Music Seminar/ Workshop

July 31, 2011

Music Ministry Next to the preaching of

God’s eternal Word, there is no more powerful ministry in the Church than that of the Music to touch lives and prepare hearts.-Ken Lynch

“Music is the ‘right hand’ of the Ministry” – Ptr. Catap Sr.

The Place of MusicO God himself lays such importance on

the Ministry of Music that he placed more than 500 references to it within the Scriptures.

O First mention of music in Genesis 4:21O Last mention of music occurs in

Revelation 18:22- musical instruments are named again.

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O There was music in heaven when God laid the foundations of the earth

Job 38:7 “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy!”O Music will do so again in the future at

Second coming of Jesus Christ“the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God”O Psalms- one entire book of the Bible,

in essence – a Hymnbook

Music as Service and MinistryO I Chr. 6:31,32 “ the service of song

in the house of the Lord after that the ark had rest. And they ministered before the dwelling place of the tabernacle of the congregation with singing, until Solomon had built the house of the Lord in Jerusalem; and then they waited on their office according to their order”

O I Chr.9:33- full time ministryO II Chr. 20:21-22

Music in the New Testament

O Hebrews 2:12 “in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee”

O Ephesians 5:19 “singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord”

O Colossians 3:16 “singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

*in each of these instances, music was a part of the gathering together of believers as a body, as a church.

Music is Gift from GOD O “Music is gift from God and not from

men. It puts the devil to flight and renders man cheerful. It makes him forget anger, immodesty, and every vice. To it I assign the highest place after theology..” M.L.

O It is the musical prelude, congregational singing, offertories and special music by the choir or soloist that re noticed by the visitor long before the preaching begins.

The Purpose of the Music Ministry

I. “To Exalt God”

I Cor. 10:31 “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do [that covers every area of our lives], do ALL to the glory of God*Col.1:18; Matt.5:16*Very clearly the first purpose of music is to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ and to glorify God. Could there possibly be any purpose, any reason, nobler than that?

II. “To Edify Believers”O Edification of Saints –Rom.1:7; I

Cor.1:2O Truly “Christian” music is an

expression of a truly “Christian” life seeking to exalt the Savior and minister to His people through the medium of sacred music.

O The Bible must our final authority and guide in all areas of life including music.

A. He is the Source of our Song

• Isaiah 12:2,5 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and be not afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song…’ v.5 “Sing unto the Lord for he hath done excellent things…”

• The word “sing” is found some 70x in the book of Psalms, In every instance, that song is directed to God.

• Ps.51:14, 89:1; 101:1

B. He is the Subject of our Song

• Psalm 40:3 “ And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God…”

*think about our hymns• Col.3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell

in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord”

> addressed to the believers

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• God says that music is to teach, the word “teach” means to “impart knowledge”

• Sacred music that teach about God and His Attributes. Ex. Holy, Holy, Holy

• Admonition- “admonish” means “to warn”.

Ex. Is your all on the Altar?

C. He is the Spirit of our Song

• Ephesians 5:18-19 “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”

• Spirit-filled living results in Spirit-filled singing!

• What we are spiritually is reflected in the way we sing. It cannot be otherwise.

III. “To Evangelize the Lost• Psalm 40;1-3

• It has proven helpful in winning the lost to Christ. Uncountable stories of Christians who were influenced to accept Christ as their personal Savior through the ministry of sacred song.

• The sensual and carnal music of today only leads precious souls further from God. It will never for one moment produce even the slightest spark of conviction for sin and w/o conviction there can never be conversion from sin.

ConclusionO The Music Ministry should not be

taken lightly or used carelessly.O We, that are involved in it need to

recognize it as a solemn (‘sincere’, ‘serious’) responsibility before God.

O Music is an important part of life. Just like any other aspect of life, we should attempt to govern our musical choices by biblical principles

Finally….

O Remember that the original purpose of music was to bring honor to God. Church music must keep this goal foremost. Even when listening for personal entertainment, you must seek to honor God with your musical choices. It’s best not to accommodate our music to the immoral culture surrounding us. Christians are to be separate from the world, and this fact influences our choices in music