Sermon Tone Analysis

So, on Sunday you all were over heard by a few people (including Keelie) in a conversation speaking about not really being happy with the changes.

First of all let me just state that on the Lord’s Day, right before we take the praises of Christ to our lips, is not the time to go and spread your opinion and disagreement concerning the direction of the church.

(It’s the wrong day)

It’s also the wrong person.

If you have a disagreement, who are you supposed to come to? , ; ;

It’s the wrong place.

That’s the sanctuary.

That’s holy, it’s sacred, it’s where we worship God!

Open rebuke is better Than love carefully concealed.

6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Some time ago I’ve talked with everyone here today.

I proposed these changes

from Dee I got, “yes, we need a leader right now.

I don’t even know these new people.

So anyway that we can be brought to know them better will be better for our little church.”

From Joyce there was some apprehension of changing, but said that you would basically do whatever.

Or try it.

From sister Regina who had some reservations in trying to think of everyone who may not be able to come due to the earlier start, but nonetheless said she’d support me in it and agreed that we needed to make a change.

Jil agreed, even stating that we had become like a stagnate pool, no movement.

To which I completely agreed.

So I know that Dee, you’re not happy.

Can you please explain why?

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So we heard some messages from God’s word on making disciples and fulfilling the Great Commission

Some time ago I’ve talked with everyone here today.

I proposed these changes

So we’ve heard some messages about how a church loses her saltiness and how we are to shine.

Then we heard some messages on the first church in ACTS.

Devoting themselves to the apostles teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, praying for one another.

from Dee I got, “yes, we need a leader right now.

I don’t even know these new people.

So anyway that we can be brought to know them better will be better for our little church.”

“yes, we need a leader right now.

I don’t even know these new people.

So anyway that we can be brought to know them better will be better for our little church.”

From Joyce there was some apprehension of changing, but said that you would basically do whatever.

Or try it.

From sister Regina who had some reservations in trying to think of everyone who may not be able to come due to the earlier start, but nonetheless said she’d support me in it and agreed that we needed to make a change.

Jil agreed, even stating that we had become like a stagnate pool, no movement.

To which I completely agreed.

Do these things find any expression in Scripture?

A way that you could tell what people desire is, for example:

“I wish we had the puppets back in church, the kids really loved that!”

Could you be reading Scripture and pray a verse back to God that could support that desire (wish)?

Or, that you want more business meetings, sunday school, choir, puppets, etc.? Can you pray for that?

Does it raise a flag or seem odd that you cannot support your desires from God’s Word?

And if you’re upset about the time change, but you cannot find that God’s word doesn’t speak for or against that, what should be your attitude towards it?

Do or die?

Backbite?

I’ve got two reasons for the time change:

“In the beginning God...” ().

I believe that we need to assemble to hear God’s voice first.

In seeing people leave for various reasons

Bible translations,

kids program,

Sunday School,

pastor wears a tie,

choir,

puppets,

music style

none of which is a biblical fellowship breaker,

And here is the devastating part, these non-biblical preferences are no longer on the peripheral, they are on the forefront.

These things have taken on a life of their own.

So I don’t like the version of the bible you use, the KJV is the only version that I’m used to, so I’ll go to Victory because he even preaches against those who don’t use the KJV.

So they leave and are they concerned with whether or not a church lives for God’s glory, are they practicing biblical worship, are they concerned about the Great Commission?

Church has been redefined according to people’s preferences.

Explain biblical Worship vs the “Worship wars” of “contemporary vs traditional” forms of worship.

Explain how the reformers handled issues like the Lord’s Supper and how they would take every issue and reform it according to God’s Word, by taking it back to its original intended purpose.

drums, stringed instrument, loud referent singing to God, lifting hands in praise,

See it really has nothing to do with whether we’d allow a drum set in the sanctuary, or whether we have “traditional songs” or “contemporary songs”

Our concern is that our music and lyrics reflect the music and lyrics recorded in holy Scripture.

I’m seeing that God’s people are holding on to various things that hurt them.

Things that cannot be traced back to their original biblical purpose.

The time change is another thing that people will hold on to.

No one mentioned their disapproval to me in two months and now that’s one of the main issues here...

So, as here is the case, non-biblical preferences and issues are creating bondage and strife, trapping us, and leading to sin.

So in this case, we let God speak and then we talk about what God said.

That’s the idea.

What would happen if everyone dropped their preferences and just did what God wants (the Great Commission)?

Carrying out the “One Another’s?

Aren’t we supposed to focus on doing what God said and not what we want?

See these fights over preferences is why people get frustrated with the church.

Think of the early history of the church.

Some days they’d go to the river bed and meet together and sing songs, hear God’s Word, pray for one another and leave.

Next time they’d meet at someone’s house and share a meal, sing songs to God, hear God’s word, and pray for one another.

They didn’t quibble over these things, they were more interested in serving others and reaching others with the gospel!

— Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel,

Every church member will stand before God’s throne and give an account for how he or she worked to protect the gospel in the lives of his or her fellow members (see ).

That said, the Holy Spirit has made pastors and elders the overseers of the church (; ; ).

That means pastors or elders represent the church’s work of oversight in the day-to-day life of the congregation.

Submitting to the church often means submitting to them.

Broadly speaking, how should members relate to pastors?

1.

Members should formally affirm their pastors.

Different traditions disagree on this, but I believe that since Christians are ultimately responsible before God for what they are taught (see ), church members are responsible for choosing their leaders.

Congregations should let elders lead in this process, but the final affirmation is the church’s.

(It may also be the case that the church’s authority to affirm its leaders is an apostolic authority, which it inherits through the apostolic keys.

See ; see also the congregation’s role in and .)

2. Members should honor their pastors.

Our culture’s ability to understand honoring seems to be diminishing continually.

But just as the Bible calls children to honor their parents, so Christians should honor their pastors.

The Bible even says to give them “double honor” ().