Bible Readings and Devotion for June 3 and 4, 2020
Here are the references for the readings. Please look these up in your print Bible, your smartphone app Bible, or your online Bible:
Psalms 81, and 83, 84, 85
Devotion for June 3 and 4, 2020
By Pastor David Tinker
Music and singing are central to our life with God. A saying attributed to Martin Luther goes as follows, ““He who sings, prays twice.” This is because musical expression uses more of our full selves to do it. It is physical exertion to play the instrument or to express words in a song.
Singing helps us feel better. Singing increases our joy. Singing reinforces our understanding and memory of the words we are singing. Singing is clearly Biblical, and it helps us be more connected with God’s will for our lives. One of the places in the New Testament which supports Christian singing is in Paul’s letter to the Colossian Christians where he writes, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.” (Colossians 3:16)
In Psalm 81:1-3 we read, “Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob. 2 Raise a song, sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp. 3 Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our festal day.” This teaches us at least two things. One, is encourages singing and music. Second, it reminds us of the central place of praise and worship with both voice and instruments.
It is interesting to note that the New Testament has only limited mention of musical instruments. None of these that I have observed forbid the use of instruments.
I know that many churches, our two churches included, will not be singing as a congregation at first as we return to worship in person. We will have music. As the weeks move on and we pay attention to the situation with the pandemic, we will seek to make a faithful decision regarding the resumption of congregational singing. The reason it is discouraged is that singing uses more forceful breathing and thus increases the possibility of the spread of infection. Please be patient as we seek to do the best for one another through this time of transition.
In the end, please do sing your praise to the Lord whenever and wherever you can. When we resume full singing in our worship services, sing with more joy than ever.
The song in the video is one of my favorite song of glory and praise to our God. It is called, “Sing Your Praise to the Lord.” It was written by the late Rich Mullins and was sung by Amy Grant. It was released in 1982. It was the number 1 Contemporary Christian Music song of the year. The album it was on, “Age to Age,” was the number one album on the Contemporary Christian Music Charts for 85 weeks, including every week of 1983. This album was a big part of my high school faith experience. Thanks for listening.
Click this link to listen to the song on YouTube.
Prayer
O God of majesty, whom saints and angels delight to worship: Pour out your Spirit on your servants who, with the gifts of music, enliven our praises and proclaim your word with power. Through this ministry give us new awareness of your beauty and grace, and join our voices with all the choirs of heaven, both now and forever; through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen
Prayer from Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Copyright © 2020 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved.
Martin Luther Lutheran Church 