O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing

In the past I haven't blogged in series.  I have simply tried to get the one blog in per week as faithful as I can.  Well, I suppose it's time for a change.  Introducing a new series for The Schoeneblog: Why Do We Sing That? In this series I will attempt to break down a lyric within a worship song and ponder it's biblical purpose for worshipers. This idea has been on my heart for some time.  I even had a previous blog in December in which I reflected on some lyrics within a Christmas hymn. You can read it here.  Anyway, I think my explanation has gone on long enough.  If you like were this is going or have some ideas of worship songs you'd like to see here, please leave a comment below.

WHY DO WE SING THAT?

Sing what you believe and believe what you sing.

As I sing out my praises to the Father with songs, old and new, I try to meditate on biblical truths within the lyrics.  One such text I have had on my mind over the last several weeks is a verse in O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing.  It goes like this;

He breaks the power of canceled sin

He sets the prisoner free

His blood can make the foulest clean

His blood availed for me.

In most traditions this is the 3rd verse, however in my denomination we sing it as the 4th and last verse.  But, did you know that in the original song which Wesley titled, For the Anniversary Day of One's Conversion, it was the 10th of 17 verses!  Let us never again accuse our worship leaders of songs taking too long!

The beginning of the verse is the part I've really been pondering. At times I had sung this great Charles Wesley hymn before (that is the shorter version, O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing), and thought that this phrase seemed redundant. The words "breaks" and "canceled," I had determined meant the same thing.  One was in present tense and the later in past tense, but that is the only difference, right?

I meditated on this and pressed forward in my regular studies and reading. I've been reminded through the tweets of pastors and theologians I follow that "The gospel is just as important after you become a Christian as it is before." -Tullian Tchividjian  And also that the same God who has paid the penalty for our sin has given us His power to overcome sin daily.  In light of these encouragements, it struck me that this one verse was not restating the truth of our pardon for sin but was reminding us of the two dimensions of Jesus' victory over sin on our behalf.

The lyric isn't redundant after all.  It really is saying these two things.

1. Jesus canceled the penalty of our sin so our future with Him is secure.

2. Jesus breaks the power that sin had over us in this life.

Child of God, not only are you Forgiven and Redeemed, in Christ you are also Over-comers!

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. NLT

Worship in Truth

Last month, I posted what it means to worship in Spirit.  You can read it here.  Jesus said...

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. (John 4:23 ESV)

Again, I will borrow some ideas from Henry Blackaby and Ron Owens found in their study on worship; Worship Believers Experiencing God.  You can purchase it here.  I cannot recommend this study highly enough! You should get it!

Worshiping in truth means we respond to what God says is true about himself.

One of the tasks for a worship pastor is to evaluate whether or not a song choice communicates biblical truth clearly.  Believe it or not, we don't just pick songs we like and avoid the songs you like. (Though some may think we do.)  As stewards of an hour on Sunday, it is weekly task to plan services that are biblical in content, balanced in context, and abundant in Christ.

Worshiping in truth means we worship in and through the One who is Truth.

Jesus is the Truth.  He says "I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to (can worship) the Father except through Me."  Jesus said to the woman at the well that true worshipers will worship in truth. And He is truth.  Blackaby and Owens put it this way "Worship under the New Covenant is always through Christ, in Christ, and for Christ.   Our Lord is the embodiment of truth."

Worshiping in truth means we read and preach God's Word.

This is at the core of our worship.  How can we respond to what God says is true about Himself unless we understand what it is He is saying about Himself?  It's easy to see that the first two statements are true of both private and cooperate worship.  This third statement must also be practiced in private as well as public.  Within our own private settings we must sink ourselves into God's word.  If we claim to love God but in private we don't spend time reading His words to us, then what is true about us and our worship?

Father, I long to be the kind of worshiper You seek - one who worships You in truth.  Jesus, be the center of my life and my worship.  Forgive me for the times I have passed up the opportunity to read Your Word and instead have given my time to lesser things. Teach me what is true about You so that I may worship You as You really are.  Strip away the false ideas I have of how I think You should be and forgive me for that idolatry.  Draw my heart again and again to You, my Fountain that does not run dry.

Make Way For The King!

On Palm Sunday we remember how Jesus entered Jerusalem to the praises of His followers.  They placed the branches of palms on the road to make a path.  Most even took the cloak off their back and placed that on the road to make Jesus’ path. (Matt. 21:8) Would you do that?  Would you ruin a perfectly good cloak to make way for your Savior?  Do you know how hard it is to get out donkey stains?

Remember what happened next? Jesus went to the temple and found the place full of greedy selfish people. They were “helping” outsiders – guests – by changing their foreign currency into the proper form so that they could buy the animal for sacrifice.  They were ripping people off!  The church was full of guests.  But the scribes and chief priests could think only of profiting off of them.  After all, these people only come to the Temple once a year.  Jesus - in righteous anger - dumped over the tables and drove those crooks out of the temple yard.  Temple was to be a place to spend time in prayer and to know the Father.

If it troubles you to think about Jesus' show of anger, just remember that in a few days he would die for the sins of these money changers.

When guests show up for Easter services next week, let us be humble.  They are not here so we can be proud of how full building is. (Not for our profit)   They are here to seek and to find the Savior, the Redeemer.  They are here at the invitation of the Father. Take off your cloak and lay it down to make a path; a path that leads them to Jesus.   Let’s all humbly serve our guests next week and every week.  In the name of Jesus.