I. Introduction
     I am going to start this final section on Music in Corporate Worship by going directly to the jugular, to the heart of the issue.

Question: Which style of music for corporate worship pleases God the most?

      -Black Gospel, Bach Chorals, Fannie Crosby or Isaac Watts hymns, praise choruses by Maranatha or Vineyard...
       how about southern Gospel  worship music?

      -Traditional, contemporary?  From who's perspective?: S. California, Georgia,  Texas, New Jersey?

      -How limiting, what about Japanese Church music? Or Venezuelan Church music?
       Or Central African percussion oriented Church music? Is American church music God's favorite?

Question: Which time period in the history of church music pleases God the most?

     Does God favor the church music of the 16th century Reformation over the Temple worship music?

     Does God regret all church music written and performed  after the 1800's?

     Does the composer have to be dead for at least 100 years for God to be pleased with the church music?

     These really are the basic questions that have created what has been called 'The Worship Wars'.

In Christianity Today, July 12, 1999 an article appeared titled
    'The Triumph of the Praise Songs: How the Guitar Beat Out the Organ in the Worship Wars.'

    In this corner -Formal, traditional: Bach chorals, string quartet, massive pipe organ, grand piano, choir,
    In this corner -Informal, contemporary: Simple Scripture songs, guitar, drums, praise band, worship team.

    From my study of God's Word, I have found no biblical reason for concluding that formal/ traditional style of worship music is always better than informal  contemporary style of worship music. For that matter, I have not found biblical reason to say that informal/contemporary style of worship music is always better than  formal traditional  worship music. There is room for both!

ILL:  Someone has written: 'Conflicts over worship in general and music in particular have erupted in churches of every denomination...The contemporary proliferation of different worship and music styles may well be the next centuries test of our commitment to Christian unity.'

     I agree! I hope you get my point. Our worship of the One True and Living God can not be confined to a particular style or time period in history. His mercies are new every morning and so ought to be our responses to Him in worship.

Question: So, how did we get where we are in the current 'worship wars'?

 1. The lack of a biblically formed Theology of Worship in our church's by it's leaders.
 2. The teaching in the church of 'personal preference' and 'tradition' in the place of a biblically formed Theology of Worship.
 3. The fear of leaders to guide the congregations past their positions of comfort in corporate worship.
 4. The lack of understanding/teaching of the history of music in corporate worship.
 5. The congregations refusal to allow corporate worship to continually reform, so it will always be culturally relevant and
     intelligibly communicated.
 6. The congregation and leaders position 'I know what I like and I like what I know'.
 7. Many have adopted the idea that since the 'New Worship' came out of the 'Jesus Movement' and since that was
     charismatic, we want nothing to do with it's music.

 It is my hope to challenge some of these ideas in the next three weeks as we examine the role of music in corporate worship.

II. Music and Singing in Corporate Worship

Question: Why do we sing in corporate worship?
                 Why don't we just recite poetry, or have dramatic readings of our responses to God?
                 Why do we express ourselves in worship through song?

Question: Does it really matter to God whether we sing to Him in our corporate worship services or not?

     We live in a world filled with singing. Regardless of culture of national heritage, humans love to sing. Think how different the world would be without singing...any singing. Regardless of you singing ability, almost all of us sing in our hearts, if not in our showers.   It is part of human nature.

    A. God's Word commands singing
         There are over 500 positive references to singing in the Bible. Over 50 of them are commands.
              -Psalm 47:6; 1 Chron. 9:33, 15:19-22; Acts 16, Rev. 5

         It is obvious to me that God desires singing in His presence!

    B. We sing to respond to God
          -Ps. 40:1-3

          In Scripture we see a distinct pattern for singing as a response to God.
               -Man is in need of God's hand of mercy, love and grace, God acts and man responds with praise and thanksgiving.
                His response is most often is the form of song, as it was in Ps. 40.
                The experience of deliverance, salvation becomes the content of song.
                God is glorified, faith is revitalized and the community of the church is blessed.

     1. With variety in style
          -Col. 3:16
               There is more than one kind of song to sing when we come before God. Diversity is important, not only because we
               want to include everyone in our worship, but because we want to understand and experience God's Truth more
               deeply.

          -Ps. 150; 2 Chron. 29:25-28, 23:12-13; 1 Chron. 15:16-22
              Lists a variety of musical instruments. there is no such  thing as an evil  instrument, only an evil musician.

    2.  With variety in emotional expression
          -Col. 3:16; Ps. 50:14; 100:4
               We are told not just to sing, but to sing with  gratitude in our hearts.
          -Eph. 5:19
               We are told to sing making melody/music in our hearts to the Lord.
          -Ps. 51
               Confession of Sin
          -Ps 6,10,137
               Lament
          -Ps 4:6; 80:3,7,19; 86:16
               Blessing

          God is interested not only in having His Word in our Heads but also deep within our hearts. Singing helps to do that.

ILL: John Piper has said 'The reason we sing is because there are depths and heights and intensities and kinds of emotions that will not be satisfactorily expressed by mere prosaic forms, or even poetry readings. there are realities that demand to break out of prose into poetry and some demand that poetry be stretched into song.'

 3. We sing to glorify the name of the Lord
      Singing in one of the primary ways we express the truths about God.

      -Ps. 66:2; Ps. 96:1
           When we sing the glory of His name we declare and reflect on who He is and what He has done and what He will do.
           Singing helps to set his character and actions apart from anything we as humans might be or do.

 4. We sing to remember
      -Col. 3:16
           Let the word dwell richly in you....that's remembering
           In Psalm, Hymn and Spiritual song..that one way we help ourselves remember.
           Before the times of books, poetry and songs were used to record significant events to help them be remembered.
               -Deut. 31:21
      -Ps. 33:3; 40:1-3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1; Isa. 42:10
           We sing a new song to commemorate and remember what God continues to do for us. As His faithfulness if new every
           morning, so ought to be our song.

Question: What did I preach on last week? Be specific?

Question: What are the words to 'Standing on the Promises' or 'Better is One Day' two of the songs we sang last week.

      Get the point? We remember much more of what we sing then what we hear in the sermon.
      One of Martin Luther's critics said 'Luthers people are singing their way into  his doctrines'
           -Others have said that his hymns did more to promote the Reformation than  his preaching.
     It is good to try to memorize the songs we sing in worship when possible, especially the shorter praise songs.

ILL: You have heard of A.D.D., well many people in churches suffer from  O.D.D. (overhead, dependency disorder)  as well as the older form H.F.S. (hymnal fixation syndrome)

     If you know the songs, don't look at the words, sing them from your heart!

 5. We sing to meditate
      Unlike normal speech, singing helps us draw out words and phrases, repeat them or pause in between them. All these techniques help us to think more deeply about what we are singing.

           It is well, It is well, It is well with my soul.
Question: On what are we meditating here in this traditional hymn?

       I could sing of your love forever, I could sing of your love forever, I could sing of your  love forever,
       I could sing of your love forever.
Question: On what are we meditating here in this chorus?

     Just reading these two songs doesn't move us like singing it does it?

 6. We sing to create community.
      -Ps. 149:1; 107:32; Heb. 2:12
           -Singing together promotes the unity of the body in corporate worship.
           -Christians sing together as one choir because they are one body in Christ and drink of one Spirit.
           -Christians sing together to demonstrate their unity.

 7. We sing to praise God
      -Singing is associated with giving praise to God over 32 times in the Bible.
       -Acts 16:19-34; Ps. 89:15, Ps. 8, 147-150; Isa. 6, Zeph. 3:9-13; PS. 95
      -Sometimes, when you want to praise God, mere words wont do...we must sing!

 8. We sing because heaven sings
       Ps. 22:22; Zeph. 3:17; Rom. 15:9
           -One of the most wonderful things Scripture says about the Children of God singing is that when we sing to Him,
            the Lord Jesus is singing with us. Our God is a singing God, one who joins us and leas us in triumphant song.
      Rev. 4-5
           -The saints and angels in glory sing to the Lamb an everlasting song of praise.
     Rev. 7:10,12; 11:16-18; 12:10-12; 19:1-3,6-8