A Real Sermon in a Song


Happy Monday Everybody!

Thanks for all of your wonderful comments on "My Wall-Smacking Incident." It's good to be encouraged by other believers and also to know that I'm not the only one that does not see the occassional wall! Today's post was promised to my friend S.O. a long time ago - and I typed it out but never posted it. Slacker. I know. Anyway, better late than never! So, here we go! A Real Sermon in a Song!


I was browsing the internet when I came across an interesting video.

I just was not ready for what I saw.

The pastor of the church was singing secular music…in the Sanctuary…at the podium, to describe the way that he felt about the Lord. He said that the music was alright so long as you recognized who you were singing to. When the original artists composed and sang the songs, they were speaking of a relationship between a man and a woman. Something about that video rang wrong within me. I could not relate – I could not understand why this servant of the Lord would ever bring sensual and sexually-oriented music into the Sanctuary and promote it from the pulpit.

I began to feel sorrow for the congregants – most of who knew the words to the songs and were singing right along with the pastor. God calls us to be different – peculiar. We are not to be like the world. The sanctuary is not a concert hall for secular crooning.

And just when I thought, oh man, this can’t get worse, with the next breath, the pastor began to combine secular songs with worship hymns – light and darkness cannot co-exist. But again, his premise was it being about who you were singing to.

I guess it would have been far too easy to open the pages of the Bible to sing a worship song?!?! David has left plenty of psalms to sing. Many of hymns could have been sung which glorified the Lord and could be directly correlated with Scripture.
And then, there are other hymns, composed by men and women who have come to know and love the Lord. There is a wealth of praise in the pages of your hymnal. One of my favorite hymns is “A Mighty Fortress” whose lyrics begin strongly with these words:


A mighty fortress is our God,

a bulwark never failing;

our helper he amid the flood

of mortal ills prevailing.

For still our ancient foe

doth seek to work us woe;

his craft and power are great,

and armed with cruel hate,

on earth is not his equal.

That is a real sermon in a song – and the lyrics above are only the first part of the song. There are three more stanzas that could be sung that will deliver honor to the Lord.

And then, there is the ever known and popular, “Amazing Grace”, which puts us into proper reverence of the Lord along with a realization of who we truly are when we look right into the first two stanzas:


"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me....
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.


T'was Grace that taught...
my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear...
the hour I first believed.”

Again, a real sermon in a song. Sermons are designed to help us to see where we are and to recognize where we need to be in the Lord. They are designed to help us grow closer to the Lord. They are needful to help us realize where our worship should reside. And, that is why I struggle with the video. There is no proper pathway to worship and instruction from the Lord that has its foundation in the secular. A song sung about or to a woman (or man), a mere created being, can never compare to a song sung about the Creator. The two will never equal out.

Thus, when we desire to sing a song of praise and worship to the Lord, ensure that the source is true.

Sing Scripture.

Sing Hymns.

Sing to the Lord that which really was designed to glorify Him. And when you do, you will then be singing a real sermon in a song.


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My Wall-Smacking Incident

I flew into a wall recently – hit it hard too.

I, like the bird from yesterday’s post, was not paying attention and the enemy delivered a blow.

But, unlike that bird, I refuse to surrender. This blow is not lethal – it’s a lesson.

When I hit the wall, shock blanketed me; surprise governed me. And even though I was aching, I still had to deal with a decision that loomed straight ahead of me.

Enter my spiritual godmother. Notice I said spiritual – not fairy.

I called her to recount my wall-smacking experience. She listened and then she asked:

“How long are you going to allow this to dwell in your spirit?”

Hunh? What does she mean? It just happened!! I was a bit puzzled. Thus, when I did not immediately respond but instead sat on the phone pondering, she said:

“It’s been too long already.”

With those two sentences, she delivered healing balm to my wounds. For you see, it is not for the Christian to dwell on the wall and try to analyze why it was there, how many times it has appeared and how many times you flew over successfully and on and on. Instead, for the Christian, it’s time to rejoice in the fact that we can get up from a wall-smacking and move on with our lives. Go on and bandage your hurt with a Holy Ghost band-aid and get on with it.

There is a greater work that must be done so that God is glorified. So, if you read this blog post and find yourself therein – smarting from a wall-smacking, get on up and get back to work – or I’ll have my spiritual godmother call you!

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Be on the Lookout

If you dropped by yesterday and are wondering if this post is the one that I was working on, I have some news. No, this one is not that one. (sad face) I started that one Friday and now it’s finished but because of some things that have happened since then, I feel that I should hold onto it for a minute. Never fear though, I’m sure the Lord will let me know when it’s a good time to post it. In the meantime, here’s today’s post!

Flipping through the channels on a lazy day, I landed on a station that carried footage of nature. I watched, intrigued by a bird that had perched on the waters, bobbing up and down with the waves. So cute! This bird was clearly relaxed and unconcerned. He even tucked his neck into himself for whatever reason – I’m guessing he was grooming himself. Nevertheless, this activity by said bird continued. I kept watching.

And then it happened.

There was no scary music or even a change in tempo. In fact, the water that lulled this bird into a lackadaisical state never changed its pace. But then, right when I least expected it – tragedy.

The bird was attacked by a seal. I was shocked! Horrified! I sat up and yelled at the television, angry at the seal!

The seal rose up from the water, grabbed the bird by the neck, and swiftly took it underneath the water. And without any further detail, I can tell you, the seal won.

He cheated – He snuck up on that bird and delivered an unrecoverable blow. Now, you may say that’s nature, and you would be right. But, it is also the way that our enemy operates.

As Christians, we have to be on the lookout. We cannot afford to perch on the waters of life and bob up and down without a care in the world. When we do, we forfeit our defenses. Instead, we need to be on the alert – watching, ready.

When we spend time looking inwardly, grooming ourselves or being overly concerned about ourselves, the enemy has time to plan and execute his attack. You are no longer a threat to him because you are so wrapped up in yourself – enjoying yourself – bobbing along with the current.

Be careful of the current; it is the thing that will lull you into a false sense of security that will allow the enemy to move forward with his plan of attack.

Be vigilant. Be alert. Know that your enemy is never too far away. Make sure that you take steps such that you will not become his prey.

I’m sitting up yelling this message out to you – so please take notice. I don’t want you to become like that little bird – a victim of his adversary. Instead, I desire that you be victorious. This is just a little something for you to think about.

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