August 11, 2013: Singing with Grace in Your Hearts

New Testament Reading: Colossians 3:12–4:1

12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 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. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. 18 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them. 20 Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 22 Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. 23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. 25 But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality. 4:1 Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

This week, we will be focusing on Colossians 3:16. Part of letting the word of Christ dwell in us richly is singing with grace in our hearts. Throughout our time in Colossians recently, I have come back to this verse and asked, “What does it mean to teach and admonish one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs?” It has caused me to consider the impact corporate singing has on each of us. It seems that Paul is implying that our corporate singing has corporate benefits. Through singing together, we both taught and encouraged.

We will indulge in a little thematically obvious planning this Sunday as each of our songs and hymns incorporate the word “sing” in their titles. We will begin with the hymn, O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing  From the beginning we will be singing about the melodic proclamation of the Gospel. We will continue our exploration in signing the psalms in obedience to Paul’s admonition in Colossians 3 with Psalm 50  Prior to the sermon, we will sing the hymn, Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder, a corporate admonition to one another. Next, Fernando Ortega’s Sing to Jesus will move us into a more contemplative mood as we consider the concept of singing songs in the night of our burdens, shame, and guilt. We will close the service with the translation of a Chinese hymn called Sing His Love  re-imagined by Andrew Osenga and recorded by Caedmon’s Call.

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