It's Time To Sing Series

Sunday Morning April 5, 2009

Bel Aire Baptist Church

Series: “Moving With God (Exodus)” [#14]

IT’S TIME TO SING

Exodus 15:1-21

Introduction:

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV)

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.”

On this Palm Sunday, I am reminded of a well known Worship Service that occurred outside of Jerusalem.

John 12:12-19

At this worship service there was atleast 3 types of people present.

There were…

1. Worshippers.

They were…

> Focused on Jesus.

> Shouting Who He is- The King, The Messiah, The Savior, etc…

> Bowing before Him.

There were…

2. Observers.

They were…

> Spectators.

> Guarded.

> Followers of the crowd.

There were…

3. Critics.

They were…

> Jealous of the attention.

> Bored.

> Critical of Jesus and His worshippers.

As we come here to this place, I would ask you to consider which category you fall into. To be honest, we have probably been in all 3 categories at some point in our time of attending Church Services. There were many worshippers on that day who were sincere in their worship; but just a few days later were sincere in their shouting, “Crucify Him, crucify Him”.

It is interesting how our moods, circumstances, etc… affect our worship of the Lord. I pray that each time you sing, pray, study, fellowship, etc…; that your desire is to be sincere and real with the Lord.

When we think of the word worship, what is the first thing that comes to most of our minds? That’s correct- Singing. The history of singing in Church is definitely tainted with arguments, discord, Church splits, staff firings, etc… Probably one of the greatest points of conflict within the Church through the centuries is the types of songs we sing at Church, the style in which they are sang, the instruments used, the actions involved, and the volume in which they are led.

At numerous times in my pastorate, I have struggled with the subject of music. I have seen people leave our church based on music. I have been torn up into little pieces and have torn others up into little pieces over music. Several years ago, I was at the point of not even singing during the worship time.

So what do we do in order to have worship times that please the Lord? I said it this way because we can worship God away from this building. Do you realize that singing to the Lord is one of the ways you can give to Him? God cherishes our songs of praise and worship to Him. As we’ve been talking about fresh starts, we must understand that we may have to let some of our ideas and traditions concerning worship die, so that we can have new life. What must we do in order to have life in our singing and worship to the Lord?

Our singing must be…

1. Focused on God.

Exodus 15:1a (NIV)

“Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD…”

The people sang to the Lord- Not to each other, not to their tribe, not to their family, etc… Until we can learn to sing to the Lord, it is pointless. The Word says that the words that come out of our mouths are an indicator of our heart. We always put this in the context of not gossiping, lying, using profanity, etc…; but it can also apply to the attitudes that we have when singing.

Today, you are going to have an opportunity to put each point into practice. Before we start singing to the Lord, we need to spend some time to focus on Him.

Prayer

“Everyone Medley” (Everyone & All Hail The Power)

“You’re Worthy Of My Praise”

Our singing must be…

2. About God.

Exodus 15:1-19

This song describes many things concerning God.

It describes…

> Why we desire to sing to God.

> Who God is.

> What God has done and is doing to the enemy.

> That God has the victory.

> Our salvation through God.

“The Wonderful Cross”

“Amazed”

“Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)”

Our singing must be…

3. Naked before God.

Exodus 15:20-21

Now you know the preacher has lost his mind- Talking about getting naked? What is it that keeps you from worshiping God like no one else is watching? Whatever it is, it needs to die.

Many times in Scripture, singing is accompanied with several things that may make some of us uncomfortable.

Singing is accompanied with…

> A variety of instruments.

> Dancing.

> Shouting.

> Presenting offerings.

> Raising hands.

> Clapping.

> Weeping.

“Fields Of Grace”

“When I Think About The Lord”

Invitation:

This morning we are going to have our invitation and our offering at the same time. I pray that we have already been offering ourselves to the Lord through our singing.

The altar will be available for prayer. Do not bring your offering to the Lord until you have your heart right with Him.

Offering & Invitation: “Thank You For The Cross”