So Why Do We Sing In Church? (More Than Just Songs)

At any given gathering in Christian worship you will find that music, or more specifically singing, is given a very large chunk of the time allotted. We take it as a ‘given’ that we ‘sing’ in church. It’s something we ‘do’, isn’t it? Or is it something we leave up to the ‘skilled’ few who are enlisted to entertain us??

Cast a look around any weekend in church, and you’ll note many, many individuals simply standing (and apparently quite uninvolved) during our times of sung worship. I have to ask whether or not we understand the significance of why we make time for singing at church.

Now I’m fully aware that there are times of worship during which silent reflection is appropriate, necessary, and desirable. And there have been times where I, or others I know of, have been unable to sing the lyrics there before me - for a number of reasons perhaps. However, do we really take the time to reflect during those times? Or do we simply take our cue that ‘not singing’ is appropriate during times of corporate worship singing.

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Evangelism

What is evangelism?

Quite simply, to evangelize is to verbally communicate or proclaim or preach the Gospel message.

We preach the Gospel but allow the Holy Spirit to do the “work” (that is – to soften the heart, convict sin, lead to repentance, and assure salvation).

Evangelism isn’t a sales job. Evangelism is obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit so that He can work.

Should everyone proclaim the Gospel?

Absolutely! Check out Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-6; and Acts 1:8 for some examples of commands to preach the Gospel.

Did you read them?

Good.

Now, let’s explore the topic of evangelism a little bit further.

Here at Northview, we try to equip, empower and encourage all who call Northview their home church to live in response to the Gospel, so that people around them are impacted with the good news of what Jesus Christ has done for them. We try to get people to guide their passions, use their gifts and relate with others in such a way that God is glorified and the Gospel is proclaimed – because everyone has a role to play in preaching the Gospel.

I hold strongly to the belief that all Holy Spirit filled disciples of Christ ought to make disciples – this discipleship process begins by proclaiming the gospel of what Christ has done for us, so that people may believe. How will someone become a disciple unless they believe? How will they believe unless they have heard the Gospel preached? And how will they hear unless someone verbally communicates it to them (see Romans 10:14)?

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Three Reasons You Should Go to Church.

I don’t know if you have noticed this or not, but it’s really popular among (mostly younger) Christians today to disparage the local church. Going to church on the weekend is what people who love institutions do. Most of the people there are hypocrites. All they want is your money. You can get way more out of a nice walk in the woods and some private time with God. Spending time with friends at a coffee shop and talking about Jesus is way more beneficial than gathering with a bunch of people who are just trying to impress one another with their clothing or doctrinal statements anyway (for more reasons, have a look at this link http://christianity.about.com/u/ua/churchandcommunity/gotochurch.htm).

In light of all these objections, you would expect a preacher like me to come out defending church attendance, wouldn’t you? The more cynical among us would likely point out that my job is at stake here, so I have a lot to lose if people start listening to Pastor Pillow at Bedside Baptist instead of making the trek to hang out with hypocrites like me. Not wanting to let the cynics down, might I suggest three reasons that going to church is more important than you think?

1. Christianity is a faith that happens in community.

OK. I’ll say this as straight as I can - The New Testament writers just don’t have a category for churchless Christians. To have God as your Father is to have the church as your brothers and sisters. This is a line from Joseph Hellerman’s s outstanding book, When the Church was a Family…

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Membership

To be or not to be… a member of a church

These days, what do you think of when you hear the word membership?

You may think of paying an annual fee so that you can be able to purchase goods from a website or at Costco.

There can be a certain status associated to a membership if that membership is a very tough one to acquire. But, what does membership mean when it pertains to a membership at a church?

Let’s be clear, being a member of a church does not make you any more or less spiritual.

You would have to search and do some interpretational gymnastics to find where membership is mentioned in the Bible.

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Advent - Watch Out for Aslan

This December the movie-going public will once again be given a taste of the Land of Narnia as The Voyage of the Dawntreader comes to the Big Screen. Actually the 5th book of the Narnia series, it is the 3rd to be made into a movie in the last few years.

Now, I’m a Narnia fan from way back, reading the series for the first time when I was 19 (I know, a little old, but had never encountered them until I heard about C.S. Lewis at the Intervarstity Christian book table at S.F.U.).  I guess what I’ve loved most of all about the books (having read them as a Christian) is their beautifully crafted allegory of the Bible. In The Magician’s Nephew, we saw Creation. In the Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, we saw Calvary and the Resurrection so eloquently symbolized. The imagery doesn’t end, and in fact, is quite powerful in ‘Dawntreader’. The recent M.B. Herald issue has a series of articles by Randy Klassen pointing some of these out, and I recommend reading them, either in hand or on line – from August through November so far.

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