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Singing the Psalms

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments

One thing that makes me sad is how our churches often come to the lyrics of the greatest song book in the world and all we do is read the words in unison with a monotone voice. Yes, God’s word is perfect but forgive me when I say that maybe even God gets bored by the way we read it out loud! We seem to have forgotten that this was not the way the Psalms were intended to be experienced. Maybe it would help to think of the Psalms as songs whose melody has fallen asleep. With all the talent out there, why don’t more people compose new melodies for these precious promises of God to be sing by? The Psalms Project is one such group that has set about to try and bring them to life again, but there is so much more that could be done if others could catch the vision of singing God’s word.

You may consider scripture songs, to be somewhat old-fashioned or wooden, but once you try it, you will discover some wonderful benefits, just waiting to be explored. God always blesses the joyful singing of His word, in fact one of the last things Jesus did with His disciples was to sing a hymn after the Last Supper! Those lyrics most likely began with:

 "Yes, give praise, O servants of the Lord.
    Praise the name of the Lord!
 Blessed be the name of the Lord
    now and forever.
 Everywhere—from east to west—
    praise the name of the Lord." Psalm 113:1-3

Imagine Jesus singing such praises just hours before His arrest, beating and torturous death. As the very Living word of God, He went to the cross still singing God’s word. Today, young people pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars to listen to their favorite pop star, because their songs make them laugh, cry, or feel romantic. They shell out megabucks for just a passing experience, but the Psalms give far more than temporary feelings. Within them are the depth of the riches of the heart of God. What can be happier than?

“Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy;” Psalm 126:2

Or what sadder words have you ever heard than?

“I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping.”
Psalm 6:6.

God knows that when we laugh, cry, or even complain to Him, that we begin to connect with Him and with His word in the depths of our souls. So, why not take a moment with the world’s greatest songbook today, and either alone or with others, sing out the precious words that God has given us there and allow them to sink into your heart and mind?

He has given me a new song to sing,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be amazed.
    They will put their trust in the Lord.
Psalm 40:3 NLT

Transformed – One Family at a Time

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Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2 ESV

A lot is said about revival: how we need it, what we need to do to get it or why we aren’t experiencing it. But, often we overlook the simple fact that God’s definition of revival is played out in real time in our real world, one person and one family at a time. This week at Life Care Center, we opened the service listening to the personal story of Gena and her daughter Lindsay. Gena is a single mom, whose teenage daughter Lindsay is autistic and nonverbal. In spite of those challenges, God put it on Gena’s heart to begin volunteering at Life Care Center for a few hours 2-3 days each week. Over four months, Gena even began helping us during our Friday service by passing out song books, opening our meeting with prayer and encouraging the residents to participate. So, when I heard that Joni and Friends ministry was having a family retreat nearby, I got Gena connected with the regional director. With the challenges of financing, scheduling and convincing her daughter Lindsay to go, I wasn’t sure if it would happen, but God worked out every one of those details. Yesterday, Gena shared what she called, the “Miraculous experience,” God did in her life and in Lindsay’s heart over that week. Gena’s testimony really touched all the residents at the nursing home. They could all easily identify with having special needs because they struggle with many of their own. And Gena’s story reminds all of us that no one is more delighted than Jesus to help those with special needs. The one who took time to listen to a father of a child struggling with seizures and forgave and healed a lame man lowered through the roof by his friends, truly loves those the world overlooks. He listens to our prayers, and He is willing to give grace to anyone who will reach out to Him. If you would like to learn more about nursing home ministry, consider liking or subscribing to our channel. To learn more about Joni and Friends Ministry you can find them on Facebook or at joniandfriends.org.

Contemporary Worship -A Final Appeal

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments 
Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, 
1 Timothy 5:1 ESV

I close this week with an appeal to my fellow senior saints, or as my friend Dave Duncan calls us, fellow “Keen-agers.” God has graciously allowed us to live long and placed us individually in His church as He has seen best. I wholeheartedly agree with many of you, that I wish they would turn the volume down and that our young worship team would sing all the verses to the occasional hymn that they offer us. But then I remember how our Pastor preaches the gospel as straight-up from the Bibe as anyone I have sat under in the fifty plus years I have been a Christian. He and his wife have lived with integrity, raised three boys who are serving in the church and then adopted two more boys who were in foster care. I also recall that our church currently has a team of 25 members visiting a children’s ministry in Kenya which we have supported for over twenty years. More importantly, hundreds of people of not just our youth, but of every generation are led to faith in Christ and baptized each year. Sure, there are plenty of things I wish were different, but walking away and finding a quieter and more comfortable church that is doing little to carry the Gospel into our world is not an option for me. So, as I finish this series on finding, “What is Good in Contemporary Worship,” let me close with this: my favorite contemporary worship song that we sing at Generations Christian Church.