Sermon Tone Analysis

“Brothers, do not be children in your thinking.

Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.

In the Law it is written, ‘By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.’

Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers.

If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds?

But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.”

[1]

Jonathan Aigner writes of a comment he received as result of a blog post.

The commenter wrote, “I have tried to avoid God my whole life.

I wouldn’t know a traditional hymn from a modernized hymn.

I’ve never even stepped foot into a church … until this past Sunday.

The people on stage sang a song by David Crowder, and I began to feel the very presence of God.

It was like nothing I ever felt before.

Tears streamed down my eyes and right then, I bowed down and made a decision to surrender my life to Jesus.

I ask you a simple question … wasn’t David Crowder’s song—guitars, modernized lyrics and all—worth being written and sang that way? “The writer then signed the note, /The person next to you in the pew/.

[2]

The writer of this particular note was no doubt sincere.

Whoever this individual was, he or she undoubtedly believed that experience trumped what is presented in the Word.

Truthfully, what is written in this note reflects the prevailing attitude of our world.

It is an attitude that has occasioned unimaginable changes in society and has even managed to transform the churches.

However, the transformation witnessed has not always been for the best.

A significant problem contributing to the transformations that have taken place among the churches is that few modern Christians have thought through the issue of what worship is and what it is not.

Part of the reason for this is that many Christians are unable to define the purpose of worship.

Why do we worship?

Why do we come together?

And why do we call what we do during that time a “worship service?”

*WORSHIP AMONG THE FIRST CHURCHES* — “Brothers, do not be children in your thinking.

Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.

In the Law it is written, ‘By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.’

Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers.

If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds?

But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you” [1 CORINTHIANS 14:20-25].

Let’s join the worship at New Beginnings Baptist Church in Corinth.

The saints have gathered early on a Sunday morning.

Quiet reverence is evident among the worshippers as people come into the house where the meeting will be conducted.

As the believers enter, they exchange quiet greetings before bowing in silent prayer.

There is an air of anticipation as the elders take their place before the worshippers.

It is not quite light outside as one elder begins to read the words of Scripture—sometimes a letter written by Paul, or one of Peter’s missives and or yet again one of the letters written by John.

At almost every service the words of one of the Evangelists will be read.

At yet other times, a passage from the Old Testament will be read.

The lector continues reading until the particular letter is completed.

If one of the Gospels is being read, the reading will continue until the reader reaches an appropriate stopping point with the intent of continuing the reading the following week until the account has been fully read aloud.

A similar plan is employed when the lector reads the Old Testament books.

When the reading of the Word is completed, the pastor stands to admonish worshippers, urging imitation of the truths that have been disclosed through the reading of Scripture.

Perhaps one or two other elders will provide exposition of the same passages after the pastor has finished his exposition.

The exhortation continues until a full exposition of the particular Scripture that was read is provided.

The exhortations are referred to as prophesying.

When the exhortations are completed, a member of the assembly begins to sing a hymn of praise.

As she lifts her voice in song, others join in singing.

Other worshippers will likewise initiate a song or a hymn.

Interspersed with the singing are believers standing to tell of God’s work in his or in her life, almost always urging the congregation to glorify the Son of God by offering praise to Him for His mercies.

Then a sister provides a testimony of what she has discovered through meditating on the words of Scripture she heard as the Word was read the previous week and as the elders provided exposition of what had been read.

And so the service continues until all have shared that wish to share what God has placed on the heart.

It is almost startling to witness the congregation standing together as they begin to pray aloud.

Though some worshippers are praying silently—all are petitioning God for His blessings and seeking His glory.

These prayers may continue for an extended period.

Some worshippers will make their way to other worshippers to encourage them, praying for them or asking that they pray with them for courage or encouragement.

Simultaneously, as the Spirit moves in the hearts of the people the praying ceases and quietness settles over the congregation.

Those who have never submitted to baptism are dismissed.

When the uninitiated are dismissed, bread and wine are brought out.

The presiding elder offers up prayers and thanksgivings, the people sing and give assent by saying “Amen.”

The elements are distributed to worshippers and each one participates.

Those who have ability to give and who are willing to do so make an offering which is presented to the presiding elder.

He will entrust what has been collected to the deacons who will distribute what is necessary to the widows and orphans, those who have need because of illness or because of some other cause, those who are imprisoned or the families of prisoners and to any strangers sojourning.

[3]

What is apparent, both from Paul’s first missive to the Church of God in Corinth, and from the literature of believers who participated in the worship practised among the earliest Christians, is that there was a liturgy.

Every church or movement has a liturgy.

The word “liturgy” should not frighten us; all the word refers to is that worship has a beginning and an end with something taking place between.

Scripture does not prescribe the order of worship, though certain elements are recognised.

Perhaps the closest we can come to a statement of the cardinal components of worship is what Doctor Luke provides in his account of the meeting of the first congregation after Pentecost.

ACTS 2:42 provides the following statement: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

The earliest meetings of followers of the Way were composed of /preaching/ (the apostles’ teaching), “teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, /singing/ psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in [the heart] [see COLOSSIANS 3:16]” (the fellowship), /the Lord’s Table/ (the breaking of bread) and /corporate prayer/ (the prayers).

What shines through this brief description of the earliest Christian worship is the corporate nature of worship.

We should have no difficulty accepting that biblical exposition is important and that such preaching should be provided for all who worship, though many churches today appear to depreciate the preaching of the Word.

We are less certain about “the prayers.”

We will tolerate the pastoral prayer (provided it isn’t too long or too specific in confessing our particular sins).

Undoubtedly, we recognise that the Lord’s Table should be a corporate activity.

However, I don’t know that we have actually grasped the importance of singing.

We often distort the act of congregational singing either through according singing undeserved prominence or through depreciation as though it had no relevance to worship.

Permit me to cite COLOSSIANS 3:16 using one of the contemporary translations.

Listen carefully as the translators capture an aspect that is hinted at in many churches and missed by most.

“Let the teaching of Christ live in you richly.

Use all wisdom to teach and instruct each other by singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God” [4] [COLOSSIANS 3:16].

Would you not agree that this translation gives a different view of worship?

The verse teaches us that through such corporate participation we teach and admonish one another.

The verse echoes with even greater clarity what Paul wrote in the Ephesian letter: “Speak to each other with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music in your hearts to the Lord” [5] [EPHESIANS 5:19].

Thus, singing is both to honour God and to build others.

Moreover, according to what is written in these two portions of the Word, singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs in order to instruct others reveals that one is indwelt by the Spirit of God!

The hymnody of the church is very important—but it is not all important.

What is important to remember concerning music in worship is that in light of the Scriptures we have reviewed to this point in the message, the songs we sing are to be doctrinally sound so that they instruct worshippers.

In other words, we sing not to please ourselves, but to glorify God and to instruct our fellow worshippers.

The Christians gathered in Corinth were said to each have a hymn [see 1 CORINTHIANS 14:26], suggesting that corporate singing was a vital part of the worship.

Paul writes in that same chapter, “I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also” [1 CORINTHIANS 14:15b], indicating that congregational singing should be both joyful and meaningful.

What is written here fits with something that James has written.

James writes, “Is anyone cheerful?

Let him sing praise” [JAMES 5:13]—joy leads inevitably to singing!

An excursus from the text leads to the observation that hymns are powerful, so powerful that they speak to outsiders who listen to our songs.

This is evidenced by an incident recorded from the ministry of the Apostle Paul.

When the missionaries were jailed in Philippi, I read, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them” [ACTS 16:25].

The word Paul used indicates that not only did the other prisoners hear them, but they listened to what the missionaries sang with interest.

[6] The prisoners were paying attention.

What you sing is more important than you perhaps realise, for as you sing, outsiders may well be listening to what is sung.

Let’s assemble a comprehensive view of worship as practised in the New Testament assemblies as revealed through our studies to this point.