Part 10 - Music In Worship Series

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Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! 2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! 3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! 4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! 5 Praise him with sounding cymbals; Praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD! (Psalm 150)

We come to one of the most intensely debated topics when talking about worship: music. This morning I don’t want to spend much time debating you about style. I want to teach about the precedence and priority for music to be used in our worship. In fact, it is a command of God for us to worship him using music. Music was God’s gift to us to give praise and honor to Him.

It’s no wonder that Satan uses music to divide God’s people, but also lead people away from God. The idea that Satan was a chief worship leader in heaven before his fall comes from the Bible “The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created” (Ezekiel 28:13 NKJV).

It is no wonder Satan works so hard to use music so powerfully to draw people away from God. So how much more should we; and do it with the highest degree of excellence and honor God. You may say, “Wait a minute, PB, I don’t have a musical bone in my body.” You do, and even though you are not a musician, God still commands you to join in to praising Him:

1 Sing to the LORD, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day. 2 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! 25 For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be feared above all gods. 26 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens. 27 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his place. 28 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength! 29 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; 30 tremble before him, all the earth; yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. 31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!” (1 Chronicles 16:23-31)

With that in mind, we need to understand what the Bible says about music in worship and why it is so important. Why singing and why music? Do you understand the priority of worship? If you do, where is your worship taking you? Church, are we putting our highest commitment of giving our best for worship, or are we coasting downhill?

I. God Created Music for Worship

Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. 2 The LORD has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. 3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.4 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises! 5 Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody! 6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD! (Psalm 98:1-6)

There is power in music. Music bypasses the mind and enters straight to the heart, but music also reaches deep into the mind. The more we know about God, the more we can worship, but also the more we worship the more we can know about God. Music helps us learn. Why do you think we use music to teach our children their ABC’s?

Scientists found that music induces a state of meditation and relaxes the brain. Thus, the effect of music on memory is that it allows our brains to become more disengaged, or free of “debris” which impede their proper functions.

We catch tunes and they stay with us. Sometimes we can’t get them to go away (called ear worms). Like Mana-Mana. But we also are powerfully wired to recall music for instance:

• (Say) “All you need is .....”

• (Sing) “Sweet Caroline....”

How about recalling the title and singer of a song with just a few notes: