Singing Praise to The Lamb

Christians love to sing, especially songs that invoke emotion that stirs something deep inside. There are some patriotic songs that turn me to jello. There are songs that cause me to remember happy events in life. And then, there are songs of home — that is, heaven — where I know everything is safe and things are as they ought to be, because heaven is focused on the One who who is worthy, the One who redeemed us with His blood.

This vision in helps us to see what our five senses do not reveal: it unveils for us the cosmic impact of both Christ’s crucifixion, which has accomplished sacrificial atonement for all sin, and His resurrection, which means He already reigns now as the One who controls the future. Our text from Revelation proclaims that

This vision in helps us to see what our five senses do not reveal: it unveils for us the cosmic impact of both Christ’s crucifixion, which has accomplished sacrificial atonement for all sin, and His resurrection, which means He already reigns now as the One who controls the future. Our text from Revelation proclaims that

One of the challenges we face in the worship service in this generation are the songs we sing. If we’re not careful, worship on Sunday can turn into a human-centered experience, like the songs that invoke some kind of emotion. In other words, we tend to judge the quality of worship based on “what we get out of it.” And if that happens, then we miss the wonderful gifts God has for us.

WE SING PRAISE TO THE VICTORIOUS LAMB

Something powerful, even life-altering, happened with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. In the days of old, the children of God found themselves held captive by the Babylonians, unable to sing the songs of Zion in a foreign land. But the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus changed all that for them and for us. Instead of our thoughts and emotions being stuck on ourselves, our focus is now on the One who liberates us. This leads us to our theme, which is SINGING PRAISE TO THE LAMB

Today, we are going to talk about (1) “Singing to the One Who is Worthy,” (2) “Because of what He Accomplished” and we sing because (3) “This Lamb Who Was Slain Is Now Reigning.”

This scene from Revelation is not describing what heaven will be like someday in the future, it is showing us what is going on right now. And now God invites us into His presence through the worship service. You see, God wants us to understanding what is happening — especially in the Lord’s Supper — where the Lamb of God who shed His blood and gave His body is now present, sharing His victory with us. This bloodied and standing Lamb depicted in Revelation is the very same One in whose real body and blood presence we stand as we sing, “O Jesus Christ, true Lamb of God, You take the sin of the world away . . . have mercy on us...” Therefore,

We Sing to the One Who is Worthy

Christ, the Lamb who was Slain, has triumphed.

The Lamb receives worship and honor and glory, with the Father who sits upon the throne.

Christ — the Son of the Father — is God.

Christ, the Lamb who was Slain, Ransomed Us for God.

Christ, with seven horns and seven eyes, proved He is truly Divine

Christ, the Lamb, is truly man.

Christ, the Lamb, was slain, was slaughtered on the cross for our sin.

All of heaven sings to Christ — The Lamb — because He was slain, and purchased us with His very own blood.

From every tribe and nation.

His crucifixion and resurrection has changed everything, including making all who believe into a kingdom of priest to serve God.

Christ, the Lamb, has conquered the beast — Satan.

Heaven sings because Christ, the Lamb, has conquered the beast — Satan.

That means everything is different now: We weep no more, for only the Lamb is worthy.

He is Worthy Because of What He Accomplished

We are not worthy,

because of our sinful condition.

to be in the presence of Christ.

of the price Christ paid for our redemption.

Yet, God now invites us

But Christ has changed all that.

He freed us from our sin by His blood.

He clothes us in white garments at baptism

He makes us holy priests to serve Him.

This Lamb Who Was Slain Is Now Reigning.

A world that seems out of control is not really that any more at all.

For Christ reigns in heaven and on earth already now.

In the Worship Service Christ — The Lamb — is our focus.

The Hymn of Praise we sang a bit ago is a rendition of the very hymn the heavenly host sings in our text.

In the Lord’s Supper, we receive the Heavenly Meal of the Body and Blood of the Lamb who was slain.

As Priest of God we serve Christ now on earth and forever in heaven.