Introduction:
John 4:23–24 - But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
Why Should I Sing on Sundays? (Colossians 3:16)
-
Because singing works the WORD INTO MY HEART. (Col 3:16a)
-
Because singing encourages the HEARTS OF EVERYONE WHO HEARS ME. (Col 3:16b)
Ephesians 5:19 - ...addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart...
Psalm 34:3 - Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!
Psalm 107:32 - Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
Psalm 100:1 - Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
-
Because singing voices my HEARTFELT THANKFULNESS TO GOD. (Col 3:16c)
Ephesians 5:19 - ...addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart...
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
-
00:41-00:44
Return your Bibles to Colossians chapter 3 verse 16.
00:45-00:48
Colossians chapter 3 verse 16.
00:49-00:56
Have you ever gone to someone else's house and witnessed family traditions that didn't make sense to you?
00:58-01:05
You had a friend in college, I went to visit his family once, and he's a part of a family that kisses each other on the lips whenever they say hello or goodbye.
01:08-01:10
And that's not my experience at all in my family.
01:11-01:14
And to be clear, I'm not judging you, that's how your family does greeting time.
01:15-01:17
You are loved and we're moving on from that, okay?
01:18-01:20
I also had another friend I grew up with.
01:21-01:25
His family drank milk with every single meal they ate.
01:25-01:29
Three meals a day, three glasses of milk a day.
01:30-01:34
And they thought it was really weird that I didn't want to drink milk with my pizza.
01:35-01:39
And I thought it was really weird but they wanted me to drink milk with my pizza.
01:40-01:46
Have you ever visited a different country and been surprised and thrown off by the customs they have?
01:46-01:56
In Netherlands, the person who's throwing a birthday party congratulates every single person in the room, not just the person having the birthday.
01:57-01:59
In Japan, it is not customary to tip.
01:59-02:04
If you try to leave a tip, the server will probably be very offended by that.
02:05-02:15
I've talked to a lot of people who've visited or immigrated to America who are really thrown off that we use how are you not as a genuine question, but as a throwaway hello.
02:17-02:26
I've been to Kenya twice, and the first time I was there I was surprised that as I walked from village to village talking to a certain man, he would hold my hand as we walked.
02:27-02:28
Now guys, will we do that in America?
02:29-02:31
That's never happened to me stateside.
02:31-02:33
But in Kenya, it's a sign of friendship.
02:34-02:38
It's a sign that person is really listening to what you have to say.
02:39-02:44
Many traditions and customs seem to be a bit random and mysterious.
02:45-02:49
When you press people on why they carry out these traditions, they usually don't know why.
02:50-02:51
They don't know the origin or rationale.
02:52-02:53
I don't know, this is what we've always done.
02:53-02:55
We've always had milk with our pizza.
02:55-02:58
We've always eaten Funyuns at Thanksgiving.
03:02-03:05
One tradition that doesn't really make that much sense, but I'm glad you enjoy it, Pastor Jeff.
03:07-03:15
Traditions and customs can become mechanical, can become rote, if you don't know why you're doing them.
03:16-03:20
It can become a mechanical process of going through the motions.
03:21-03:24
And the same can be said for Christians in the church.
03:24-03:36
If you pull many professing believers as they exit a Sunday morning service and ask them to provide the biblical rationale for why they did what they just did, I think you'd receive a lot of blank stares.
03:37-03:39
You would hear a lot of uhs and ums.
03:39-03:41
You'd hear a lot of hemming and hawing.
03:42-03:42
Why is that?
03:44-03:48
Because they are engaging in worship without thought or intention.
03:49-03:52
They are going through the motions.
03:53-04:00
The traditions and customs that God has laid down in his word for the family gatherings of his people may seem strange.
04:01-04:04
Hard to explain and a bit random.
04:05-04:06
I mean, think about it.
04:06-04:12
Why do we gather once a week to listen to a guy like me talk about the Bible for 30 to 45 minutes?
04:13-04:16
Every few months, why do we watch people get dunked in water?
04:18-04:22
At the end of this service, why will we eat a cup of bread and a thimble full of juice?
04:23-04:24
Why do we do that?
04:24-04:28
Why do we spend almost half of the service singing together?
04:29-04:41
And that final question is particularly hard for some Christians to answer because they don't like to sing on Sundays, they don't want to sing on Sundays, and they don't even know why we sing on Sundays.
04:42-04:43
They don't really see the point.
04:44-04:49
And maybe you are a part of the demographic that isn't really down with singing.
04:49-04:51
Maybe this biblical tradition seems odd to you.
04:52-04:53
It seems mysterious.
04:53-04:56
You don't know why you have to do it.
04:57-04:58
So what do you do?
04:59-05:04
As Pastor Jeff and Pastor Rich have said in previous sermons, you barely sing above a whisper.
05:05-05:06
You tune out.
05:08-05:11
You mouth the words until you're told to sit down.
05:12-05:20
Or maybe you arrive intentionally late to skip the singing portions of the service, or you slip out early to skip the final song.
05:21-05:24
You just don't get singing, so you just don't sing.
05:25-05:30
This is the final sermon in a series called God is seeking worshipers.
05:31-05:37
In John chapter four, verses 23 through 24, Jesus makes it clear what kind of worshipers God's on the lookout for.
05:38-05:40
Let's listen to what Jesus has to say.
05:40-05:58
He says, "But the hour is coming, is now here, "when the true worshipers will worship the Father "in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking "such people to worship Him." God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.
05:59-06:04
God is seeking those who will worship him in spirit and in truth.
06:05-06:15
Two weeks ago, Pastor Rich dug into what it looks like to worship God according to the truth of his word, and last week, Pastor Jeff focused on worshiping God in spirit.
06:15-06:18
You're to have passion and not cold detachment.
06:19-06:24
And this morning, we're gonna focus in particular on the importance of congregational singing.
06:26-06:33
Whether you can't wait to sing, or you can't stand to sing, I wanna help you answer one question this morning.
06:33-06:34
Just one question.
06:35-06:37
Why should I sing on Sundays?
06:38-06:41
Why should I sing on Sundays?
06:42-06:49
There are a lot of places to turn to answer this question, but there is no place that is clearer and more concise than Colossians 3:16.
06:49-06:50
Just one verse.
06:51-06:54
Before we continue any further, let's go to the Lord and ask for His help.
06:55-07:00
Please pray for me, that I'll faithfully proclaim God's Word, and I will pray for you, that you will faithfully receive it.
07:03-07:07
Father, we come to you and we thank you for this most important appointment of the week.
07:09-07:16
This isn't a throwaway time that we can take or leave, for it is the time we come together to worship your holy name.
07:17-07:26
to come around your word, to be challenged, to be convicted, to be encouraged, to be lifted up, to be pointed to your son, Jesus Christ.
07:27-07:29
We thank you in advance for what you will do.
07:29-07:38
And we pray more than anything that you would be pleased with what we do today, that you would be worshiped in spirit and in truth.
07:38-07:41
We ask all this in Jesus' name, amen.
07:42-07:50
So Colossians is a New Testament letter written by the apostle Paul, and it is focused on the supremacy of Christ in all things.
07:51-07:54
Christ is better than anything or anyone.
07:54-07:58
Life is from him, life is through him, and life is for him.
07:59-08:06
In chapter three of Colossians, Paul calls the Colossians to live in light of who Christ is and where he is seated.
08:06-08:13
Christ is Lord and he is seated in heaven, so we are called to submit to his heavenly standards.
08:14-08:18
To be able to put on new clothes, you have to take off your old clothes.
08:19-08:23
Well, to put on the new self, you are to put off the old self.
08:24-08:32
You are to put off old, ungodly attitudes and behaviors so you can put on new and godly behaviors.
08:32-08:37
In verse 12, Paul says the Colossians are to put on compassionate hearts.
08:38-08:49
And in verse 15, he says, "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts." And then in verse 16, our passage for today, Paul says they are to have worshipful and thankful hearts.
08:50-08:55
And you and I are called to have these worshipful hearts as well.
08:56-08:57
Why is that?
08:57-08:58
What's the result?
08:59-09:07
Well, worshipful and thankful hearts bless God, it blesses others, and it will bless you as well.
09:08-09:11
Now that we have that background in mind, let's answer our main question.
09:11-09:13
Why should I sing on Sundays?
09:14-09:16
Why should I sing on Sundays?
09:17-09:20
Number one, because singing works the word into my heart.
09:21-09:24
Because singing works the word into my heart.
09:27-09:29
Let's read Colossians chapter three, verse 16.
09:30-09:41
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs of thankfulness in your hearts to God.
09:43-09:44
Let's focus on that beginning chunk.
09:45-09:48
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.
09:49-09:49
What does that mean?
09:50-09:55
It means that your copy of God's word doesn't gather dust on your bedside table.
09:56-09:59
The words on these pages don't just stay on these pages.
09:59-10:02
The word of God finds a place in your heart.
10:02-10:03
It lives within you.
10:04-10:12
Scripture digs down deep into the very core of your being to change how you think, how you feel, how you love, how you act, and how you react.
10:13-10:14
How does this happen?
10:15-10:17
It happens by reading the word.
10:17-10:26
It happens by studying the word, meditating upon the word, unpacking what it means and how it applies to your life.
10:27-10:34
It involves writing notes in the margins, jotting down questions, highlighting verses, becoming a student of God's word.
10:35-10:39
But according to Paul, this also happens through singing.
10:40-10:43
And that may surprise you because you don't see the connection just yet.
10:43-10:46
How does singing work the word into your heart?
10:47-10:51
How does singing cause the word of Christ to dwell in you richly?
10:53-11:01
Because lyrics set to music is the most effective method of memorization and internalization.
11:02-11:03
We all know this to be the case, right?
11:03-11:04
In other areas of life.
11:05-11:07
How did you learn the ABCs?
11:09-11:10
Through song, right?
11:10-11:11
Prove it to me.
11:11-11:13
A, B, C, D.
11:13-11:37
♪ E, F, G ♪ ♪ H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P ♪ ♪ Q, R, S, T, U, V ♪ ♪ W, X, Y, and Z ♪ ♪ L, M, N, O, Y Very good, very good, wow!
11:39-11:42
As a kid, how did you learn the basics of anatomy?
11:44-11:54
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes, head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes, eyes and ears, and mouth and nose, head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.
11:55-11:56
What about cleaning up?
11:56-12:04
♪ Clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere ♪ ♪ Clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere ♪ Look at you guys.
12:05-12:08
Those lessons are dwelling in you richly to this day.
12:09-12:10
Do you see the point?
12:12-12:17
Growing up in the church, I learned a lot of important biblical facts through songs.
12:18-12:20
If you know the song I'm gonna sing, please sing it with me.
12:21-12:25
♪ Zacchaeus was a wee little man ♪ And a wee little man was he.
12:26-12:30
He climbed up his axe and called to the bloody country.
12:31-12:44
And as the savior passed out of birth, he looked up in the city and said, Zacchaeus, you come down, for I'm going to your house today.
12:44-12:46
For I'm going to your house today.
12:47-12:50
The B-I-B-L-E, yes, that's the book for me.
12:50-12:52
I stand alone on the word of God.
12:52-13:02
♪ B-I-B-L-E ♪ Isn't it astounding how much biblical truth can be contained in such simple and childlike songs?
13:02-13:08
I sang these songs 30 years ago and they still dwell in my heart richly.
13:08-13:11
They worked the word into my heart.
13:13-13:22
How arrogant we can be as adults by believing that we mature past the need to learn and love the word of God through song.
13:23-13:25
Do you feel that way right now?
13:26-13:32
Do you think that the sermon is the only aspect of the Sunday service that teaches you something?
13:33-13:34
That's just not true.
13:35-13:38
Every single aspect of the service teaches you God's word.
13:39-13:49
At Harvest, we read the word, we preach the word, we pray the word, we see the word in baptism in the Lord's Supper, and we sing the word.
13:49-13:54
All of these elements cause the word of Christ to dwell in you richly.
13:55-13:58
All of these elements work the word into your heart.
13:59-14:04
This is why it's important that we only sing what God's word says.
14:05-14:09
And thankfully, Paul tells us what to sing in this verse.
14:09-14:15
He gives us three types of songs, psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.
14:16-14:18
Psalms are self-explanatory, right?
14:18-14:23
He's talking about the 150 songs and prayers in the Old Testament book of Psalms.
14:24-14:29
When you sing the Psalms, you're singing God's own word back to him.
14:29-14:31
It's like you're speaking God's language.
14:31-14:35
You're using his own divine vocabulary.
14:36-14:43
And when Paul references hymns in this verse, he's not talking about the hymns as we understand them in 2026.
14:43-14:46
Remember, Paul's writing about 2,000 years ago.
14:46-14:53
He's not commanding us to buy old dusty hymnals off eBay that have the singing sheets and all the parts for men and women.
14:54-14:55
What is he saying?
14:56-14:59
Well, back in his day, hymns were a pagan practice.
15:00-15:06
Hymns were sung to a false god, a famous hero, or a military leader.
15:07-15:10
These hymns were focused on a particular person.
15:12-15:38
Paul is Christianizing and retrofitting fitting this pagan practice for the church. He's saying instead of singing to that lame guy who's not as cool as you think he is, instead of singing to that bloodthirsty general, instead of singing to that false God, praise the Lord God Almighty. Praise Him for who He is. Praise Him for His sovereignty. Praise Him for praise Him for His majesty.
15:40-15:42
Praise God for who He is.
15:44-15:48
And most likely, spiritual songs were songs of personal testimony.
15:49-16:00
If hymns mainly emphasize who God is, spiritual songs focus on what God has done for you, what He is doing for you, and what He will do for you in the future.
16:00-16:05
Praise God that He gave you another day to worship him and to serve him.
16:06-16:15
How many of us woke up today going, "Ugh, today's gonna be terrible, I don't wanna do this." Instead of doing that, praise him that he gave you breath in your lungs.
16:16-16:21
Praise him that he has forgiven all of your sin, past, present, and future.
16:21-16:28
Praise him that he delivered you from the domain of darkness and has transferred you to the kingdom of his beloved son.
16:29-16:37
Praise him that he will never, ever let go of you, no matter what you do, praise God for all the good gifts he has given to you.
16:38-16:41
That is psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.
16:42-16:46
Why does Paul give us this breakdown of songs?
16:48-16:50
In the past, did you ever make someone a mixtape?
16:52-16:53
Did you ever burn someone a CD?
16:54-17:00
Or for you teenagers who have no idea what I'm talking about, have you ever made a playlist and shared it with someone else?
17:02-17:02
Why'd you do that?
17:03-17:07
Because you wanted that person to experience the songs that you love.
17:08-17:14
You wanted that person to get out of the rut of listening to that same kind of song over and over and over again.
17:15-17:16
That's what Paul's doing here.
17:17-17:20
He's giving the Colossians a godly mixtape, a CD.
17:20-17:24
He's sharing a heavenly playlist with them.
17:24-17:29
He wants to keep them from singing the same type of song over and over and over again.
17:31-17:33
It's often said that variety is the spice of life.
17:34-17:36
Variety is also the spice of worship.
17:37-17:41
God wants to be worshiped by the inspired classics of the Psalms.
17:42-17:48
He also wants to be worshiped, as Pastor Jeff just read to us from Psalm 96, with a new song.
17:48-17:57
He wants to be worshiped for who he is, but he also wants to be worshiped for what he does, what he has done, and what he will do.
17:58-18:07
Singing these types of songs will keep us from only emphasizing the truth and missing spirit, or only emphasizing spirit and missing the truth.
18:08-18:17
Sticking to this list of songs will cause you to worship in spirit and in truth, because both are needed to truly worship God.
18:19-18:28
So much damage can be done if the sermons we hear on Sundays get an A+ in theology, but the songs we sing receive a failing grade.
18:30-18:30
Well, why is that?
18:32-18:39
Because you'll remember the words you sing on Sunday far longer than the words you hear from the pastor's mouth.
18:41-18:44
If you don't believe me, have you ever been with a Christian on their deathbed?
18:46-18:50
I gotta tell you, they don't invite their pastors in to re-preach their favorite sermons.
18:51-18:51
What do they do instead?
18:53-18:58
They sing worship songs that are lodged in their brains and stuck in their hearts.
18:59-19:07
As tired and as feeble as these saints feel, they belt out amazing grace in Christ alone, crown him with many crowns.
19:07-19:10
It is well, blessed assurance.
19:11-19:19
Biblically rich songs have the power to instruct your intellect, spark your passions, engage your emotions, and involve your body.
19:20-19:26
When the word of Christ dwells in you richly, it will flow out of your mouth freely.
19:29-19:30
Do you begrudgingly sing?
19:31-19:32
Do you barely sing?
19:34-19:35
Do you refuse to sing?
19:37-19:43
If you've answered any of those questions with a yes, I want you to come to grips with what you're truly sacrificing.
19:45-19:58
You are laying aside the blessing of knowing and loving the word of God on every single level of who you are as a person, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, you are cutting your spiritual growth off at the knees.
19:58-20:01
You're saying, I'm gonna mature this far and no farther.
20:02-20:11
You are cutting yourself off from a major source of the word of Christ dwelling in you richly, of the word being worked into your heart.
20:13-20:14
You are hurting yourself.
20:16-20:20
but the damage doesn't just end with you.
20:21-20:27
If you have a negative view of singing, you will negatively affect others around you.
20:28-20:31
But in Colossians 3, 16, Paul shows us the opposite as well.
20:32-20:37
If you have a positive view of singing, you will positively affect others around you.
20:38-20:40
Let's read verse 16 for a second time.
20:41-20:53
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
20:55-20:56
Why should I sing on Sundays?
20:57-21:00
Second reason, because singing encourages the hearts of everyone who hears me.
21:01-21:05
Because singing encourages the hearts of everyone who hears me.
21:08-21:13
Paul says that we as a church should be teaching and admonishing who?
21:14-21:19
One another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.
21:20-21:24
He shares an almost identical truth in Ephesians 5.19.
21:24-21:30
He says the believer should be addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.
21:31-21:38
Pastor Rich and Pastor Jeff have made it clear over the past few weeks that the primary audience of our worship is who?
21:39-21:44
God, first and foremost, our worship is for and before the Lord.
21:45-21:47
Again, he is the primary audience.
21:48-21:52
But according to Paul, there is a secondary audience of our singing.
21:54-21:55
And who is that secondary audience?
21:56-22:04
One another, every single person in this room, that person in front of you, those people behind you, those people next to you.
22:05-22:08
To be clear, you're not worshiping other people as you sing.
22:08-22:15
You are only worshiping God, but you are instructing and teaching others as you sin.
22:16-22:20
The goal isn't to impress, the goal is to instruct.
22:22-22:27
By singing, you are reinforcing the glorious truths of God's word.
22:28-22:36
By singing, you are warning, admonishing others to avoid the consequences of disobeying God's word.
22:36-22:41
you are playing an important role of the working of the word into their hearts.
22:42-22:47
You are playing an important role of the word of Christ dwelling in their hearts, richly.
22:48-22:53
Do you understand that Sunday morning is not your private worship time with God?
22:55-22:58
Yes, it is personal, but it's by no means private.
22:58-23:05
You are commanded to have your private worship time with God throughout the week, as you read the Bible, as you pray, as you fast.
23:06-23:09
Sunday morning is the corporate worship time of God's people.
23:10-23:14
It's not just about you and Jesus, it's about us and Jesus.
23:16-23:21
Why is it so important that we gather together and we sing together?
23:22-23:23
Why do we do that?
23:24-23:26
Well, one pastor puts it this way.
23:27-23:31
The people of God sing together because they have been saved together.
23:34-23:36
And we see this truth in the book of Exodus.
23:37-23:41
In Exodus 12 and 13, the Israelites are let go from slavery in Egypt.
23:43-23:45
They're guided by the very presence of God.
23:46-23:47
But then what happens?
23:47-23:52
Pharaoh changes his mind, and the armies of Egypt go after the Israelites.
23:52-23:54
But God rescues them.
23:54-23:56
He makes the Red Seas part.
23:56-23:57
He takes them through the water.
23:57-24:01
Then those waters drown the Egyptian army.
24:02-24:05
The Israelites are saved together by God.
24:07-24:10
How do they respond to being saved together?
24:11-24:14
According to Exodus 15, they sing together.
24:15-24:20
Their voices become one communal voice to their God and their Savior.
24:22-24:23
And we see this in the Psalms.
24:24-24:27
There is a ton of I, me, my, and mine language in the Psalms.
24:27-24:34
but there are 346 appearances of we, our, us as well.
24:35-24:38
Again, it's not just private, it's corporate.
24:39-24:41
In Psalm 34.3, David gives this command.
24:41-24:45
Oh, magnify the Lord with me.
24:45-24:47
Let us exalt his name together.
24:48-24:57
Psalm 107.32, let them extol him in the congregation of the people and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
24:58-25:08
Paul commands the Colossians and the Ephesians to sing to the Lord together because they have been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ together.
25:09-25:15
You and I are commanded to sing together because we have been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ together.
25:16-25:21
You were not rescued and redeemed from your sin to be your own spiritual island by yourself.
25:21-25:28
You were rescued and redeemed to be a part of the holy people of God, to be adopted into the family of God.
25:29-25:30
You are not an only child.
25:31-25:37
You have a countless number of brothers and sisters across this globe and throughout human history.
25:39-25:40
Let's focus on our church for a minute.
25:41-25:51
If you are a member at Harvest, you have committed yourself to the holiness and maturity of the brothers and sisters you have in this room and in the other service.
25:53-26:02
By becoming a member, you have acknowledged that your faithful attendance, your active participation, contributes to the unity and purity of this church.
26:03-26:10
You have chosen to link arms with these people and marched through this evil world towards heaven together.
26:10-26:15
You have agreed that I'm gonna build up and encourage these people because they are my family.
26:17-26:21
Do you realize that this service isn't just something you can slip in and slip out of?
26:21-26:22
This is your family.
26:23-26:30
This is a family gathering and you are here to encourage others, not just to be encouraged yourself.
26:33-26:34
So how do you encourage others around you?
26:35-26:38
You sing with passionate enthusiasm.
26:40-26:48
You cannot teach and admonish other people around you with their singing if other people around you you cannot hear your singing.
26:49-26:50
You know what this means?
26:51-26:55
This means that you do not have the biblical right to opt out of singing.
26:56-27:01
You do not have God's permission to mumble or mouth the words you see on the screens.
27:01-27:06
You are not given a hall pass from God to come late or to leave early.
27:06-27:11
You are not allowed to be a conscientious objector during the worship set.
27:13-27:15
I know exactly what some of you are thinking right now.
27:15-27:18
you're internally sweating and thinking, Pastor Taylor, you just don't get it.
27:19-27:22
I have a horrible singing voice and I don't want anybody to hear me.
27:25-27:30
Does God expect you to be a trained musician or a world-class vocalist to sing?
27:31-27:37
I sure hope not because you all just heard my voice a few minutes ago and I fall way short of that standard.
27:38-27:42
Does God command you to sing well in scripture?
27:43-27:45
He calls you to sing, period.
27:46-27:53
Psalm 100, verse one, "Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth." Can your mouth make noise?
27:55-27:57
Make noise to your mouth by saying yes.
27:57-27:58
Can your mouth make noise?
28:00-28:01
Can you make that noise sound joyful?
28:02-28:09
Even better than you are the perfect person to sing to the Lord, to encourage other people in this room with your singing.
28:11-28:22
All of you are not expected to stand on stage and lead the worship time, but you are expected to instruct others during the worship time as you sing from where you stand.
28:23-28:25
How many of you watched Elf last month before Christmas?
28:27-28:28
Very few of you.
28:28-28:30
Wow, okay, this may be harder for you than I thought.
28:30-28:34
What is Buddy the Elf's singing advice for Christmas?
28:34-28:39
The best way to spread Christmas cheer is-- - To go out and call the church.
28:40-28:43
I'm gonna steal that quote and use it for corporate worship.
28:44-28:49
The best way to spread Christian cheer is-- - [Congregation] It's enough for all to hear.
28:50-28:55
I read a study recently that laid out two markers of a healthy church.
28:55-28:59
There are obviously way more than just two, but these two were the focus of the study.
28:59-29:01
The first one was children.
29:02-29:03
Children are being born.
29:04-29:05
Children are being discipled.
29:06-29:09
That discipleship is being reinforced in the life of the church.
29:09-29:15
As Pastor Jeff often says, "Children are a sign of life." How are we doing with that first marker here at Harvest?
29:17-29:22
If you're wondering, just count how many kids almost knock you over after the service is over.
29:23-29:24
Here's the second mark.
29:24-29:28
The second mark is men who sing.
29:29-29:30
How are we doing with that one?
29:32-29:34
I gotta tell you, not as well as the first.
29:36-29:38
And I know what some of you men are thinking.
29:39-29:43
Taylor, singing on Sundays just seems a little feminine.
29:44-29:47
It doesn't seem very masculine to me.
29:49-29:50
That's interesting.
29:51-29:57
You didn't seem to have that same objection when you were singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" at the Pirate Game this past summer.
29:59-30:00
So let me understand this.
30:00-30:07
It's masculine to sing about going to a baseball game, but it's feminine to sing to the Lord God Almighty.
30:09-30:16
You didn't seem to have that same objection when you were singing in the shower this morning, or singing in the car on the way to work last week.
30:16-30:22
You didn't seem to have this objection when you were singing at the top of your lungs when you saw your favorite band in concert.
30:22-30:30
So let me get it straight, all those things are masculine, but singing to Jesus Christ who laid down his own life to save yours, that's feminine.
30:31-30:34
Do you see how ridiculous that objection is when you really think about it?
30:36-30:39
Moses sang, are you more masculine than Moses?
30:40-30:48
When was the last time you were used by God to defeat the mightiest army on the planet and to lead a bunch of complaining people through the wilderness?
30:50-30:53
David sang to the Lord and even danced to him as we saw last week.
30:54-30:56
Are you more masculine than David?
30:57-31:00
You were killed a giant or ruled over God's chosen nation?
31:02-31:03
Jesus sang in the Gospels.
31:05-31:06
Are you more masculine than Jesus?
31:08-31:15
Your entire life cannot compare to one second of the masculinity Jesus displayed during his time on this earth.
31:16-31:20
Men, please stop making excuses for why you can't sing.
31:20-31:22
Sing for the sake of your wife.
31:23-31:24
Sing for the sake of your kids.
31:25-31:26
Sing for the sake of the church.
31:27-31:30
Your silence is deafening and destructive.
31:32-31:40
Harvest, we should be teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom by singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.
31:40-31:44
We should be instructing and encouraging one another by how we sing.
31:45-31:49
This starts at an individual level and it has corporate ramifications.
31:50-31:55
You have no idea how big of an impact your singing has on the people around you.
31:56-32:00
And you have no idea how much their singing has an impact on you.
32:02-32:14
Imagine that there is a woman in the seat in front of you who is fighting a losing battle with a serious illness, yet every single Sunday she is worshiping the Lord with hands lifted high.
32:15-32:16
Does that teach you something?
32:17-32:23
That teaches you that God is worthy of your praise even when your physical strength is being sapped from your body.
32:25-32:28
Imagine that there's a dad down the aisle from you who just lost his son.
32:29-32:34
Yet he is still worshiping the Lord with tears in his eyes and sorrow in his heart.
32:35-32:36
Doesn't that teach you something?
32:37-32:41
That teaches you that the Lord gives and the Lord takes away.
32:41-32:43
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
32:44-32:53
That group of teenagers in the other section is rejecting the worldly desire to look cool by worshiping God with reckless abandon.
32:54-32:55
Doesn't that teach you something?
32:56-33:02
God teaches you that age doesn't always equal maturity, and they can set you an example to follow.
33:05-33:06
Please sing.
33:07-33:15
Sing to encourage your own heart, but also sing to encourage the hearts of other people around you.
33:17-33:18
Why should I sing on Sundays?
33:19-33:24
Final reason, because singing voices my heartfelt thankfulness to God.
33:25-33:38
"singing voices my heartfelt thankfulness to God." Singing blesses you, singing blesses others, but most importantly, singing blesses God.
33:39-33:41
Let's read verse 16 a third and final time.
33:42-33:59
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, "teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, "singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs "with thankfulness in your hearts to God." Once again, Paul shares a very similar truth in Ephesians 5.19.
33:59-34:09
He says that you should sing and address other Christians in song while making melody to the Lord with your heart.
34:11-34:14
You realize that your mouth isn't your primary instrument of praise.
34:15-34:16
It's your heart.
34:17-34:19
Your heart is where everything starts.
34:19-34:21
Your heart is where your passions live.
34:21-34:27
your heart is where your emotions reside, what is in your heart will come out of your mouth.
34:27-34:34
Your heart is like a guitar or a keyboard, while your mouth is a speaker.
34:34-34:37
Your mouth amplifies what is inside.
34:37-34:41
Your mouth amplifies what is in your heart.
34:42-34:47
If your heart is full of negativity and complaining, what will come out of your mouth?
34:48-34:49
Negativity and complaining.
34:50-34:57
If your heart is full of love and praise to the Lord, what will be amplified by your mouth?
34:58-35:00
Love and praise to the Lord.
35:01-35:04
You were made to worship God.
35:05-35:08
And God has revealed that he loves to be sung to.
35:11-35:17
And if you refuse to sing to him, you are refusing to give him the love and thanks that he deserves.
35:19-35:20
and at this point you may be waving the white flag.
35:20-35:22
Okay, Taylor, I get it, I get it.
35:22-35:24
You and other pastors can stop selling me.
35:25-35:28
These sermons have convinced me I just sing a little bit louder.
35:30-35:32
Fine, I guess I'll sing.
35:34-35:35
Is that honoring to the Lord?
35:37-35:45
You know, my wife has revealed to me that she loves flowers and she feels loved by me whenever I give her flowers.
35:46-35:52
But imagine I come home after service to frown on my face and shove some flowers in her arms and say, "There you go.
35:52-35:54
"Will you stop bugging me about the stupid flowers?
35:54-35:55
"I did what you wanted.
35:57-35:58
"You're not getting any more until your birthday.
35:59-36:05
"Hope you enjoy it." Would my wife feel very loved by that?
36:07-36:09
I shouldn't buy my wife flowers because I have to.
36:10-36:14
I should buy my wife flowers because I love her and I want to.
36:16-36:20
In the same way, singing to the Lord viewed as something you have to do.
36:21-36:23
It should be viewed as something you want to do.
36:24-36:31
It should be your greatest joy to verbally and physically express the love you feel for him on the inside.
36:33-36:37
And if that's not how you feel, there's a problem going on that you should address.
36:39-36:41
The worship team can make their way forward.
36:43-36:45
God is seeking worshipers.
36:46-36:49
God is seeking those who will worship Him in truth.
36:50-36:53
God is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit.
36:54-36:57
God is seeking those who will worship Him in song.
36:59-37:01
How do you feel about this job description?
37:02-37:05
How do you feel about being a full-time worshiper of God?
37:07-37:09
Some of you in this room are not a worshiper of God.
37:11-37:12
You have not yet trusted in Christ.
37:13-37:15
You are worshiping yourself.
37:15-37:17
You are living for yourself.
37:18-37:20
Let me ask you something, how is that working out for you?
37:22-37:23
I'm guessing not very well.
37:25-37:31
You may think you're happy, you may act happy, but you know something is missing.
37:31-37:33
You know something is wrong.
37:34-37:40
You know there is someone far greater than you who deserves the glory and honor that you're hogging for yourself.
37:42-37:49
This person is God, who reveals himself most clearly through the person and work of his Son.
37:50-37:53
Jesus came to this earth to serve sinners.
37:54-37:56
Choose to serve him for all of eternity.
37:57-38:06
Jesus humbled himself by dying on the cross to pay the penalty for sin, even though he was and still is fully perfect and sinless.
38:07-38:10
Choose to exalt him forever and ever.
38:11-38:18
Jesus will not turn you away if you come to him with genuine faith and repentance.
38:19-38:22
Choose to believe in him, stop believing in yourself.
38:23-38:26
Choose to worship him, stop worshiping yourself.
38:27-38:30
The role of a full-time worshiper is being offered to you.
38:32-38:33
Accept that job offer.
38:35-38:41
Others of you have accepted that job offer in the past, but you haven't been carrying out your responsibilities lately.
38:42-38:45
Maybe you've been making excuses for why you can't sing.
38:46-38:51
Maybe you've been distracted by a million other things you sit in this service and you're not focusing on Jesus Christ.
38:53-38:56
Maybe you're not truly singing with passionate enthusiasm.
38:58-39:01
If you're honest, you would say, I've been lazy in my worship.
39:03-39:06
If that's true, let me give you one final exhortation.
39:07-39:21
If Jesus Christ rose from the dead on a Sunday morning 2,000 years ago, you can get up bright and early every Sunday to worship his holy name with every ounce of energy and passion that you have.
39:22-39:23
It's not too late.
39:23-39:24
You can do it right now.
39:25-39:26
You can do it today.
39:28-39:32
Others of you have been faithful and you've been consistent in your worship.
39:32-39:36
Obviously, it's not perfect, but you have been consistent.
39:36-39:38
If that's you, keep it up.
39:38-39:39
Keep up the good work.
39:40-39:44
Do not waver in the job that God has saved you to carry out.
39:46-39:47
We spent a lot of time talking about singing.
39:48-39:48
Let's actually stand.
39:49-39:50
Let's actually sing.
39:51-39:53
Stand and do what you were made to do.
39:53-39:55
Do what you were saved to do.
39:56-39:57
Do what you should want to do.
39:58-39:59
Let's sing to the Lord.
Small Group Discussion
Read Colossians 3:16
What was your big take-away from this passage / message and the entire series?
What are your biggest barriers to passionately singing on Sunday mornings? How can you begin to overcome these barriers and be a more faithful worshiper?
How does singing help the Word dwell in you richly?
How does singing on Sundays encourage others around you? What does their singing teach you?
What did Taylor mean that your greatest instrument is your heart? How is your mouth like an amplifier?
Breakout
Pray for one another.