Sermon Tone Analysis

I must confess to you that I woke up on Tuesday morning with a sudden panic.

I had just had my first preaching dream.

I had heard of these dreams before, but had yet to experience one myself.

In the dream I was sitting here in church, singing the songs right there in my seat.

The music ended and it was time for me to come and give the message, but I had no idea what I was going to preach on because I had failed to prepare.

I told the congregation that this was going to brief and different and then I prayed and when I looked up there were only 20 people left.

So, I am telling you that I did prepare and now I am going to pray and when I open my eyes I hope you’re all still here with me.

PRAY

 

Have you ever wondered “Why do we gather together on Sunday mornings?

What is the purpose of carving out of our busy week 2 – 3 hours to come to a place to be with other people to sing songs and to listen to a guy speak?”

What is the purpose of congregational worship?

I mean, you could be home working on the house or spending time with your family.

What is the purpose of church?

Why did God create the church?

The text we will focus on today is found in Colossians, chapter 3 verses 15 – 17.  Please turn there with me.

This Sunday and next the Message which God has laid on my heart to give to you will be focusing on the importance of community worship, namely congregational worship and family worship.

So we will be going from the macro – the Fellowship of Believers, to the micro – The Family Fellowship.

Why don’t I address the issue of individual worship?

I believe we have learned the art of individualism too well.

Individualism is at the core of our society, of our culture, of our value system.

But the church is called to rise above worldly values.

I am not saying individual worship is bad or we should not practice private prayer… Jesus modeled it after all.

What I AM saying is that there is something unique and distinctive about the church.

It is distinctive because Christ spoke so much about it and inspired His apostles to do the same.

There is something more to the Christian faith than private praise and prayer and I think that a person’s faith can only grow and mature through the context of the church.

Colossians 3:15-17

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.

And be thankful.

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

From this passage I see four important elements of congregational worship in which each member of the body is responsible.

\\ *The Four Elements of Congregational Worship*

1.

The first element is this: We are to “let the peace of Christ rule in” our hearts.

To have the peace of Christ ruling in your heart is to have your heart completely connected to God’s heart – to be as King David – A man after God’s own heart.

It’s to have our will so connected to God’s will that all decisions we make are done in accordance to God’s direction and will.

When Summer and I have made a big decision in life, such as when we decided to attend seminary or when we accepted the call of this church into full time ministry, some have asked, “How do you know it is God’s will?”

I tell them that I turn to three sources to discern God’s will: 1) The Bible – is this decision in any way contradicting the truths of Scripture;  2) I also turn to those who have been placed in authority over me – my elders.

I seek their counsel, wisdom and prayer.

3) I also pray for God’s peace concerning the choice which I am about to make.

It is this peace which usually guides me in either direction of the decision I need to make, after consulting scripture and my elders.

The Greek for the word “rule” in this passage has to do more with athletics than anything.

It refers to an umpire ruling over a game.

Bible Teacher Warren Wiersbe describes it as this “The peace of God is the “Umpire” in our believing hearts and our churches.

When we obey the will of God, we have His peace within; but when we step out of His will (even unintentionally), we lose His peace.”

[1]

 

Having the “Peace of Christ” means being in the will of God, and, in the context of this passage, it also means being at peace with your brothers and sisters in Christ.

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.

And be thankful.”[2]

Of course Paul meant more to this passage than simply having fellowship with God.

You see, believers are not only called into a vertical relationship, that is a relationship with God, they are also called into a horizontal relationship, a relationship that extends to every member of the Body of Christ.

I’m sorry to be the one to have to tell you this, but accepting Christ means a whole lot more than having fellowship with God.

Using the family model as an example, accepting Christ also means accepting that bullying big brother or that little sister who always takes your things.

Accepting Christ means accepting the responsibility of watching out for and warning the younger brother who keeps trying to climb on top of the table.

And when he falls,  you are there to say its ok and help him back on his feet again.

Accepting Christ means being there to encourage your big sister when she looses something that is most dear to her.  Accepting Christ means coming to the family gatherings, even in the midst of heartache, reconciling differences, and enjoying a grand feast together at the dinner table every week.

\\ Do you see the picture yet?

Accepting Christ means accepting your role in the family and being quick to reconcile differences as they happen – and they will happen.

Having the “peace of Christ” rule in our hearts means that we are all called to be peacemakers.

Matthew 5:9 quotes Jesus in His sermon on the mount: “Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they will be called Sons of God”.

Have you been a peacemaker?

Or have you been a peace breaker?

When there is peace in the heart and peace in the body, then there will be praise on the lips.

The end of verse 15 says “And be thankful”.

This is Paul’s call for us to worship.

And true worship can only occur if both vertical and horizontal peace is present.

2.

The second element of congregation worship is allowing “the Word of Christ to dwell in” us.

To dwell means to feel at home.

You dwell in your houses where you feel most at home.

When you are away on a long trip, it is always good to come home, is it not?

In the same way, we need to allow God’s Word to feel at home in our lives.

I was just telling a brother of mine this week that it is always good and soul-refreshing to read the Word of God.

But I am human, I am sinful and there are times when days will go by when I haven’t touched it.

Usually that first day of not reading the Bible *I really miss it*.

The second day I begin to forget about my need for it and then by the third day, I have forgotten about it all together.

By the time I realize it, a week has gone by since I have done any serious time in the Word and my walk has faltered a little.

I am out-of-touch with God and I am not making choices according to His Will.

If more than a week goes by, then I start to become desensitized to the sins in my life and the bad choices I make start to really affect my public ministry and the ministry I have as husband and father.

“When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God Almighty.”

[3] These are the words of Jeremiah and should be ours on a daily basis.

Are God’s Words your joy and delight?

On Sunday morning, as we sit and listen to someone literally, “expose the Scriptures” – or expository preaching, as you are listening now…  As we listen to the Word publicly being spoken – are you allowing it to push you deeper into God’s Word.

Are you making your life a habitable place for God’s Word to reside and to feel at home?

Only when we allow the Word to dwell in us can we practice the third element of congregational worship and that is:

 

3. to “teach and admonish” each other with the wisdom of the Word.

When we are in the will of God by having the Peace of Christ ruling us and when we have been indwelt by the Word of God, then we are instructed to move one step further: to teach and admonish each other.

Turning back to chapter 1 in Colossians, verse 28 we see that Paul very much expects the members of the church to practice this: “We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.”[4]

And also in Romans 15:14 – “14 I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.”

[5]

 

\\ Teaching is simply instruction.

It is the imparting of knowledge and understanding which God has graciously given through His Spirit.

The word “Admonish” is not as well known in today’s language.

Webster defines it as “to express warning or disapproval especially in a gentle, earnest, or solicitous manner or to give friendly earnest advice or encouragement.”[6]

It’s the idea of a father or mother lovingly giving advice to an adult child in hopes that the child will avoid the same mistake which the parent made.

2nd Timothy chapter two, verse 25 captures this picture well in that the one who admonishes “must* gently* instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth,” [7]

 

The second part of Colossians 3:16 gives us a vehicle in which we can “teach and admonish”.

That vehicle is through “psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.”

If you have ever received an email from me, you will see in my signature line this same verse reference.

It is there because it makes a statement about my philosophy of the ministry which I have been called to serve.

The sum statement of that philosophy is this: The purpose of our worship through music is not only vertical, that is lifting praises to God, but it is also horizontal, for the edification of believers.

This is the Up and Sideways of worship.

I believe that in many things God does not provide a vehicle, a tool, to simply fulfill one purpose.

He does not provide the vehicle of the family just simply to propagate the earth, but also to teach us about the Imago Dei, which is Latin for God’s Image, and specifically His relationship to the Son.

He does not provide the vehicle of the church only to spread the Good News, but also to teach His children about community living, which is a glimpse of heaven.