A New Song For The New Year

A New Song for the New Year

December 28, 2002

Intro: Greetings! I trust each and every one of you had a safe and Merry Christmas. I just want to say “Merry Christmas” over and over. I’m tired of hearing “Happy Holidays” or “Seasons Greetings.” Just a personal thing I guess. But we are getting to that time of the month where we begin to see the Year in Review stuff on television. From the top news stories of the year to the top sports stories. We reflect on what has happened in the life of our world this past year. I went to CNN.com this week and got a refresher on all the top stories of 2002. Here are some of them: * Tension rise over standoff with Iraq *Sniper attacks in D.C. *Corporate America rocked by business scandals *Martha Stewart investigations *Catholic church sex scandals *Actress Winona Ryder convicted of shoplifting * Miraculous rescue of the Pensylvania miners *Jennifer Lopez and Ben Aflect get engaged!

Let’s be honest there are some things about this year that we would like to forget. Not only things that have happened in our world and country but also in our own lives. AS many of us look back on our lives this year there were some significant things that have happened and some not so significant things. As a matter of fact many would be uncomfortable with their own personal year in review.

But I want to read a verse to you tonight. It’s found in Psalm 96:1: “Sing a new song to the Lord! Let the whole earth sing to the Lord!”

For many that is the last thing you want to do right now. But honestly for all of us in here it is the most important thing we do as we begin this new year.

Sing a new song to the Lord. I want to talk about the power of a song tonight. A power of your song to the Lord. But first of all I want to talk about music and singing. Music is such a part of our culture and who we are. It’s a way we express ourselves. It’s a way we escape and dream. It’s a way we get lost in the moment. It’s also a way we escape. Music is powerful. That’s why it generates millions upon millions of dollars in revenue a year. Now think about it. I bet most of us in here own numerous cassettes and c.d.’s. I did a quick count of how many c.d.s Amanda and I have just in our c.d. towers (which we have three) and I counted over 118!!! By the way, does anyone own a record or 8 track?

We buy music for all sorts of reasons. It’s a big part of our lives. When we’re in a good mood what do we normally do? We whistle or we sing. When we are depressed and blue what do we want to do? Do we want to put in a c.d. that’s loud and makes you want to dance? No. You put in something mellow. You throw in some country and western.

ILLUSTRATION: I remember a few times when I got in trouble with my parents and they sent me to my room. I went straight for my walkman. Music is powerful. It gets our attention. The world knows that. That’s why it has such an impact (both positive and negative) on the hearers. Whether we like it or not it influences the hearers.

ILLUSTRATION: While Amanda and I drove to San Angelo this past week to see my family for the holidays we were surfing the radio stations. We came across a radio station and a song came out by the rapper Eminem. It was a song called “Lose Yourself” and it is on the 8 mile sound track. Now, I am in no way promoting Eminem, his music or this movie. As a matter of fact I would steer people away from him altogether because of the content of his music. But as I listened to his song it was powerful. The beat was real catchy but what struck me was the content of his lyrics. The song (I believe) is a testimony about his life and working hard to finally get where he is today. I thought about the millions and millions of people who buy his album are on his favorite fan list and follow him from concert to concert. Folks, we are competing against people like Eminem to influence the lives of other people.

Music and singing is a gift from God. We fail to forget that God was the inventor of it. As you look in the Bible you see how much singing, worship, praising, etc. is found in Biblical culture. The Greek word for “Psalm” means “a song to the accompament of a plucked instrument.” In the Bible one of the ways the Hebrew and Christian history was passed down was by putting the historical events to a song and communicating it to others. It’s also interesting to see that not only was it a tool used to communicate history but it was also something that God’s children did before, during and after defining moments in their lives. As a matter of fact as you study the scriptures you will see some famous songs in the Bible: