• Preacher: Jeremy Herbert
• Text: 96:1-13
• Thesis: God has commanded us to sing for His glory, and for our good.
• Supplemental texts:
  • Psalm 19
  • Exodus 15
  • Judges 5
  • Revelation 5
  • Psalm 149
  • 1 Peter 2
  • Colossians 3
  • Ephesians 5
  • 1 Timothy 2-3

We Sing for God’s glory

1. We were made to sing
   • “Creation sings the Father’s song….”
2. We are commanded to sing
   • Over 400 times in Scripture
3. We give God the glory He deserves when we sing
   • Kauflin, “…music is about our hearts…about what and who we love”
   • First book written about church music in America,
     “Singing of Psalms, A Gospel Ordinance” in 1650 by John Cotton

We Sing for Our Good

1. Singing fuels our faith
   • Luther, “Music is a gift and grace of God”
   • Music beautifies the truth
   • Singing was at the heart of the Reformation
   • Evan Roberts, convinced that singing would spur revival
2. Singing unifies our hearts
   • Not my heart singular, our hearts corporately
   • It fights selfishness
   • We sing a mix of old, new, joyful, somber, differently styles
3. Singing gives full expression to our human experience in Christ
   • “I can tell how you are doing by looking at your playlist”
   • Joy, praise, thanksgiving
   • Sorrow, loss, lament
4. Singing is a witness to the next generation
   • We pass on our passion for God when we sing for Him
5. Singing is a witness to the world
   • What the world cares about, it sings about
   • When we sing praises to God, it hears what we really care about

How should we sing?

1. Sing with your mind
   • Ephesians 5:18-19
   • Colossians 3:16
     • Singing is vertical (to God) and horizontal (to one another)
   • Luther, “…let His people respond with grateful songs of praise”
2. Sing with your emotions
   • How we sing communicates what we believe about the content
   • Justin Martyr, “…medicine of the soul in grief”
   • Emotionalism is not the same as showing emotions
3. Sing with your will
   • Praise, prayer, and proclamation
4. Sing with your voice
   • That which enraptures your heart will come out of your mouth?

What should we sing?

1. God inspired His word, and yet used human authors
   • Evaluate Christian songs for solid doctrinal content

Live It Out

1. Let your love and awe of God overcome your fear of singing out
   • The closer you draw to Christ, the more you will have to sing about
2. Learn and sing songs that fuel your faith and your family’s faith with truth
3. Sing out in church so others will be encouraged to celebrate with you
   1. “beautiful cacaphony”

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