Lord but we are also “speaking to one another in psalms
and hymns and spiritual songs” (Eph. 5:19). |
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B. |
Singing also helps to educate the saints, providing the
songs we use are biblical. “One generation shall praise your
works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts”
(Psalm 145:4). |
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C. |
Music should have a mix or balance of information for
the young, as well as, the spiritually mature. “Milk” can
come in the form of simple biblical praise songs, whereas
“meat” can be consumed through deep spiritual hymns (1 Cor.
3:2; Heb. 5:13,14) |
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Believers
should come away from a worship service with a renewed assurance of
the grace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, of forgiveness
through His blood, of acceptance into His eternal kingdom, and
with a fresh commitment to give him the preeminence (Col. 1:18). |
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3. |
Our Music in
Church Will Win the Lost |
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A. |
It will sing of the Father’s glory, greatness and
mercy (Rom.15:9). |
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B. |
It will sing of the works of Christ (Ps. 51:14;
Ps. 95:1; Ps. 96:2). |
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C. |
It will sing from the heart allowing the Holy Spirit
to illuminate and motivate. (Ps. 51:11-13). |
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True worship music should
lead to personal enrichment and enablement, the kind of spiritual strength
that helps the believer carry the burdens and fight the battles of life.
True worship music ought to contribute something powerful and lasting to
our personalities, our relationships, our service, and our total lives as
Christians. |
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4. |
Our Music in Church Will Not
Bring Attention to Ourselves. |
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A. |
Our music will be worship not entertainment. Music is an
act of worship and my song must be a sacrifice placed on the
altar to the glory of God (Ps. 34:1-3). |
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B. |
Our music will be ministry not performance. The line
between performance and ministry is a fine one, and we must
be careful not to cross over and start using our abilities
simply to promote ourselves. We need to minister to the
glory of God. The musicians will know that God is listening
and watching and His approval is all that matters; the
performer cares only for the applause of the audience (Prov.
29:23).
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5. |
Our Music in Church Will Be
Diverse but God Honoring |
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A. |
One of the marks of maturity in the church is that we
accept diversity, for “there are diversities of gifts, but
the same Spirit... diversities of ministries, but the same
Lord... diversities of activities but it is the same God who
works all in all” (1 Cor. 12:4-6). |
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B. |
Worship flourishes in the atmosphere of freedom “where
the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (II Corinthians
3:17). Freedom of Spirit, however, does not mean
haphazardness, irregularity and fanatical confusion.
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C. |
We must be careful not to cater to taste instead of to
truth (John 4:24). The arts can help us to express our
worship, but we must take care not to worship the arts. |
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Worship must involve both
the heritage of the past and the opportunities of the present, otherwise our
church will have no future. |
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6. |
Our Music in Church Will Not
Be Associated with Any Person or Movement that is Contrary to God
and His Glory. |
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“He
answered and said unto them, Well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites,
as it is written, This people honor me with their lips, but their
heart is far from me” (Mark 7:6). |
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7. |
Our Music in Church Will Be
Composed of Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs |
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A. |
We will sing “psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs” (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). |
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– “Psalms” are the inspired writings in the Book of Psalms set to
music and sung to the Lord. |
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– “Hymns” are songs extolling the character and works of
God. |
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– “Spiritual songs” would be songs about the Christian life, songs of
witness to other believers and to the lost, declaring what Christ has
done for us and what He can do for others.
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B. |
Six Principle that we will practice based on
Colossians 3:16 and Ephesians 5:18-21: |
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– We will sing to the Lord. |
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– We will sing to one
another. |
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– We will teach and
admonish one another with songs. |
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– We will value variety. |
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– We will recognize that
grace motivates praise. |
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– We will recognize worship
as one way to be filled with the Holy Spirit. |
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8. |
Our music in church will be done to the
best of our ability because we want (with the right attitude) to
bring our best to God. |
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A. |
Our music will be sung by “skillful” singers (1
Chron. 15:27).
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Each musician must do his
or her very best, and must keep striving to do even better. “Play
skillfully” is the admonition of Psalm 33:3. God wants us to do the best
we can with what we have. The God who rejoices at the songs of
infants, and even the calls of birds, will accept the dedicated ministry
of even a below-average musician whose heart is right with God. |
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9. |
The Words to Our Songs Will Be
Theologically Sound. |
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A. |
Our words are important. If
there is no message in the song, or if the message does not
square with sound biblical doctrine, then there is no place
for it in Christian worship. “Sing praises with
understanding” (Psa. 47:7). |
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The song will not simply
be a worldly song punctuated with biblical phrases, but a biblical song presented in a way that communicates truth to believers and a lost world. |
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10. |
Our Music in Church Can Be Following All
the “Boundaries” But If Our Heart Attitude Is Not Right Before God
Then It Is All For Not. |
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“I will praise thee with my whole
heart” (Ps. 138:1). |
