Saturday – November 18, 2023

Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus

Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)

We continue to contemplate the implications of “the song of Moses” and “the song of the Lamb” (Revelation 15:3). If Christians of the past could attend our churches, they should be able to join us in prayer and in the study of God’s Word; they should recognize our worship of the Triune Godhead as worship, even if there are differences such as the order of the service, the use of technology, and the employment of musical instruments. It is in the area of music that many Christians struggle, for it is a challenge to continue continuity with the past (“the song of Moses”) while also creatively singing “a new song” (Revelation 5:9) like “the song of the Lamb.” I do not like to critique another’s style of worship, for no doubt some could criticize mine. As a practical matter, I need to hear a musical instrument like the organ, piano, or guitar in order to sing adequately, because I cannot read musical notation. Loud noises such as hand-clapping or drums prevent me from taking part in singing as they immediately push me off tune and out of time. Others, obviously, do not find such instrumentation to be a distraction. It is always good to distinguish between principle – which always matters – and preference – which may or may not matter, depending upon the circumstances. We should always strive for excellence (to the best of our abilities) in music in church, singing “heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men” (Colossians 3:23b).