In this sermon, Cedrick Baker calls us to worship through song. In doing so, we open our minds to remember the goodness of God and his work in our lives, and we increase our faith as we walk with Jesus. Singing aligns us with the work of God and leads to dependence upon the only one who can deliver us.
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Don’t Skip the Chorus
• Cedrick Baker
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In Revelation 15, John is writing to the church in the middle of persecution. Yet even as martyrs, God’s people are triumphant. They are a part of the New Exodus, and they celebrate God’s deliverance with songs. Today’s sermon by Cedrick Baker reminds us of the crucial role of corporate singing in the church.
This reflects God’s command to Moses in Deuteronomy 32 to recite the words of a song. It reminded the Israelites of God’s faithfulness to bring them out of Egypt. We also see this pattern throughout the Psalms. For instance, in Psalm 77:11 we read:
I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
We must guard against forgetting what the Lord has done. If we ignore or cease to care about our deliverer, sustainer and provider, we will think that we have gotten to where we are on our own. It leads to self-reliance instead of reliance on God. He is the one who ultimately does the work, but Satan tries to convince us that God is not faithful and that we cannot depend upon him. Singing helps us remember.
Corporate music was common in the New Testament church. The early church used hymns to express praise to God, confess their faith, form communal identity, instruct and demonstrate proper behavior. In addition, recent research has found that group singing can help improve the psychological well-being of members of the group. Benefits include mood enhancement, anxiety reduction, reclamation of identify and increased happiness. Some researchers say it can serve as a community-based mental health intervention. And singing helps forge social bonds. There are inherent benefits to the spiritual discipline of corporate singing.
Cedrick challenges us to respond in three ways to this call to express our worship in song. First, remember God’s blessings in your life. We must refuse to allow busyness to rob us of remembering how good God has been. In the modern world, we must work at this because the common patterns of life sweep us up into a constant rush. Second, be intentional about singing to God. This is not about ability. It is about the call to announce with our voices how God is good. Third, engage with community. It is good to sing while alone, but corporate singing opens our minds to remember who God is.
Hide Extended SummarySermon Series: The Unveiling, The Last Exodus
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Focus Scripture:
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Revelation 15:2-4
And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb: “Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the nations. Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy.
All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.
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