Now all those who believe also were in the same place and had all things in common. And they disposed of the acquisitions and the properties, and divided them to all, forasmuch as some would have had need. Besides persevering day by day with one accord in the sanctuary, besides breaking bread home by home, they partook of nourishment with exultation and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor for the whole people. Now the Lord added to those being saved day by day in the same place.
Acts Of The Apostles 2: 44-47, Concordant New Testament
My mom always liked going to church on Sunday mornings. That was her thing. Whatever was going on in life, it came second to her being there in the pews. One of her favorite parts of the Sunday morning service was the singing of the old hymns she recalled from her younger years. Despite not being that much into the public singing thing, she always encouraged me to join in. This was part of her way of praising the Father. Yet, something began to happen in the few years before she became sick. The church she knew and loved so well began to change. The singing of the old hymns had began to give way to new, louder and more hip versions of morning worship songs. Along with the loud music came the light show one might only expect to find at a local rock concert. Not only did this new form of worship alienate my mother, but others as well. Yet, in the end it seemed that this was the direction which our church was headed. I mention this because this seems to have become the go to model for many of our brick and mortar churches these days. Granted, there continue to be houses of worship which will from time to time dig back into the golden oldies of praise and worship hymns, but these instances are few and far between. Now, one thing which I will seldom criticize another for is how they praise the Lord. That is indeed different for everyone. I was never much of a singer of hymns in church, but I would praise God in my own way. I have a few dear friends who still enjoy singing the hymns of old as well. I believe that part of the issue here is that we have elevated those who perform these modern church hymns into pseudo rock stars. Once a lower tier of church ministries, praise and worship bands and orchestras now occupy places of importance within the church. And why not? We're told to sing unto the Lord, aren't we? But what is the difference between those who rock out to modern praise and worship hymns in church and those who quietly sing the old hymns they remember to themselves throughout the day? Absolutely nothing! Therefore, I see these modern rock stars for God as simply ways to bring more people into the mainstream church.
Through Him, then, we may be offering up the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips avowing His name.
To The Hebrews 13: 15, Concordant New Testament
In the days of the old Promise Keepers ministry conferences, there was a praise and worship band known as Maranatha music. These were my hymns. I still have more than a few recordings of these hymns in my music collection. Why do I mention this? As I said, people sing praises to the Lord in different ways. Yet, my first experience with Maranatha music came at a Promise Keepers conference in Portland some years back. Honestly, the sound of thousands of men singing praises to the Lord on that day still moves me. I had been under the assumption that most guys were like me, that they would sing to themselves or in private. But that day, I sang praises to the Lord with the rest of my brothers. If you search Maranatha or Promise Keepers on YouTube you are bound to come across the awesome sounds of men singing unto the Lord. Many of these songs don't include the blaring sounds or flashing lights of a normal Sunday morning worship, but they are awesome. And what is the overall message of our modern praise and worship music? Lord, come into our presence. Forgive us, oh Lord. I get it. For the message of modern praise and worship music seems to follow the messaging of the mainstream church without fail. So, we continue to sing the messages of church theology unto the Lord. For me, I prefer hymns that celebrate my life in Him {Johns Account 14:20}, and Jesus' defeat of sin on the cross {Paul To The Romans 6:6-11}. The trouble is, hymns such as these are few and far between.
~Scott~
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