Devotionals

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A stroke took away my singing vibrato. However, if I could stand
on a vibrating platform while I sing, maybe I'd have a good
vibrato. Would it work?

Yesterday I mentioned hymns and hymnals. They are being
phased out in some churches, and I consider that a shame. Why?
As one pastor said, "Having a good hymnal is like having a
second Bible." Some of the best sermons you'll ever hear are in
the pages of the hymnal. Of course there are also some hymns
with trite and weak texts with poor theology, but they are the
exception -- not the rule. Because of that there is no reason to
throw out the baby with the bath water.

One reader asked if I objected to overhead projectors for singing.
Of course not -- they are a great tool, but they should be used
judisciously along with a good hymnal. Again, why? Because
hymns contains some great Christian texts that are effective for
teaching, for exposing sinfulness, for confession, for praise and
all sorts of aid for living an effective Christian life. It is like
having a para-theological training.

The disciples sang the Psalms because it was all they had. We
don't face that restriction. Therefore, we need to be wise and
discerning and pick the best from both the new and old. You
can't do that if all you are fed is the new and are forced to ignore
the rich musical heritage upon which the church is based.

Each new generation of Christians creates its own music.
However, preceding generations always blended the new and the
old. This is first generation to embrace only the new and to
totally throw out the old. A comparison is having your parents
pass away and only saving the family pictures taken in the past
several years while throwing out all the valuable family heritage
pictures from prior years. You say, that would be a ridiculous
thing to do. THAT'S MY POINT!

These words from Col. 3:16 (nlt), "Let the words of Christ, in all
their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use His
words to teach and counsel each other. Sing Psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts." That suggests
we should use every available musical expression to not only
praise our God but to to teach and counsel each other. Many
hymns do exactly that.

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