Loving Heavenly Father, we come to You in the name of our Advocate, Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. And we praise You that by His shed blood, He has opened this way for us. And there, even at the mercy seat of heaven, there is the witness of His blood that speaks something far better than the blood of Abel. And we are grateful that as Your people we are no longer under condemnation, no longer under a sentence of judgment, no longer subject to the guilt that accompanies our sin or the wrath that must be brought against it, but for Christ's sake, all of that has been removed for those who come to you in repentance and faith. And so we come to you this night Confident of our standing before you. Confident that your ear is ever open to the cries of your children. Confident that as we cry for forgiveness, you will forgive and cleanse. Confident that as we cry for help and assistance, you will grant it. Confident that as we cry for spiritual bread, you will give exactly what we need. And we stand before you in need of all things. So Spirit of God, Take your word and plant it deep within our souls. Give us understanding that we may live it. Bless us with power that we may be successful in the work that you have called us to. Strengthen our faith that we may endure to the end and sweeten our spirits that we may do so with joy and with hope. I pray for your assistance as we open the word together. Please be our guide and teacher. We pray that we would not wander from the path that your truth lays out for us. And Father, I feel particularly needy tonight because the particular topic is much broader and higher and deeper than could possibly be tackled in a brief moment. So will you direct our hearts into the things that are most significant for us tonight and Spirit of God make those points of application far beyond the few that we will seek in the next few minutes. So we are looking to you praying all of this in Jesus name. Amen. Please open your Bibles to Zephaniah 3, Zephaniah 3. That's page 790. If you are using one of our pew Bibles. Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai. That gets you closer. Still want to make sure you're connected in your heart and your mind to Romans 14, the passage that teaches us we deal with our differences graciously. We make room for those who have different opinions than we do. We are not trying to make an allowance for sin, because sin is never a matter of personal opinion. But rather the Lord has called us to submit ourselves to His Word and yet even within the context of those who submit, who want to honor Him, remember that's a key thought, and those who want to express their gratitude by the choices they make, there will be differences of opinion. We looked this morning at modesty. And I wanted to give you some clear guidance and instruction there. And tonight, in the context of music, both of which are areas where there is lots of room for differences of opinion, I think there are some things that are helpful for us. And I will not be able to say, how could you possibly say in about 40 minutes all that needs to be said about music? I was staring at all the books stacked up on my desk today, and for one moment when I felt near to despair, I thought, you know what, I should just take that whole stack, set it on the pulpit, and say, any questions about music, check these out, let's pray, and go home. It just seems to be an impossible task. And then the Lord encouraged my heart in many ways. One of those was right before the service as I sat with Warren here in the front row and I said, you know, I should have just had you do this because so much of this material is yours. I'm just going to have to, you know, give you credit right at the outset. And he said, don't do that because if you say anything wrong, I don't want the blame. We all feel this sense of, I mean, how could you possibly say everything that needs to be said, and how could you possibly say it with the kind of accuracy and precision that the Lord deserves? And the answer is, you really can't. So, what I want to do though, is again, begin with our God. And this is not the only passage that refers to our God with reference to music, but it is one that has been a great source of blessing and encouragement. and I think will open a door for us to make our way into a brief look at this area. Well, Zephaniah ministered at a very difficult time, the early 600s. This is right before Israel just absolutely fell apart. and ministered during the reign of Josiah, I believe it was. So there were many good things, and yet there were many difficult things. And as is so often the case with the prophets, the Lord speaks through these men and confronts the sin of His people and promises that if they'll repent and turn to Him, there will be great blessing. But He also warns them that if they continue in a path of disobedience and rebellion, there will be judgment and discipline And what is amazing is reading through prophet after prophet after prophet where the Lord Himself intervenes, recognizing that it is really not within man to make right all the wrongs, to turn himself around, to do all that needs to be done. And so the Lord is promising His people, Israel specifically, but I think there are broader applications even beyond that. that He will, in fact, bring about a restoration. And you may have some heading similar to mine. If you look just around verse 9, you will see the conversion of the nations. That is a point of great hope. And now the particular heading over verse 14 in my Bible, as I'm sure it is in many of yours, is Israel's joy and restoration. But this is not really about Israel's joy preeminently. We'll come in just a moment to a verse that speaks of God's supreme and eternal joy in His work of redemption as it is worked out in the lives of His people. So follow along as I begin reading in verse 14. Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O Israel. Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord has taken away the judgments against you. He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst. You shall never again fear evil. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear not, O Zion, let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet you by His love. He will exalt over you with loud singing." If you go back to the very beginning of the chapter, you would see that God has promised to judge the rebellious. Then in verses 9 to 13, He promises to purify the faithful remnant. And now in verses 14 to 20, He is promising to rejoice with His people. One author has written of this particular passage that I just read, the prophet moves into the holy of holies by a rapturous description of the love of God for His people. This verse is the John 3.16 of the Old Testament. Jehovah, Yahweh, our God, verse 17 says, will come into the midst of His people. And look again at how He is described. First of all, a mighty one, or a hero who will save. Even for the faithful remnant that saw the wickedness around them and longed to see their nation repent, probably pouring out their hearts in prayer, at times even confronting their fellow Israelites, there would have been reason to despair because it did not seem that the tide of their culture was turning toward the Lord. But what a word of encouragement and consolation that the Mighty One, Jehovah Himself, will step into their midst as a saving hero and work a great work. He is saving people who have been ravaged by their sin. He is saving people who even up until this point really have been marked by rebellion more than they have been marked by submission. And I want you to note the emotion of God's love for these rescued sinners. There are three phrases in particular in verse 17 that I want to call your attention to. First of all, He will rejoice over you with His gladness. This is not a mild-mannered pleasure that he takes as if he just looks across the scene and smiles pleasantly. But there is a rejoicing that you could also think of in terms of exalting. And the root of this particular word denotes being glad or joyful with the whole disposition You learn more of that if you could trace this word as it is used in many other places. It is associated with the heart. It is associated with the soul. It is associated even in one passage with the lighting up of the eyes. So there is great joy in His heart. He rejoices over you with His gladness. The second phrase, He will quiet you by His love. If you're reading the King James, you will see a little different nuance. And frankly, I prefer this. He will rest in His love. Yes, God's love has a quieting effect on His people, particularly those who have been ravaged by their sin, ravaged by an environment and a culture around them that is hostile to the Lord Himself. But I think the intent of the author here is to describe God resting in His love. You say, what does that mean that God will rest in His love? It is that same kind of gentle repose, that peace, that contentment, that satisfaction of spirit and heart that two who love one another feel just to be present together. There are no words that are spoken. There's no activity that seems to be necessary. But it's that quiet, confident repose. God loving people like you and me to such an extent that He has nothing that He desires to say at that moment. It's just enough to be with you. I can hardly believe that. But that's the kind of love that God has for those He saves. One author writes, silence in His love is an expression used to denote love deeply felt. Love which is absorbed in its object with thoughtfulness and admiration. Now let's be clear, what God admires in us is the fruit of His mighty salvation and redemption. But you can't separate that and say, oh well, so He doesn't really love me. No, no, He does love you. as one of His redeemed, delights in you, rejoices over you with all His heart. Look at the third phrase, He will exalt over you with loud singing. The old Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, we call it the Septuagint, paraphrases this particular line this way he will rejoice over you with delight as on a day of festival. And I think the choir arrangement reflects that very translation when our choir sings and the father will sing over you. God. Is a singing God. Now what does that sound like? All Zephaniah tells us, we know it's the song of joy, but he also says it's loud. And I suppose it is. You have probably moved to song a time or two in your life. It just happens spontaneously, doesn't it? We get a kick out of our own family and different individuals at various times will just sing out, top of their lungs. And it's usually the result of something they're very happy about or somebody wants to tease or playful. And what does it sound like, though, when the God of the universe who is all-powerful and created music. It comes from him himself. It's part of the good gifts that he just poured into creation. Perfect pitch, perfect knowledge of science of music. What does it sound like when he bursts forth in song? I don't know. But I can't wait to hear it. I'll tell you one thing. This is a passage that doesn't allow us to think that he might just kind of hum quietly to himself or whistle a happy tune. No, as God considers the salvation of His people and the rescue that He has accomplished, there is such powerful emotion within Him that the perfect and appropriate and free will expression of His joy, if I can put it that way, the free will expression of His joy and love is nothing less than loud singing. And as another author notes that the Holy One should experience such ecstasy over the sinner is incomprehensible. God breaking out and singing God joyful with delight all because of redeemed ones like you and me. That's incredible. So. Music is God's creation. It's His idea and it's something that He does. It's something that He uses to express delight. It's something that we will enjoy for all eternity. So if He Himself sings, doesn't it stand to reason that His people then would be characterized by singing? And the answer all through the Scriptures is absolutely yes. We are a singing people. The singing actually goes back to some of the same reasons that unfold here in Zephaniah 3. It's just an expression of joy. And so you could back up one step and say, well, joy is inherent to the story of redemption. As a matter of fact, if you go back to the Old Testament and begin to just look at the concept of joy, you will see in the whole blessing and curse section of Deuteronomy where God says, do this and I will bless you, do that and I will curse you. There's one particular verse that captured my attention this past week, because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart. because of the abundance of all things, then God proceeds to say, a curse will follow. And see, the joyfulness and gladness of heart would be the expected response of people like us who have come under the gracious blessing of all things, an abundance of all things. So joy is inherent in our redemption. Singing is an expression of our joy in God. I don't think I need to proof text this out. I mean, if you've ever read the Bible in just about any different place, you're going to come up against that very shortly. But a few passages that I think will help some of our thinking would be these. 1 Chronicles 15, 16. David commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brothers as the singers. who should play loudly on musical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy. So this is a very important part of corporate worship. Psalm 100. Don't we know this one well? Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come into His presence with singing. Psalm 150 encourages us to employ all manner of instruments and climaxes with that command, let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Then we come into the New Testament, and you can turn here with me because this will be a passage we'll kind of refer to on a number of places through the message. But Ephesians 5, 19, a passage that I've preached through on several occasions. I think Ephesians 5, 19 and 20 and Colossians 3, 16 are probably among the more specific passages in the New Testament that are very helpful for us in setting direction for congregations as to what God desires. Ephesians 5.19, really we should go back to verse 18. The command, do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit. And how does filling with the Spirit then manifest itself? Here we go. Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Those are commands that are given to us as a body. Yes, I have a responsibility individually to do that, but unless you are assembled with the saints, it is impossible for you to address one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. And I don't think that the Lord had in mind private conversations where you simply engage someone and say, oh, by the way, I have a hymn to quote to you or a psalm. No, it's obvious. He's talking about a setting just like this. So much here to develop, but what I would like to do in the next few minutes though is to simply walk you through the guiding statement, philosophy statement that we have developed. It's not going to answer all the questions that you have about particular issues within the context of worship and music. I'm really not going to be able to address very many of the specific questions related to genre or even composers or artists or individuals. But I do want to say, here is what we are seeking to do. And then I would also just say right here at the outset, you want to know what this looks like? You saw it tonight. You saw it last week saw it over the last several months and by God's grace you're going to see it into the future. OK. So we tried to boil down in a very succinct statement some guiding thoughts on worship. And again, I am deeply indebted to Warren's leadership. Even if he were here, teaching this, he would not say, I came up with this all on my own. But this really is the distillation of so much of his ministry here and conversations with people through the years. It's just a reminder to me that we have much to be grateful for. Gratitude to God, but grateful that God has brought folks like Warren and Gene and Lance and Jan and a whole host of others who serve us week in and week out. Knowledgeable, not only in music, but knowledgeable in theology. And I love that and praise God for it. All right, so listen. I should have had PowerPoint, beloved. I did not have enough hours in this week to do that. Like I said, I was staring at some things this afternoon saying, Lord, should I say that? Should I say this? So, to try to do PowerPoint, which would have served you well. I just didn't have time, okay? So bear with me. I'm going to read something. And again, these notes will be posted within the next day or so so you can see all of this and reread it for yourself. Heritage Bible Church recognizes that we are merely a single contemporary manifestation of the timeless people of God. Consequently, we strive to avoid the danger of dead traditionalism that is inaccessible to the average worshiper and the danger of contemporary commercialism that glorifies the performer and trivializes the character of God. Instead, we take great care in our worship to offer the best materials from many current and historical sources. songs and texts that accurately reflect the excellent character, work, and purposes of God. Now, let's go back through that, because I know that's a lot. You barely caught two or three phrases in that, and that is substantial. What do we mean when we say we are a contemporary manifestation of the timeless people of God? Well, simply that we're alive now, worshiping God in this local assembly, but we're not the only ones who are doing it. And we're not the only ones who have just recently started to do it. We stand in a long line of believers. The church, in the formal sense, given birth after the ascension of Christ. Yes, if you want to say Pentecost, great, with you on that. But the people of God existed even prior to that. And they have been a worshiping people The fact that we are part of the historical people of God has bearing on what we sing. It has bearing on how we think about what we sing. And there are two thoughts that occur to me when I consider that we are simply a, just one, a single contemporary manifestation of the timeless people of God. This keeps us humble. It should, anyhow. We're not the first generation to realize that life is not about us, but that life is about God. And 21st century Christianity didn't come up with this concept of God-centeredness. I love it, I'm all for it, but sometimes if you listen and tune in, and I've been a part of conversations like this and will be into the future, you would almost think that we're the first people to figure it out. So it should keep us humble. Just one small group in one location at one point in history. It should also keep us kingdom focused. You know, we're only going to be here for a brief time, so let us make our time count. The fact that we are part of something that spans the generations has bearing on what we sing. And I even wonder, what will we leave our children and their children? And you know, I don't want to leave a memorial behind. I want to leave a heritage. And I'm not playing on the word that this is Heritage Bible Church. I don't want to leave a memorial. You know what memorials are? They're testimonies of dead people. Not interested in that. I want to leave a living, breathing, vibrant body that is continuing to look forward saying, Oh Lord, come quickly. But if you don't come quickly, we are going to press on in faith, worshiping you with rich theology, with humble understanding and application of that. We're going to serve you however we can. That's what I mean when I say it keeps us kingdom focused. Now, next phrase that I share with you in just a moment. We strive to avoid two particular dangers, broad categories. We strive to avoid the danger, first of all, of dead traditionalism. That's the mentality, and I don't know anyone here who really holds to this. At least they wouldn't admit it. We all struggle with it functionally, but it is best understood, and it leaks out from time to time when we retreat to this position saying, well, I prefer to do it because that's the way we've always done it. Really? And yet, at its root, it is something more than that. It does not merely revere the past, but it idolizes the past. never happy or even content or thrilled with what God is doing presently but always pining for the good old days because after all things were much better then than they are now. And then you know in some ways there were things about society or culture that may have been better in a previous generation or two. But there are a lot of things that are taking place now that you weren't seeing back then. So be careful about pining for the good old days. You can ultimately lead yourself into an idolizing of the past. It's a tradition that if left to itself, rapidly becomes inaccessible to the average worshiper. Let me give you just really an extreme example of this, but it is something that the church faced, and it's part of what the Reformers battled so fiercely in their day. Perhaps an extreme example of inaccessible worship is what was taking place in the Roman churches at the time of the Reformation. I know some of you would even say, well, that wasn't even the true church. Okay, I can go with you, but let's remember that that was predominantly what most people were involved in. Listen to what one author writes of those days. Priests chanted in Latin and choirs of professional singers sang Latin polyphonic music. Worship services did not include congregational song or any other music in the common tongue. Martin Luther had given German Protestant churches chorales or hymns to sing, and that was radical. And some even looked at that and said, this should not be. But how thrilled the common people were when a man like Luther put hymns of praise and proclamation and petition into their hands that they themselves could sing, that the words were understandable to them. And there's a really interesting testimony of of John Calvin actually leaving a particular location and going into a setting where he had struggled previously so hard to get congregational singing up and running. He was actually opposed by the city leaders in that particular town where he was living and the oppression and hostility reached a point where he needed to vacate the place and he shows up in this one particular city And there's a pastor there who has put together hymns for his people, and he steps into a congregation where several thousand believers were lifting their voices in praise, and he just could not believe what he was experiencing. See, we take it for granted. But you know, some of your forefathers in the faith have fought fiercely for the privilege of singing congregationally. And praise God that they have. That's exactly what Ephesians 5 is commanding us to do. A dead traditionalism is not only accessible to the average worshiper, but it employs allusions to a bygone era or even culture. This will be difficult for some of you, but I want to give you examples because from time to time you will ask me or you'll ask Warren, how come we don't sing such and such anymore? And we really try to be careful not to just throw things out because, you know, old, but we try to evaluate. And I think you have to, let me just insert this, not in my notes, but you need to know this. We actually have a master list of all the congregational music that we use here, and they're really basically four categories. It's interesting that there's one category, and we would just kind of describe that as the great classic hymns of the faith. Everybody in every generation likes to sing that stuff. A mighty fortress is our God, be thou my vision, things like that. They're going to be with us for a long time. They've been with us for a long time. But then there are three other categories, and they really are more generational. Some of you grew up singing gospel songs. You love them, and we can't sing enough for you. You wonder what's happened to some of them, and there are lines that are familiar to you, but honestly, they don't communicate in our present setting the way they did in your day. Let the lower lights be burning. And I'm sure there are many of you here who could tell me what the lower lights are, but have you actually seen a set of lower lights in your day-to-day world? Any of you brave enough to say lower lights? I have no idea what lower lights. Are those like the fog lights on the front of my Suburban? Here's another one. Throw out the lifeline. It's good. Nothing wrong with it. It just happens to be one of those allusions to a different setting. And I don't want to make fun of these things. I'm just trying to give you examples. Because some of you say, we never sing that good old stuff. You're right. We don't. There are some that employ a dated aesthetic. You say, what do you mean? The tune itself gets in the way of the text. And I would actually say, I have loved this song. I understand why we don't sing it, and I'm not ready to bring it back. But many of you remember singing with all your heart, soul strength, and might, coming again. But if you start thinking of a tune, your feet are going to start waltzing before long. There are several others, but I've already offended some of you and lost you, and that is not my point. And I want to be careful, too, to say I don't even know that those examples could be thrust into dead traditionalism, because they still are alive for some of you. But you understand my larger point. If we were to just hang on to those and say, well, you know, it was good enough for granddaddy. It ought to be good enough for us. We're not trying to put it in the category of right and wrong. We're just saying that the church has a responsibility to select music that the congregation can sing with understanding. The danger that we avoid and even fear is that if we're not careful, we ultimately end up trivializing the character of God and the gospel by relegating His message to an antique bygone day. So that's the first area of danger we want to avoid. The second would be the danger of contemporary commercialism. This might be expressed by the phrase, we like it because it's new and popular and exciting. And with the particular contemporary commercialism that I'm speaking of, there seems to be a fascination with the new and even a disdain for the old. And my fear, even coming on the heels of what I just said, is that some of you would, in your heart, feel like, yeah, amen, you give it to that outdated, dead traditionalism. Be very careful. Not only fascinated with the new, but enthralled with cultural trends. And you see the fads sweeping through the church. Is it wrong to have a worship team? No, there's nothing inherently evil about a worship team, but for a while that was the big thing. If you were up here, you weren't really with it unless you had about six people behind you holding mics singing. Great, do it, but don't feel like that that is a superior form of leading worship to what... Warren Cook does or others who may actually sit at an instrument, keyboard, and lead from a piano or keyboard or lead with another instrument like a guitar. There are many different ways that it can be done and yet there seems to be in contemporary commercialism this great passion for cultural trends. And there seems to be a captivation with the edgy. Got to be creative, got to be developing, got to push to the very edge of what is acceptable. I think this is a profound point that Warren has brought to my attention as frankly most of these are. that in a setting like that the corporate liturgy, listen to this, this is just so well articulated, corporate liturgy is lost in the live show. Corporate liturgy is lost in the live show. It's impressive, it's big, I mean it includes amazing instrumentation, it includes an amazing scene design, stage lighting. It's a show. And yes, you can sing along in that setting, but I submit to you that there's something very different from what is taking place here tonight. And what I see commanded in the Scriptures is that God's people come together with a view of addressing one another. You see, corporate worship, corporate singing is primarily in view when you look at what the Scriptures are guiding us toward. And it's not a live show. God has not called us to put on worship shows. Sometimes people even ask, you know, one of the reasons that the pastoral staff doesn't sit up here during the service is because I'd much prefer to be in the front row. I want to sing with you. I want to pray with you. I want to be led through responsive scriptures with you. And I don't say that as criticism of any pastoral staff or other individuals who actually sit on the platform. I have no problem with that. several years ago, you know, I just thought to myself, I don't want to be there. I want to be right down there. I want to be able to participate. And then I think you have to admit honestly that there are often many performance practices that are nothing more than the imitation of pop culture, working for a sound that is identical to what A Christless culture is seeking to produce, trying to produce a look. I'm always interested to see the photographs that are there either at websites or on advertisements of various groups and individuals. And some are fine, just nice photographs of, you know, who's producing the music. But then there are also some that you just want to say, what's with the attitude? We're working really hard to be cool or edgy or even a little bit sensual. And the people of God ought to know better. We talked this morning with reference to modesty about mirroring the humility and holiness of Christ in what we wear. And I think the same is true when it comes to how we produce and even market our music. And along with that, there is very often no real sense of a church body that is in view, but rather that it's about the individual, it's about the group. I think one of the challenges is that we have so much technology that really is amazing, that part of what we are wrestling with is the difference between music that I can and should and need to develop in the context of my private worship. Music needs to be a part there. But I hope even there it's not you primarily listening to the performance, but you participating. Whether it comes through your earbuds, out of your library on your iPod or your MP3 player, whatever it is, or you listen off your computer. Or, you know, I was mocked a year ago in my car because I actually have CDs in cases that I put into the CD player in my car. I was with three guys, one of whom was Matthew Hoskinson. I'll just tell you that right now. But he was not the one who led the scorn for a moment. But the other guy seated next to me, I opened the console and pull out a CD. And he's like, guys, look at this. He still uses CDs. And I'm like, these are not 8-tracks. They're the little records that play really fast. So we have this remarkable season. I mean, we're alive now. You have access to more music from more genres and producers and studios and, I mean, than anyone ever dreamed of 25, 50 years ago, really. And this leads me, I'm kind of rambling at this point, but this leads me into another point. It's very easy to assume that your church worship ought to sound like what's coming off of that recording. And that is rare if ever possible. So I'm not saying that you should never listen to recorded music. No, I think it's a very important part of private worship. But I do think you have to adjust your expectations. Because if you think that the worship that's going to take place in a context like this will be as expertly mixed and remixed and amped and revamped, you're going to be disappointed every single week. And I don't care if you go into a traditional setting like this or a different kind of style and worship. I mean, it's just not realistic. Back to my bigger point though, we're trying to avoid the danger of contemporary commercialism that really takes the attention off of Christ and centers it either in the performer or the production, the quality that the production process gives us. And in so doing, we ultimately trivialize the character of God and His gospel by reducing it to a culturally relevant fad. I have another little sidebar. I have great concerns that more recent children's music ministry has not aided us. what a difference there is between a children's song like Deep and Wide or Zacchaeus and the kind of children's hymn that Isaac Watts gave us that we still sing in big church, if I can put it that way. I sing the mighty power of God. Can you imagine singing Watts' great hymn the way some of our children sing Deep and Wide? There's not a hmm or hmm below, but make sure glory hmm. I know that is an extreme example, but I spent a little time on the web looking at some. I just was Googling children's songs in the context of church music. And I just, frankly, was aghast. and reminded of how we have probably unintentionally but nonetheless have trivialized a great God. I'm not a big fan of veggie tales while I'm picking on people and things and groups. You know why? Because God's work of redemption was not about vegetables. And when he led the children of Israel into the promised land and they crushed Jericho, they weren't facing a high-walled city that threatened them with milkshakes. It trivializes the great story of redemption. And our kids are smart enough to know when they are hearing or singing about a great God. Listen to song number 11 that Isaac Watts included in his divine songs for children. It's titled, Heaven and Hell. I don't know what tune this was set to, but listen to the words. There is beyond the sky a heaven of joy and love, and holy children, when they die, go to that world above. There is a dreadful hell and everlasting pains. There, sinners must with devils dwell in darkness, fire, and chains. Can such a wretch as I escape this cursed end? And may I hope whene'er I die, I shall to heaven ascend? Then will I read and pray while I have life and breath, lest I should be cut off today and sent to eternal death. Somehow singing choruses that include lines like this. If the devil doesn't like it he can sit on a tack. Don't correspond to the great God that Watts set before children and the great work of redemption. So what are we seeking to do. Well we seek to offer the best materials from current and historical sources. And then three particular categories. And can I say, that's also guarded and shaped by that opening statement that we are just one contemporary manifestation of the historical people of God. We don't even have access to all of the best materials from current and historical sources, but we're always looking for it. What will that include? Songs and texts that accurately reflect the excellent character of God. We would never intentionally set before you a hymn text that inaccurately describes God or trivializes Him or dumbs it down, but rather texts that will speak of the God who is holy and loving, who is transcendent, who is near, who is merciful and mighty, who is gracious and just, who is faithful and forgiving. Those would be just some of the essential characteristics of God that we would say make up His Excellency. Second of all, songs and texts that accurately reflect the excellent work of God. God created all that is, and it was very good. So we want to sing of creation, and we sang of that in part tonight. And the fairest Lord Jesus is a beautiful blending of looking at creation, which itself is a visible testimony to the beauty and character of the God, and yet in comparison to all that we see around us, Jesus is fairer than it all. It is our God who upholds all things by the power of His Word. And so we want to sing songs that, both in text and tune, give you a sense of that power. Number three, songs in text that accurately reflect the excellent purposes of God. And His purposes are manifold, but they can be summed up in Christ. All the promises of God are yes and amen in Jesus. So we're going to sing a whole lot about the Lord. Well, some concluding thoughts. Very practically, and this is related to what I was just saying a moment ago. You know, our congregational repertoire is much smaller than the sum total... I'm sorry about that. Some of you are dying of thirst right now and I just highlighted that. Our congregational repertoire is much smaller than the sum total of the individual preferences of the body. What does that mean? Well, if we collected all the individual listening files, CDs, old as they are, LPs, cassettes, and A-tracks. Brought it all together, we would never be able to sing all of the music that's there. And there are many different reasons. Some of it was not written to be sung congregationally. Some of it is not fit to be sung congregationally, either because it is theologically deficient, or it is musically deficient, or even insufficient. Some would be culturally irrelevant, even though it was written in a contemporary setting. It has no place in the church, and some of it would unnecessarily exclude members of the congregation. It's unsingable to a significant chunk of our assembly. So, what does that mean? I should not come with the expectation that Heritage or any other church that you may attend, because I know not all of you are members here, But you should not come with the expectation that your church will sing just the stuff or all the stuff that you like. It's never going to happen. And for you to have that expectation honestly is unloving and unrealistic. Because what you really are saying is, I want a church that serves me. God hasn't called you to find a church that serves you and your tastes and in particular your preferences. Rather God has called you to find a church that where you can serve where you contribute to something that is greater than yourself. I do come with the expectation that I will have opportunity to fill the clear scriptural teaching and we were there in Ephesians 5 19 and 20 just a moment ago and you can refer to a couple of other passages as well like Colossians 3 16. And by God's grace, we will continue to pursue that vigorously. So keep in mind, we're probably not going to sing all the stuff that you would want, but we're going to try to sing the best of what we believe a congregation like ours can embrace. Historic? Yep. Some of the current text, tunes, arrangements, settings that are given to us? Absolutely. And we do it to the glory of God. Well, again, as I have thought through this, I've had many moments in this actually past couple of weeks because this message has been cooking for a long time and it's probably overcooked at this point. But I am exceedingly grateful for what God has given us here. And I said at the outset I'm grateful for a number of the people who are here who lead us skillfully and humbly and knowledgeably each week. But I'm grateful for you as a congregation. I love hearing you sing. I really don't know what we would do if for some reason the volume got turned down here. And I hope it will remain vigorous full of joy and gladness and that it will remain loud for a long time because remember we serve a singing God and he rejoices over his people that he has redeemed and he does it with loud singing. So may God bless and guide and direct. Pray with me please. Father in Heaven, this is a challenging task for us as a body. It's challenging for us individually, and we submit ourselves to You, to Your Lordship. We are not devoting ourselves to the endless quarreling over preferences, our preferences, but we want to devote ourselves afresh to serving You and serving one another. There are some who have selected their music simply because they like it and they really have not gone before you to say, Heavenly Father, is this what you desire for me? And they've never thought to sit down with a trained musician and theologian or a mature saint who just understands more than they do to say, what do you think? What words of advice and wisdom and counsel would you have for me? And I pray that you would work that kind of humility into each of our hearts so whether young or old we will continue to pursue you with zeal and earnestness but also with grace and for the sake of truth. We praise you for the heritage you've given us here and we don't want to idolize our past as blessed as it is. We don't want to idolize it in a way that would lead us into a dead traditionalism. Neither do we want to become so careful that either because of our high level of expertise and training and understanding, we actually swerve into a different kind of contemporary commercialism where you are not central but it really becomes about our performance even if it is just our style. But rather we want our worship week in and week out to be spirit led and spirit filled consistent with the word of God consistently displaying the excellencies of your character and your work and your purposes. So great God continue to do your work for your name's sake. We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen. We stand with me please. I'll be here after the service, be happy to talk with you further. Warren is really the one you should talk to, though. And if I misrepresented him or misquoted him, it is all my fault. Everything he says is good and right and it's true. So, no, I would be happy to talk with you. All of our staff is here or available for you. But let me send you with these words. These are from Ephesians 6, verses 23 and 24. Paul's words of benediction over the dear saints at Ephesus as he closes this letter. And I think they are fitting for you as you go tonight. Peace be to the brothers. and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible. Good night.