Value 2: Congregational Praise

Joel Hayworth

Dear Salem... • Sermon • Submitted 4 months ago • Presented 4 months ago

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Transcript

Introduction

Last week we began looking at what Jesus expects of His church and we looked at what the Bible says about the importance of God’s Word. How it is living and active and God-breathed. How Jesus expects His church to stand on His Word. How pastors are commanded in 2 Timothy 4 to Preach the Word! When you come to FBC Salem, you should expect not to hear various personal opinions or ideas or events. You should come eagerly and expectantly to hear the Word of the Lord interpreted, communicated, and applied faithfully. We let the Word do the Work because the authority of the Word reigns supreme at this church. Most of our sermons will be verse by verse through books of the Bible - that will be our normative diet because it is biblical, it nourishes our souls, and it glorifies Jesus. Last year we made our way through Hebrews, James, 1 Thessalonians, and 1 Peter. This year we’ll make our way through Daniel, Colossians, Habakkuk, and a few others depending on our Wednesday night schedule. That’s where we’re at and where we’re headed as a church. We value Christ-Centered, Expository Preaching. That has to come first because it’s what Christ commands of the pastors/elders of His church, but it can’t be where we stop either.

Jesus expects His church to be a Word-Centered Church and this includes the preaching of the Word, but this extends to every aspect of our church. Like I mentioned last week, whenever Lindsey and I arrived at FBC Salem, it was evident that this church loves to praise Jesus through song and that made my heart happy. Worshiping God through song has always been near to my heart as my mom has been a music leader for years. She’s played piano in church orchestras for decades and has her masters from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Church Music - because of that past, music has been a massive part of my life whether it be singing on praise team or playing in church orchestras. Whenever we arrived here, it was such a blessing to be apart of another church that loves to lift their voices together to King Jesus and in those congregational moments, we really felt “at home.”

Why do we sing, though? Who is supposed to sing? What happens when we praise Jesus? What exactly is praise? These are questions that every church has to answer and I’ve seen them answered in radically different ways as I’m sure you have as well. Some churches have a “special” group on stage and the professionals sing and those in the pew spectate. That’s been true in churches with both traditional and contemporary styles - this growing chasm between the congregation and the platform through structure and style. Other churches have the congregation involved in literally every aspect of worship. Fifty years ago, you could go to any Baptist church and expect this over of service a prelude, announcements, songs, offering, a few more songs, a special, then the sermon. Nowadays? You can go to 5 baptist churches and have 5 completely different orders of service. Between structure, style, and the ongoing “Worship Wars” - do you remember those? What do we need? We need less tradition and more Biblical text. Less preference, more prayer. We need the Word to do the Work and tell us what God expects about congregational worship in Ephesians 5:15-21. Paul will outline that worship is not about us - it’s all about Jesus!

Ephesians 5:15–21 CSB

15 Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise— 16 making the most of the time, because the days are evil. 17 So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit: 19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.

Is anyone else thankful for the Word of God? Whenever we remember what our God has done for us, and Who our God is, our response must be that of thanksgiving. Let’s pause this morning and give our God thanks!

Again, why is what we do during a worship service such a big deal? Last week we examined part of what we do during these services as we preach the Word. But we don’t just preach the Word during a worship service. Today we have sung, we have prayed, we have read Scripture, we have given sacrificially, we have observed baptism, God is great, isn’t He!? But, why? Why this value of congregational praise? Look at our text - we are called to pay careful attention to how we walk. What is the context of what is being taught here in Ephesians 5:15? Go back up a few verses, to 5:6 - what is that heading say in your copy of God’s Word? Light versus darkness. What about before 4:17? Living the New Life. What about 4:1? Unity and Diversity in the Body of Christ. Now, these headings aren’t inspired - but as we read Ephesians 4-6, we see a distinction from the first 3 chapters. We see that Paul has given a rich doctrinal argument about what God has done in saving us and giving us peace before Him, and then we see a transition to where Paul is then talking about how this doctrine is lived out. How Christians act in light of what God has done. He has saved us. He has changed us. He has brought us from darkness into light. He has gifted us. Therefore, we are to imitate Him. We are to walk worthy of our calling. We are to pay careful attention to what we are doing and how we are living and the only way that we can do that is by understanding what the Lord’s will is.

(Short route - verse 17 tells us to understand what the Lord’s will is. How can we figure this out?)

What is God’s will for your life? That’s easy, to glorify God. As some Christians have historically said, to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. That’s pretty good, isn’t it? But what about God’s will for His Church? It should be the same, shouldn’t it? To glorify God. To be a kingdom outpost of light in a world of darkness. How do we do this? Ephesians 5 gives us several ways to stand out for God’s glory, the good of our community, and for our ultimate joy in Him. Gathering with God’s people to praise His name is a value of a healthy church - God desires that His people sing with one another to Him. Let’s see what Congregational Praise does

Congregational Praise Exalts Jesus

Why must we pay careful attention to how we walk? Why must we make the most of our time? Why are we to not live recklessly? Why would Paul include each of these exhortations in the beginning of this text? Because there is a temptation for each of us to throw caution to the wind, to waste our time, to live recklessly in the here and now - to indulge in the desires of our flesh. Deeply embedded in our flesh is a desire to be praised. A desire to not bend the knee and worship someone else but to be worshiped ourselves. This is essentially pride, isn’t it? Being served rather than serving. Being worshiped rather than worshiping. This is a stumbling block in the lives of many people. This is why Paul takes so much time in Ephesians to destroy this stumbling block and to get his listeners aware of the way that they are walking. The things they are praising. The worship they are giving. Paul’s instruction is to be filled with the Spirit. On New Years Eve, Kevin shared a parallel passage to this in Colossians 3 and did a great job expositing its truth - as I shared last week, it doesn’t matter who is in this pulpit, we will preach Christ-Centered Expository Sermons regardless if it is a pastor, member, or guest in this pulpit. Colossians 3:16 tells us God’s people must

Colossians 3:16 CSB

16 Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

Praise that exalts Jesus is praise that is centered on His Word and praise from people filled with His Spirit. Where is this praise directed to? Verse 19 - to the Lord. Jesus is worthy of our praise. At FBC Salem we sing songs that exalt Jesus Christ. Songs that are Christ-Centered and Scripture-Saturated. Why do we do this? Because this is what Jesus expects of His church. He expects to be praised rightly. Think of the Old Testament, what happened whenever the people of Israel violated God’s standard of worship? Leviticus 10 tells us of this

Leviticus 10:1–2 CSB

1 Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his own firepan, put fire in it, placed incense on it, and presented unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them to do. 2 Then fire came from the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.

God is so holy and gives His people instructions on how to worship Him, and when those instructions are violated there is a consequence! Notice what the text says, it doesn’t say that God said “Don’t do x” - and the priests did what God commanded them not to do. The priests did something God didn’t command them to do in His Word and they died. Is anyone else thankful that Jesus is our mediator? That’s good news - but it doesn’t mean that God suddenly doesn’t care how He is worshiped. Worship that exalts man grieves God. Worship that is done out of obligation rather than regeneration isn’t what God desires. God desires His people to focus (v. 15), make the most of their time, understand His will, and worship Him. This is God’s desire. This is our desire as we gather - to exalt Jesus as a congregation.

Who speaks to one another in verse 19? First, those spiritually awakened, second, those spiritually assisted (filled by Spirit), thirdly those spiritually active (you have to participate in this). Think about all that God has done and all God could have commanded. He could have said, “The elders must speak while the congregation is silent.” He could have said, “Only those with wonderful voices must speak while everyone else is silent.” But God commands in His church that every spirit filled believer speak to one another in song. That is the command! Why this command? Because congregational praise exalts Jesus. Think about what you do as you worship with your church family. You are identifying with a group of people who have a common goal - our goal when we gather together is to glorify God. You are saying this: God is worthy of my time. God is worthy of my praise. God is worthy of my treasure. By saying that God is worthy, you are making a value statement as well - God is more worthy than something else. This time of corporate worship matters. There’s a million other things that we could be doing but we’re gathered together on this cold, winter morning to celebrate the King of Kings together. Worship is war. A congregation that sings together songs that are Christ-Centered and Scripture-Saturated exalts Jesus and this is what we are commanded to do. We do more than just make music when we worship, we sing rich, life-giving truth! We must sing together because God Word demands it and because Jesus deserves it! We look to Scripture and as we do what it says, we glorify Jesus.

Congregational Praise Elicits Joy

Congregational Praise not only exalts Jesus but it elicits joy in the life of the believer. There is something special about music and God designed this to be that way. There are Sunday’s where we may not feel the best. Have you ever had a Sunday like this? A Sunday where everything that can go wrong has in fact gone wrong? You don’t wake up on time, your kids are dragging their feet, there is a thick frost outside and your car is taking a long time to defrost, spiritual warfare is a real thing! We’re feeling bad. We’re feeling as though things aren’t going our way. We’re upset, stressed, frustrated, the list goes on. Yet, when we come to worship Jesus we don’t do it because we always feel like it - there are times in life where we may not feel like it… But in the midst of those fleeting feelings, there is a reality of what we know. We know that worship is what we are created to do. We know that gathering with God’s people to worship is like food for our soul. As we gather to worship God with our brothers and sisters in Christ as a church family at FBC Salem, this praise elicits joy in our lives. Again, we may not always feel joyful, but as we gather to lift our voice as one as the Psalmist shares, we do so and this fills us with joy. Look in our text in Ephesians 5 verse 18. Paul encourages this congregation of believers to pay attention to what they are doing, how they are living, where they’re walking, and the correct thing to do is to be filled by the Spirit.

Filled with the Spirit in verse 18 is a present imperative - meaning that this isn’t just a one time experience in the past. It is a continuous infilling of the Spirit as He fills you to the brim with the presence and the power of God. You are sealed, saved, set apart, and this means that it’s time to serve and one of the ways that we serve is by worshiping Jesus out of the joy that He gives to us. If you are filled with the Spirit, this means that you are filled with the joy that comes from knowing God and this overflows in song! Whatever joy you have in things of this world, God alone can provide a better joy - as Psalm 34 says, we taste and see that the Lord is good! As we gather for worship as those filled with and by the Spirit of God, we have an unshakable joy that isn’t founded in ourselves, it’s found in Him. In other words, worship is the natural response to salvation. If you reflect on your salvation story, how you were dead in sins and how God raised you to life. How God gave you mercy. How He gave you grace. You have no other option but to say, “Thank you Jesus, for the blood applied” - right? That’s a natural response to salvation whenever we remember what our God has done.

Throughout Scripture, we see that this praise isn’t just offered individually - although it must be a regular thing that Christians do throughout the day, week, month, and year. But this praise is offered specifically in the context of the worship gathering. Psalm 22 paints this picture

Psalm 22:22 CSB

22 I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters; I will praise you in the assembly.

Psalm 22:25 CSB

25 I will give praise in the great assembly because of you; I will fulfill my vows before those who fear you.

Psalm 22:31 CSB

31 They will come and declare his righteousness; to a people yet to be born they will declare what he has done.

We see an Old Testament picture of worship as people gather to praise the name of God and declare what He has done. This praise is done congregationally over and over in Scripture as people speak to one another. There are times that we gather and we might not “feel it” and there’s an expression that says that you have to fake it until you make it - that’s not the best expression for church life. We shouldn’t have to feel like we have to fake it. This should be the place that we can be the most real in our life as we gather with brothers and sisters in Christ - our spiritual family. As we sing praise to the king as a congregation, even if we’re going through an awful day, situation, or season, the praise of God’s people leads God’s people to be a people of joy.

Why worship in the context of the church? 2 quick reasons

Worship is the constant activity of the church in heaven (Revelation 7:9-10)

Revelation 7:9–10 CSB

9 After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!

Worship is the chief business of the church on earth (John 4:23)

John 4:23 CSB

23 But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship him.

To put things into choral terms, we can think of it like this: on earth we are rehearsing in the choir room because in heaven we join in the heavenly hallelujah chorus. We are created to praise His name. Whenever we do this, whenever we glorify God as He instructs His people to glorify Him, there is a joy that fills our heart. Singing with one another does exactly this!

Congregational Praise Encourages Us on Our Journey

Singing by itself is powerful. God created humans not only to speak to one another but to express emotions, feelings, and truths through song. Songs are a way that we bond together with one another. I’m reminded of the Missouri Baptist Convention back in 2019 in Branson. This was just before the COVID shutdowns as hundreds and hundreds of Missouri Baptists met to worship Jesus and share ministry reports from all around our state. The Getty’s were leading us in worship some of those days and I’ll always remember how God used this time of worship through song to bless my soul for the season ahead. Keith Getty asked if we wanted to learn a new song of theirs that was about to be released. Everyone in the congregation was excited to hear what the Lord had led he and his team to write. He began singing, “What is our hope in life and death? Christ alone, Christ alone.” Missouri Baptists were the first congregation to sing Christ our Hope in Life and Death - a song that ministered to millions during a season of loss that followed with COVID. Every time I sing that song, my mind remembers the hope of singing those Biblical truths with hundreds of friends for the first time. Isn’t this how our brains are wired? Music strikes a powerful chord inside of us, even if we don’t particularly like to sing, music and the memories of music last. I trust that you have such memories of being at a worship service and singing songs and being moved by the Holy Spirit from time to time - this is how music works, it moves in our lives. But we know that within the context of the gathering of the saints, music takes on a whole different dimension as it’s not about performance. It’s not about a platform. It’s not about a special, a solo, a production, a spotlight. It’s about worship. It’s about speaking to one another through singing and this singing in the corporate gathering of God’s people glorifies God but it also unifies the church and encourages the individual Christian. If we’re not careful, though, worship can quickly discourage rather than encourage.

Billy Graham was once asked about songs in worship and which songs are the best, this was his response: “Instead of complaining to your pastor (or anyone else), I urge you to ask God to help you be grateful for all music that points us to God, new or old. No, you may not like some of it, but others do, and God can use it in their lives to encourage them and bring them closer to Christ. Remember: The old hymns you like were once new, and someone probably didn’t like them, either!” He concluded by encouraging this individual and others to pray for their pastors/elders who are entrusted by God and accountable to God for the teaching that takes place in church.

When we fail to understand the Lord’s will in worship, we can quickly make worship about us. Our preferences. Our traditions. Our views. When this happens, it’s easy to not make the most of our time. In fact, this is one of the reasons many churches have split either into separate services or as a church in general. Because preference reigns supreme rather than the Word. When this happens, it’s easy to not give thanks to God but to be upset with God. We have to fight against this temptation that we all have, young/old, men/women, we all have to keep our focus forward and our eyes upward - that’s where Ephesians 5 commands us to look. As we look outward and upward, we worship Jesus for WHO He is and what He has done and as we do this vertically, we look horizontally and we see hundreds of brothers and sisters in this very room doing the same thing. What is the result of hearing your church family speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs? 1) The Exaltation of the Savior, 2) The Encouragement of the Saint.

There have been seasons in my life where I’ve been in the pit of despair and I’ve needed to hear my church sing It Is Well.

When peace like a river, attendeth my way When sorrows like sea billows roll Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say It is well, it is well, with my soul

There have been seasons in my life where I’ve felt hopeless due to a situation and I’ve needed to hear my church sing Christ Our Hope in Life and Death.

“Now and ever we confess, Christ our hope in life and death”

There have been seasons in my life where I’ve been encouraged by something and I’ve needed to hear my church sing Living Hope.

Hallelujah, praise the one who set me free Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me You have broken every chain There's salvation in your name Jesus Christ, my living hope

There have been seasons in my life where I’ve been confused about what I’m supposed to do and I’ve needed to hear my church sing Great Is Thy Faithfulness.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow Blessings all mine with 10, 000 beside

Anyone else been there? Good times and bad times, as we sing together we encourage one another and we provoke one another to love and good works as Hebrews 10:24 instructs us to do

Hebrews 10:24–25 CSB

24 And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, 25 not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.

This only happens whenever we are present. Whenever we hear one another sing. On New Years Eve it was a blessing to get to watch the service here through Facebook Sunday afternoon, but it wasn’t the same as being present. It’s like when you’re sick and you can only eat certain foods - it gets you by, but you can’t wait until you can have a steak dinner. Our hearts should crave this gathering because we encourage one another with our presence and our voices as we give thanks to our God. As we do this, we might be struggling but someone else might be celebrating. We are able to rejoice and weep and weep and rejoice as we gather together as a body, as a family.

And as a family, we know that we’re all a bit different - that’s the way God designed it and that’s a good thing! Look at what the text says, “we speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.” Lots of people try to distinguish these types of songs of praise - there’s a part of that idea that’s true as we know there are different types of songs in God’s Word (Psalms, hymns, and songs of the Spirit in places like 1 Cor 14:15 says). The main thought is simply this: Every type of song in worship is to be sung to God by the people of God regardless of style. That word, style, is a packed word that we all have different views and opinions on, especially if you love music. Music has been engrained in my brain since I was adopted. I love church music. You will not find a pastor more passionate about Biblical praise and worship than this guy - come by my office and we can talk theology and doxology all day long and I’ll point you to people like Matt Merker, Matt Boswell, Keith Getty, Bryan Chapell, and others who have impacted my view on this vital subject - Matt Merker “Corporate Worship” 10/10 recommend! This week on Facebook I asked people for their favorite worship song of all-time and their favorite worship song currently - and man did you all come through with some awesome answers that blessed my week! I plugged every comment into excel and here were the results: 100+ comments with nearly 90 songs. Some songs only had one comment, others like It Is Well, He Will Hold Me Fast, Living Hope, Revelation Song, Victory in Jesus, Jesus Saves and a few others had a bunch of comments. For one, I was curious about everyone else’s favorite songs, but this proved my hypothesis… One: This church loves Godly music. This church has a history of godly leaders and David certainly is a blessing in this regard to myself and this church. But this also demonstrated a Second thing: God has blessed His universal church with incredible songwriters in every generation. 500 years ago, Martin Luther composed A Mighty Fortress is Our God. Nearly 250 years ago, Amazing Grace was penned by John Newton. Just about 100 years later, Horatio Spafford composed It Is Well With My Soul. Victory in Jesus was written just under 100 years ago. In Christ Alone was written right around the turn of the century. The Getty’s wrote He Will Hold Me Fast just a few years ago. Completely different eras. Completely different styles. Completely different composers. Completely different contexts. But the same Holy Spirit at work in each person. The same Bible being used as their guide. The same God being worshiped through churches like ours singing those blessed songs and so many more! I am thankful that this church loves Godly music. Not necessarily old music, not necessarily new music. God honoring and Jesus glorifying music. This is the music that we need to encourage us as we walk through this life. At FBC Salem, there will be all sorts of styles and dates of music sung in this corporate worship setting - but the main diet that we will get is congregational music that is theologically true and Christologically centered. Those are the standards we must use when selecting music at church - theologically true and Christ-Centered. As a church we value congregational singing because this is what the New Testament simply demands as we are instructed to speak to one another and to sing to the Lord together.

Some look at Ephesians 5 and say this: My voice isn’t good and verse 19 says that I’m supposed to make music with my heart, so God doesn’t care about my voice. Demonstrably false! God wants your voice and your family needs your voice. You may not have a solo voice, but we all have congregational voices! Consider where God looks according to 1 Samuel 16:7

1 Samuel 16:7 CSB

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what the Lord sees, for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.”

We so often look at the outside only, but God sees and looks at the heart. I remember as a teenager playing in the orchestra or singing on praise team at First Ozark and seeing this scene over and over. Mom is singing. Child looks to mom is and singing. The next minute the child looks to dad and see’s dad standing like this… Then the child stops singing too. If you want to know the health of a church, listen to 4 crucial sounds:

Preaching of the Word

Bible pages turning in service

Babies making noise during service

Men singing during the service

I’m thankful to have had a dad in the pew - not on the platform - who modeled this week in and week out. Dad’s, your children need this! Your church needs this!

Men, if you can be this guy, what is preventing you from being that guy?

A healthy church will have more than just these, but a healthy church will have these 4 noises. We sing to one another, not empty words, but from the heart. Worship starts with the heart. You can sing “You Raise Me Up” like Josh Groban and pack the room, but Josh Groban isn’t singing for the right reason because he’s not saved. If your heart is tuned to performance and not praise, that’s not worship, it’s a show. God looks to the heart - this is why we sang this line earlier “Tune My Heart to Sing Thy Praise.” Church, this must be our prayer every day because we have a fallen, sin-infested heart that is prone to wander. We need God to tune our heart every day to sing His praise - to give thanks to God as verse 20 says, in everything. Anyone else find that hard to do?

On Easter Sunday, it’s easy to sing Victory in Jesus, Living Hope, and Because He Lives - we’re in full celebration mode! But what about when the bottom drops out in your life? When your nightmare becomes your reality? When the breakthrough doesn’t come? When the suffering stays? What does Paul tell us? In the Christian life, even then, you can sing to the Lord.

In other words, you can sing in your suffering because first and foremost, we’re singing about our God and He doesn’t change though our circumstances do. As we understand Who He is and that His will for our lives is to make us more like Him, we truly can give Him thanks in all circumstances. This doesn’t mean that we never weep - CS Lewis once shared that the Christians who thought the most about the next world did the most in this world. We will weep when our brothers and sisters suffer. We will weep whenever we suffer.

There will be times where we sing and our voice quivers. But when we remember our desperate state before Christ, His work of salvation in our life, and our eternal hope and security, there is always grounds for praise and thanksgiving because we have a Living Hope in the person and work of Jesus. Doxology requires a foundation of Theology to stand on. As we believe, so we worship.

Shallow theology leads to shallow preaching and shallow worship. We need to dig deeper into the Word because when we do this, whenever we better understand who God is and what He has done for us, the deeper our preaching, the deeper our faith, the deeper our worship, and the higher the praise of our congregation. FBC Salem is a Christ-Centered Congregation and the more we understand Jesus and His Word, the more we crave the meat of His Word and praise that accurately reflects His character.

Doxology without Theology is Aimless

Theology without Doxology is Lifeless

Theology IS Doxology or it is nothing at all

God is worthy of our worship and that includes what we do during these 80-90 minutes. He is worthy of prayer, praise, and preaching as He commands these things in His Word. But God also is worthy of a life of worship.

Romans 12:1 CSB

1 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.

How do we present our bodies in this way? By living a life that glorifies Jesus. That includes inside the walls of this church but it also includes outside of it. Friend, if you are here and you don’t know this Jesus, if you have not been changed by Jesus, if you have not been saved by Jesus, I trust that you understand that the days are in fact evil. Our world celebrates things that shouldn’t be celebrated. Maybe you’re here and you’re searching for answers for some of those evils. You see the brokenness, you see the recklessness, you’ve searched and you’ve come up empty. What is the solution? You must be filled by the Spirit. You need Jesus. You must come to the realization that Ephesians 1-2 shares with us that apart from Jesus we are separated from God and walking in darkness and dead in our sins and trespasses. Only after you see the diagnosis of your problem can you then see the cure provided for us in Jesus Christ. He came not to make bad people good but to make dead people alive. We’ve celebrated that truth this morning in baptism. We’ve sang about this truth in song. We’ve seen this truth in the Word. But what have you done with it? Have you submitted to Jesus Christ? Turn to Him in repentance and faith today!

If you are here as a believer, what does this text call you to do? Verse 15 tells us to pay careful attention to how we’re walking, we must walk in 3 ways.

Walk with Wisdom

Walk with Understanding

Walk with Spirit-Filled Lives

One of the ways that we do this is by speaking to one another in songs as we sing to the Lord and to one another. The most frequent way we do this as a congregation, Biblically, is through congregational praise. FBC Family, Jesus deserves to hear us sing. He is worthy. There are 10,000 reasons to bless the Lord and if we really counted them out, we could come up with a whole lot more. He is good. He is faithful. He is sovereign. He is our redeemer. He is our hope. He is our Savior. He fills us with His Spirit and the result of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer is worship. Let’s be a people whose lives are marked by consistent, Christ-Centered praise!

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