Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs...another crack at this!

 

This is a sermon that I have given about 5 times and I keep tweaking it.  I am so thankful for the worship director at the church I am serving who helped me to bring the congregation along with singing the different types of songs we have and putting them side by side to hear the differences.  The internet connection was not optimum this week so the recording is just in audio form and it a little distorted but not beyond the listening ability.  My prayer is always that two points would come across beyond the understanding of these musical terms that Paul gives us in the Scriptures.  

The first would be that we would speak, teach, and encourage each other in the contexts of these types of songs.  We would speak psalms to each other with using God's words rather than our own; we would speaks hymns to each other by reminding each other of God's greatness; and we would speak spiritual songs as we convey how our great God has touched our lives.  As we sing, we would also interact with each other to build up the body of Christ in greater unity in Him.

The second would be that we would see how going back to the Bible to anchor our definitions will help us to not put up tents among us, the church.  The Bible, God's very words, guides us to experience greater unity and also to provide better communication between us.  The mission of the church doesn't get lost because we are competing with each other about whose tent is better or bigger than the others.  1 Corinthians 1:10-17 really bears out a great Biblical example of this.

v.10b - "...that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment."

v.11 - "...by Chloe's people,..." - tent 1

v.12 - "I am of Paul" - tent 2 - "I of Apollos" - tent 3 - "I of Cephas" - tent 4 - "I of Christ" - tent 5

All of this setting up of tents emptied the cross of Christ of its proclamation of the gospel in and from the church of Corinth.  v.17 - "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to proclaim the gospel, not in wisdom of word, so that the cross of Christ will not be made empty."

A good question to ask when terms are being thrown around is, "What do you mean by _________________________?"  Even terms like "truth" and "grace" could be taken in many different directions.  The goal is not to prove someone else wrong but rather to find a common starting point to begin communicating on the same page.  Maybe adjustments are needed to yours and my definitions if they don't line up with Scripture but hopefully our submission to God's Word would rise above our man made definitions so we would walk in unity to something and Someone outside of ourselves.  "What I feel" should always take a backseat to "what God has said." 

Needless to say, some more submission to embrace.

Adam