Redeeming The Time Series

Christians are to conduct themselves carefully in a corrupt culture.

5. Worship well. Once we’re filled with the Holy Spirit, we’ll we see some results according to verses 19-21: “Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

Scholars differ on the distinctions between “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.” Bob Kauflin writes: “He seems to be encouraging diversity in the songs we use to praise God. ‘Psalms’ might be referring to the songs in the Book of Psalms, ‘hymns’ to songs that praise Christ [not the hymns we think of because they weren’t around then], and ‘spiritual songs’ to more spontaneous expressions. If that’s the case, Paul is encouraging us to say and sing all our songs—short, long, fast, slow, old, new—with gratefulness to God.”

I love the doctrinal depth of the songs Pastor Chad chooses each week. It reminds me what Harold Best says, “A congregation is just as responsible to sing the gospel as the preachers are to preach it.” Pastor Chad chose songs today which loosely fit these three categories:

• House of the Lord (spiritual song)

• Psalm 150 (Psalm)

• Your Great Name (spiritual song)

• Our closing song is called “Grace” (hymn). I love that we sang, “Christ the Lord is risen today” last weekend.

Our son-in-law Lucas, who is a worship pastor in the suburbs of Chicago, believes “psalms are Scripture set to music, hymns are theology set to music, and spiritual songs are testimony set to music. Paul clearly cares more about the content that is sung than the style.”

When we’re filled with the Holy Spirit, we’ll see some four-fold fruit.

• Proclaiming. Notice we’re to verbally “address one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs…” We’re to remind each other of truth by what we say.

• Praising. We’re also to be about “singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.” We’re to say to one another and sing to God, focusing on both the horizontal and vertical dimensions. We’re to edify others and exalt God. While some of us don’t have the best voices and may be inclined to refrain from singing, are you aware we’re commanded to sing to the Lord more than 100 times in the Book of Psalms? 1 Chronicles 16:23 says, “Sing to the Lord, all the earth! Tell of His salvation from day to day.” James 5:13 says, “Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.” Oh, I should point out that this includes everyone. Notice the phrase, “with your heart.”

If you were here last weekend, you’ll know I almost lost my voice during the sermon. What you might not know is I didn’t lose my voice from preaching four times but rather because I was so engaged with the music and lyrics which Pastor Chad chose. I found myself singing at the top of my lungs, even hitting some falsetto notes a few times when my voice cracked.

• Praying. Verse 20 calls us to an attitude of “giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” A complaining heart and the Holy Spirit don’t go together.