Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:16-17

Does this sound like our/your church?

1.  Word of God is central to all aspects of the church:

A.  Teaching and admonishing in wisdom

1. Teach: to impart knowledge or skill

One definition read “Show or explain to someone how to do something”  Where we don’t need “self-help Jesus” we do need solid biblical based teaching of the Word of God.  A huge reason that I am called to church ministry is largely because  of the failure in the church with this very subject today.  So many people are told “now you are saved” and the teaching stops, they are given the Bible (although not always) and sometimes an invitation to a church or a class and the teaching ends.  Does your church teach the Bible and continue to disciple showing the love of God in their lives?  Do our churches continue to teach the Bible or after we are saved do we just become another social club?

2. Admonish: Warn or reprimand someone firmly

When is the last time you heard your pastor with a warning or reprimand?  I was discussing this with a pastor the fact that we were having to implement Church discipline at such a young age to some of the members of our church.  While on one hand it was making me sad, to him it was encouraging!  In the last years the church has grown lax on standards and even more lax on the warning and reprimanding of the congregation much less following biblical basis for correction and repentance.

When is the last call for repentance?  When was the word preached and a call for conviction of our sins?  When was the last time we cared enough to warn someone about Hell and wanted to share the salvation we have sealed on our hearts? This applies to the CHURCH as well as to the WORLD.  We must be constantly calling each other to live a holy life.

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?
Romans 10:14-15

 B.   Singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs

1. Singing: this is an active part of the ministry, singing as an individual and singing as a congregation.  Our world is full of music, it permeates everything from our entertainment to accompanying us as we ride the elevator.  it puts notes in our hearts as we drive down the road (no not everyone listens to talk radio) and it backs us up as we shop in the grocery store. We go to bed listening to it and our radio alarm clock wakes us up to it in the morning.  Music is around us all the time.

Singing is our active participation of corporate worship.  Its not just for the shower any more

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
Psalms 98:4

 2.  Psalms hymns and spiritual songs:  Psalms are scripture, hymns are generally theology or heavy songs, and then there are spiritual songs.  We must be careful in both hymns and spiritual songs that are not just pure scripture to make sure they follow the guideline that is laid out for us here in Colossians: does the “word of Christ dwell in them richly?”

So often we here non-worshipful songs or songs that have lyrics contrary to the teaching of scripture.  We must be on guard for that as leaders but also as the average Joe in church!  To much we grab the latest thing off the radio and try and jam it into our churches (yeah I am guilty of this too) and we don’t take the time to evaluate the song in the light of scripture.

I was about to bring  a song to our worship team and I was gathering the music and samples of the song and I realized that the first verse of the song sounded great musically but that removed from the music it made it seem like Evolution was happening and God just made order out of the chaos and “created” us.  wrapped up in the catchy tune and a great chorus I had to stop and ask God to keep me safe in my own worship with music.

C.   Thankfulness in the heart to God

Sometimes there are some of us that need to be reminded it isn’t all about theology and the word, it has to also be our response to those things.  Our congregation is gathered in worship not just for music and preaching/teaching but also to express our joy in the Lord.  To give thanks for what he has done and will continue to do!

2.  Everything is done in Jesus Name

Someday I will expand on this but for now it is sufficient to say, “As sinful men of the flesh, we are often swept up in our own ideas of grandeur rather than the Glory of God.“

3.  Everything is done giving thanks to God

(see 1. c)  

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So much for it being just a simple verse it turned into more of a sermon in the making

When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the Lord.
Proverbs 19:3

It amazes me every day people that blame God for their trouble.  Couple things in this verse stand out to me.

Man’s folly: This is man’s doing, his sin, his efforts, his action, not God’s.

Man’s way: This is not the way of the righteous and it is NOT God’s way, this is man causing trouble for man’s plans.

Man’s ruin:  ”Give um enough rope they will hang themselves” was the advice I got as a young man from a wise pastor.  The sad part is that this takes time, when we see the problem we want to address it (and often should).  When the other person is bent on their own self will rather than God’s… sometimes they have to come to ruin before they can see the problem. (Often we find ourselves trying to protect the people affected as the train wreck of a person’s ways lead them to ruin.  )

Man’s heart rages:   the Hebrew root behind this rage is foaming or burning.  When we set our will against God’s it is like we are a rabid dog foaming at the mouth lashing out no our pain and fever biting everything around us … even the hands that fed us, clothed us, took care of us.  (Hosea 11:3-4) Lashing out at God.  What despair must we sink to in our own sin.

There is danger when we set our ways above God’s ways and when the “world” we create comes crashing down around us we tend to lash out at the Salvation that was offered to us.  To deny God the proper place of authority in our lives…

This is what Jesus said when he rebuked peter:

But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
Matthew 16:23-24

Man’s folly came because he set his heart against God in the first place.  Another lesson in this is that this happens to Christians as well as UnChristians.

We are often very quick as Christians to see error in the lives. doctrines and worship of those around us.  Much easier to see sin in others, not so easy to see in our own lives.  We must be on guard to “deny” our selves and take up the cross of Christ, following HIS ways rather than our own.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9

Robert E Griffin
Studying on “Worship” and how we “Praise” God, I was more than a little shaken in my strong dispensational thinking to see a continuing worship from the days of Moses to David to Isaiah’s prophecies of the Messiah to the end of Revelation’s scene in heaven.  It was the SAME!

I always wanted to compartmentalize praise and worship, and divide the Church from anyone else. But from beginning to end, IT IS THE SAME SONG for all of God’s people. And God’s people are the same – from beginning to end!

While God may have given differing commands and requirements for people in different ages, ALL of God’s people are one, and ALL are singing the same song!  We are the Church of the Firstborn, God’s people!

 Exodus 15:1-2 “I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously.

The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him a habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.”

 Psalm 118:14 “The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.”

 Isaiah 12:2 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid:
for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.”

 Revelation 15:3, “Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints”

 From beginning to end, we see the “Church” (ALL of God’s people of ALL ages) singing the same song that is nothing more or less than the Gospel elucidations that we experience now!

 Published w/o permission

Eph 5:18-20
…Be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Col 3:16
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God

1. True Worship is Spirit Filled.
2. True Worship is singing
   • Singing Psalms (Scripture)
   • Music in the Heart
3. True Worship is Expressive
   • Gives Thanks
   • Reading the Word
4. True Worship is God Centered
   • Instructions
   • Wisdom
   • Thankfulness

How far off are we in our “worship” when we over-focus on one element and do not follow the instructions and examples of the church.  Have we run so far from the rituals of “the church” that we have forgotten the true sense of worship? We sing songs, we pray we read scripture, we give, we do the things that are good… but do we worship?

As we prepare for tomorrow’s worship, let us not bog down in the trappings that man has put on it, let us return the focus of Worship to our Holy God.