C.H. Spurgeon

Sinners, let me address you with words of life; Jesus wants nothing from you, nothing whatsoever, nothing done, nothing felt; he gives both work and feeling. Ragged, penniless, just as you are, lost, forsaken, desolate, with no good feelings, and no good hopes, still Jesus comes to you, and in these words of pity he addresses you, "Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out."

Comment Policy: No profanity or blasphemy will be posted. You do not have to agree, but if you would like your comment posted, you will have to adhere to the policy.


Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Hypocritical Hymn Singing

Although this also holds true of the praise & worship singing, I am partial to the old hymns so I chose to use them.

How often do we attend church tired, grumpy, depressed, angry, and any other emotion that over takes us for countless reasons by things we face in our lives? Instead of being spiritually, prayerfully prepared to worship a Holy God, we show up for personal prestige and duties sake.

We sing, When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, while thinking of the SuperBowl; Amazing Grace, while gritting our teeth over what the neighbor said; It Is Well With My Soul, while we weep that the world is not treating us fair; Blessed Assurance Jesus Is Mine, while we dream of that person we want to be with; All To Jesus, while we fidget waiting for that final prayer to release us from the service.

We want to know why our churches are dying and not growing; why members leave and visitors don’t stay; why the preacher gets weary and the congregation gets tired.

We don’t need to build larger gyms; bring in all the entertainment; shorten the preaching and omit the words “sin” and “repent”; throw out the hymns and turn to music with only a feel good message; leave the old behind as we serve the young.

We need a revival in our heart to return to God; a life of prayer and obedience; a life of reading, studying, and meditating of scripture; a life of love for God and sharing the gospel with others; a life of singing and praising God from the heart and put a stop to Hypocritical Hymn Singing.

4 comments:

Bobby Cohoon said...

Amen brother! I agree totally with you. Good Post

Marie said...

There are times in my life I have done this. Distracted thinking while being on auto piolit. When I catch myself singing without meaning, it humbles me. Remembering that I am here to worship the One who gave me life and set me free. Great post and wonderful reminder to search in our hearts to find the meaning of our worship.

leslie said...

good post. and ironic. i was sitting in assembly sunday morning thinking how every thing seemed so plastic...the smiles on the praise team, the glazed over congregates, and then i realized i was the one feeling the disconnect and had to consciously ask that my heart be open for true praise and reflection. it was convicting moment, a good reminder as to why i was really there.

Splinters of Silver said...

Thanks for the comments. I think if we are honest, we've all been there.

John Bunyan

To be saved is to be preserved in the faith to the end. 'He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.' (Mt. 24:13) Not that perseverance is an accident in Christianity, or a thing performed by human industry; they that are saved 'are kept by the power of God, through faith unto salvation.' (1 Pet. 1: 3-6) But perseverance is absolutely necessary to the complete saving of the soul…. He that goeth to sea with a purpose to arrive at Spain, cannot arrive there if he be drowned by the way; wherefore perseverance is absolutely necessary to the saving of the soul.