I offer the following thoughts with only the deepest respect and gratefulness to God for the fact that youth are being called into the church of Jesus. I am aware that God can do His work in rock music as well as Gregorian chants and everything in between. But perhaps you can try to understand the feelings of seniors, of which I seriously am and have been for _________ years.
My message centers around the idea of what the Bible calls the "New Song." I have read that admonition, as you have, multiple times in the Psalms, "Sing a NEW SONG" to the Lord, and wondered what it could mean. I think I know now.
The new song is not seniors stuffing their ears with cotton so they can endure the drums.
The new song is not old people trying to swing with the beat of the contemporary sound.
The new song is not destroying all the hymnbooks so one can sit in the dark and watch a performance on stage.
The new song is not a new liturgy, a new tradition, that involves canceling piano and organ to replace them with keyboard, drums, guitars etc.
The new song is not even about learning "new songs."
The new song is Jesus. Look at Revelation 5:9-10.
"And they sang a new song , saying [to Jesus] You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for you were slain, and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth."
Spurgeon allowed no instrumental music in his church. But those 10,000 voices before him sang the new song. The song that even David could not sing, but in the Spirit told us to sing, to join in with the angels and the redeemed in worshiping the one who is worthy, the one who was crucified, the one who bought us with His blood, the one whose people will reign on earth with a kingdom of priests that we have become already.
That's the new song. True believers have sung it for centuries. Echoes of it are in many of those hymnbooks trashed or closeted by so many churches. What a book that was, not just a scrapbook of memories but a treasure chest of precious jewels of the faith.
"Contemporary" music changes with the generations. What we see now will be gone one day, replaced by another style. Only then will current musicians feel the pain we oldsters feel to see all our past considered irrelevant.
But style is not the main issue. Message is everything. Do any of the current musicians understand the wealth of the musical tradition that is being set aside for music that more matches the culture? And has the background music become more important than the very words of God that we are to be planting in the hearts of God's people?
Not saying we have to do what Spurgeon did, but it is a fact that larks and nightingales need no musical accompaniment.
Have you ever wondered, as I did, why the word "entertainment" is not found in Scripture when it is one of the major events that takes place in our [Western] lives? Surely if it is all that distracting to our Christian life, the Scriptures would...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
The question of pastoral spouses has deep ramifications in our day. Time was, when you married a pastor, you became... the wife of a pastor. Not so now! In many churches across America (and elsewhere?) the wife of the pastor is now... the...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
In older times, warfare was waged on either side of a huge field. Soldiers could dig in, jump in a trench, hide in a foxhole, and lob serious harm to the other side without having to go hand-to-hand with anyone. Grenades and what-not did the job....[ abbreviated | read entire ]
Skimming through health-related books at the Niles Library the other day, I came upon one by a fellow named Matt Fitzgerald, a "certified sports nutritionist and an acclaimed endurance sport and nutrition writer." Now, at my advanced - oh very...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
How to build a HUGE church? In many cases, you have to break ALL of God's ten commandments! You will notice, or perhaps you knew all along, that in order to create a congregation that prospers in the worldly sense, you will have to break every one...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
Reflect the Comfortable (Abundant) Life. Your people must be made to feel that the comfort and luxury they experience in your magnificent building is simply the norm for all lifestyles. Let them desire more and more the comfortable life they see...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
9. WATER DOWN the WORD Be careful not to teach Biblical literalism overmuch. That is, the leadership must not make the people feel that every word of God is “Gospel truth”. People do not want to hear certain Biblical facts. Sin, and...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
Use Money to appear like the World and thus make the worldly comfortable. The idea of the church as a place for pilgrims to meet, perhaps in a barn, perhaps in a warehouse, must be forsaken utterly. Build the finest edifices money – a lot of...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
Promote the Flesh. The old church has had its definitions of holiness which you, as a super-church must reject. Here are some examples of what I am talking about: Your women must be allowed to dress as they please. If men gaze or cause other...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
