Skip to main content

What Are You Singing?

  Over the years I will often times have song leaders that will ask me the topic of my lessons so that they can pick song that will fit, especially the invitation song.  I glad they do but I’ll admit that I don’t make it easy with on title alone[1].  The invitation song can be that tipping point that might make someone respond. A song that flows along with the message can be very effective in that process.

   However, I noticed that many times people already have their own invitation song.

  Not that we have everyone signing their own tune but rather the song of their heart and mind that is influencing their response.

  Your see some are singing, “I Shall Not Be Moved”.  No matter what the lesson was about, no matter how important it is that they make a change, they are firmly planted where they are, refusing to budge.

  For some their invitation song is “Farther Along”. The message may have hit home but the thinking is the response can be delayed. Sometime farther along I make a change, farther along I’ll obey the gospel, farther along I’ll repent.

  Other might be singing, “Is It For Me”. The lesson was about them and how they need to be living right and it sure would be great if someone else steps into the aisle, never considering their own soul’s state.

  Other might be on a chorus of “Faith of Our Father’s”. I don’t need to respond since my family is faithful. Dad was a preacher; Mom was a bible class teacher, I good since they were. What this person fails to realize that each one will be judged not for our father’s faith but for our own.

  It might be their song is “When This Passing World Is Done”. They would respond but not until they get done with all the things of the world.  If I make a commitment to Christ then I have to give up the ways of the world and I not ready to do that.

  But there are those that hear in their hearts, “I Am Resolved”. They know what they need to do and have taken the courageous step to do just that. That there is danger in delay and no one can do it for me, so I much do what the scriptures teach me to do.

  When the next invitation is offered, what will you be singing?



[1] For instance my recent sermon on “Why You Shouldn’t Eat Meat” on 1st Corinthians 8, not one vegetarian song in the book

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Until Midnight

    In Acts 20, there is the tragicomic event surrounding a young man by the name of Eutychus. He did what a lot of folks before and after him did, he fell asleep during a sermon. Unfortunately, he was setting in in the third story window at the time. So instead of nodding off and hitting the pew in front of him, he fell to his death. The good news was the apostle Paul was delivering the sermon and had the ability to bring him back.       I don’t know, however, if we can judge Eutychus too harshly. The sermon had gone on till midnight. Paul wouldn’t finish it up till daybreak. That’s a long lesson. I know some folks that might want to jump out of a window if I had a lesson that long, yet these Christians wanted to be there to hear Paul.   Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pushing for all night sermons but I think we might need to adopt these folks' dedication. They knew that Paul was only in town for a limited time only and they were determined to ...

The Mighty Gulf

  It is hard to get people on two sides of an issue to come together. Each has their own viewpoint, their perceptive, their own foibles, their own understanding.  To gain any common ground there must be something in common. Something or someone that can bridge the gulf between the two.   Could there be a greater gulf than there was between God and man? How could a holy perfect God find a way to connect to the fallen, imperfect mankind? How can one without temptation connect to those who are beset by it? How could limited mortal beings understand an omnipotent eternal God?   In 1 Timothy 2:5, we read, “ For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus .” The phrase mediator here describes a person that bridges the gap, a go-between. Jesus was one who could stand in both worlds. A perfect holy one who can understand our temptations, a man who would die yet live eternally, One who was God yet became flesh and dwelt among us. ...

How Dare You!

    Lewis Keseberg was tired of all the accusations against him so he filed a defamation lawsuit against Ned Coffeemeyer the man he saw as responsible for the rumors. The court found that Ned had indeed called Keseberg a “thief and murderer” without any proof but it didn’t rule very strongly in his favor by only imposing a fine of one dollar.  Maybe they were lenient because Ned Coffeemeyr had earlier rescued Lewis Keseberg from a terrible situation.  Maybe it was because the accusations while not proven were highly likely.  And maybe because Lewis Keseberg had admitted to eating people.   Lewis Keseberg was one of the members of the infamous Donner Party, a wagon train that got caught in the Siera Nevada mountain and resorted to cannibalism to survive. Keseberg wasn’t known as a very good person before those events and they certainly didn’t help improve his image. But to sue the very person who saved you seems to define the kind of person he was....