Order of Worship

THE FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

August 21, 2005 

Rev. Dr. Carol L. Kerr

Blue Point Congregational Church

Music to God’s Ears – A Service of Singing

MEDIATION:             Music is for the soul what wind is for the ship, blowing her onwards in the direction in which she is steered. 

                                                            -William Booth

PRELUDE:                  “Our God Our Help in Ages Past”

WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

INTRODUCTION:

This is s service about how we can use hymns in our life of prayer.   During this service I will talk about using hymns and scripture,  hymns that we learned as kids,  speaking hymns instead of singing them, hymns lifting our souls and chasing the devil away, and personalizing hymns. 

I am going to try not to talk much today so that we can sing much. 

Plus, studies have shown that when people are simply instructed in prayer and are not given the experience of the instruction, only about 15% use the instruction.  However, if people are given the experience of trying the prayer out, then it jumps to 80%.  So, we are going to get the experience of using hymns in prayer as much as we can today!

Why music? 

Music is for the soul what the wind is for the ship, blowing her onwards in the direction in which she is steered. (William Booth). 

OPENING OUR HEARTS TO GOD: A Medley of Hymns

Jesus calls us, o’er the tumult

Of our life’s wild, restless sea;

Day by day his sweet voice soundeth,

Saying, “Christian, follow me.” 

 

I love to tell the story, of unseen things above,

Of Jesus and his glory, of Jesus and his love.

I love to tell the story, because I know it’s true;

It satisfies my longings as nothing else would do.

I love to tell the story; “Twill be my theme in glory

To tell the old old story of Jesus and his love.

 

Lord, I want to be a Christian in my heart, in my heart;

Lord, I want to be a Christian in my heart.

In my heart, in my heart,

Lord I want to be a Christian in my heart.

MUSIC AND SCRIPTURE:

In an article “Music to God’s Ears”, Bob Hostetler writes (Discipleship Journal, Jan/Feb 2005)  As a young man in love with Jesus, I discovered that my prayer vocabulary was poor.  I was frequently frustrated by my inability to put words to the mediations of my heart.  When it dawned on me that hymns could be not only sung but also spoken, I began to use my hymnal as a private prayer diary.  Well, worn, this hymnal has since protected and buttressed my prayers like no other book except the Bible.  …Praying the hymnal takes no practice and little preparation:  Anyone can do it.  Yet it’s a singularly enriching activity.  It will help you express the deepest and highest longings of your heart in ways you otherwise may never have experienced….”

The first way of using hymns in prayer is to couple singing with reading scripture.  There are many hymns that are based directly on scripture.  You can sing the hymn after you have read the scripture, or you can sing the hymn in between lines of the scripture, or you can simply sing the hymn in place of scripture.   See what it does for you. 

For instance, “This is the Day the Lord Has Made”  comes from psalm 103 which we use here in our call to worship….

God of our fathers, whose almighty hand

Leads forth in beauty all the starry band

Of shining worlds in splendor through the skies,

Our grateful songs before thy throne arise.

 

Holy, holy, holy!  Lord God almighty!

Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee;

Holy, holy, holy merciful and mighty;

God in three persons, blessed Trinity!

 

Lead on, O King eternal, the day of march has come;

Hence-forth in fields of conquest they tents shall be our home.

Through days of preparation they grace has made us strong,

And now, O King eternal, We lift our battle song.

 

Our God, our help in ages past,

Our hope for years to come,

Our shelter from the stormy blast,

And our eternal home.

CALL TO WORSHIP:

Right:                          This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it.

Left:                            I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.

Right:                          The stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.

Left:                            This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.

All;                              This is the day that the Lord has made;  let us rejoice and be glad in it.

 

SINGING:                   “This Is the Day”  (see insert)

MEDITATION:  “Big Ideas in Little Songs”

BIG IDEAS IN LITTLE SONGS:

One time the famous theologian Carl Barth was asked to summarize his theology in one line.  This was a daunting question because his systematic theology took as many as ten volumes.  However, he paused and then said “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”  The line of a hymn that we teach to children said it all for the great scholar of the church. 

Children’s  songs are not just for children.  Many of us adults at times will sing a phrase of these old tunes.  Sometimes when I am feeling nervous about something, or insecure about something I am going to do, I will sing “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine…”  Everybody has probably sung “Kum Ba Ya” as a lullaby to some child.  You can also use it as a soft call to God before you begin your own prayers.  I never get tired of it. 

When you have had some good news and are driving down the road, where no one can hear you, and you are just plain happy…try singing “Allelu, allelu, alleluia… really loudly

MEDLEY OF CHILDREN’S SONGS:

Jesus loves me!  This I know, for the Bible tells me so.

Little ones to him belong; they are weak, but he is strong.

Yes, Jesus loves me!  Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!  The Bible tells me so.

 

Kum ba yah, my Lord, kum ba yah.  Kum ba yah, my Lord,

Kum ba ya.  Kum ba yah, my Lord, kum ba yah.  Oh, Lord, kum ba yah!

Someone’s singing, Lord, kum ba yah….

 

He’s got the whole world in His hands…

He’s got everybody singing in His hands…

 

Alle-lu, alle-lu, alleluia!  Praise ye the Lord. (3 times)

Praise ye the Lord.  Alleluia!  (3 times)

READING THE WORDS TO THE HYMNS INSTEAD OF SINGING THEM:

Hymns sometimes have wonderful lyrics that for me get lost, when I am singing them.  I don’t know about you, but I often pay more attention to the melody than the words.  Sometimes when I am isolated up here singing the hymns, I forget which verse we are one, and have to listen to the congregation for my cue…

Saying the words of a hymn for your prayer highlights the power of its words.  Then when you do sing them again, your experience deepens.

I found the words to “Lord, Thy Mercy Now Entreating” powerful.  So we will use it as our prayer of confession.  Then after the Assurance of Forgiveness (which I will sing!), we wills stand and speak the words to Amazing Grace. 

HYMN OF CONFESSION:   Reading  “Lord, Thy Mercy Now Entreating”  #332

ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS

* “Amazing Grace”  (spoken)

Amazing grace!  How sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost but now am found,

Was blind but now I see.

 

The Lord has promised good to me,

His word my hope secures;

He will my shield and portion be

As long as life endures.

THE OFFERING

THE OFFERTORY

*SONG OF BLESSING:  “Bless Thou the Gifts”  #538

SCRIPTURE:               Psalm 23

*HYMN:                     “The King of Love My Shepherd Is”  #79

SCRIPTURE:               Psalm 66

                                       Psalm 150

MEDITATION:   “Singing the Devil Away”

SINGING THE DEVIL AWAY:

Martin Luther, who started Protestantism, felt the music was connected with God.  Music was like a guide for the soul.  It calmed  and inspired as music showed the soul the path toward God.  He felt that that was why the scriptures, particularly the psalms, were so much about music.  What do we do for all eternity when we are in heaven?  We sing, according to Luther.   We sing God’s praises over and over.  Music is the perfect way to lift our hearts to God, and the most wonderful present God has given us. 

Martin Luther thought the best way to chase the devil away, to get rid of a sad and anxious soul is music.  Does that happen to you?  When you are feeling blue, singing a song, especially a hymn of some sort, lifts you up, heartens you, and gives you courage to go on with your life in the best way possible. 

Of course know one better knew the power of singing to drive the devil away than the slaves in the south who sang spirituals as a way of expressing and lifting them up from the suffering in their life.  Let’s sing a spiritual, “Do Lord…”

*HYMN:                     “Do Lord”  (see insert)

SHARING OUR JOYS AND CONCERNS

PERSONALIZING HYMNS: 

Praying a hymn can help you dig deeper in the sentiment of the hymn.  For instance you might pause after praying the first two lines of “Breathe on me Breath of God”  Breath on me, breath of God, fill me with life anew, That I may love what thou dost love and do what thou wouldst do.”  You then might then pray, “Lord, You know that’s exactly what my life has been like this past week.  I feel so hurried and harried, even as I come to You in prayer.  Please… Breath on me breath of God until my heart is pure, until with thee I will one will to do and to endure.

I thought we could do that with “Be Thou My Vision” and our prayer of our people….  So we are going to sing a verse, and then I will pray, then we will sing another verse and so on…

PETITION AND INTERCESSION:               “Be Thou My Vision”  #391

VERSE 1:        GOD BE IN OUR MINDS’ EYE ALL THE TIME.  BE THE CORE OF WHO WE ARE.   MAY WE NEVER MAKE ANYTHING MORE IMPORTANT IN OUR LIVES THAN YOU.   THIS IS BECAUSE AS WE GO THROUGH OUR DAYS AND OUR NIGHTS YOU MAKE US OUR BEST SELVES

VERSE 2:  GOD THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE WE KNOW THAT NEED OUR PRAYERS, THAT NEED YOUR HELP.  THERE ARE SO MANY PROBLEMS IN LIFE THAT WE FACE.  WE CAN’T UNDERSTAND WHY BAD THINGS HAPPEN, OR WHAT TO DO, OR HOW TO HELP.  WE NEED TO RELY ON YOUR WISDOM.  AND EVEN WHEN WE ARE BOMBARDED MY SO MANY WORDS, ON TELEVISION, RADIO, MAGAZINES, TELEMARKETERS, POLITICIANS, YOUR WORD IS THE ONE TRUE WORD.  WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY IS WHAT WE REALLY NEED TO HEAR.  MAY YOUR TRUTH LIVE IN US AND MAY WE LIVE IN YOUR TRUTH.

VERSE 3:  LIFE IS NOT ABOUT THE MONEY.  WE HAVE GOT TO REMEMBER THAT.  EVEN IF WE ARE POOR BUT HAVE YOU WE ARE RICH. 

VERSE 4:  WE KEEP MOVING TOWARDS THE LIGHT GOD.  WE SEE IT BEFORE US LIKE A WONDERFUL AWAKENING SUN OF LOVE.  YOUR LIGHT IS OUR NORTH STAR  THAT WE NAVIGATE BY THROUGH LIFE.  WHEN WE FINALLY ARRIVE  ITS GOLDEN GLOW WILL IMMERSE US IN ITS WARMTH, THEN WE WILL KNOW LOVE AS IF FOR THE FIRST TIME, A LOVE THAT WILL NOT LET US GO.  WHATEVER HAPPENS TO US, HELP US KEEP OUR EYE ON YOU AND BE OUR VISION THAT KEEPS US GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECITON

STORY:

In the isolated Florida Everglades, an Anglo family once asked a neighbor Seminole Indian doctor to treat a sick loved one.  The Seminole doctor prescribed some herbs from the swamp, and told them to sing a song each time they gave the medicine. 

Several days later the family members came back.  “We gave the sick person the medicine but she didn’t get better,” they told the doctor, “Do you have anything else that could help her?” 

“That’s strange,” said the doctor.  “She should have gotten better.”  After thinking a minute, the doctor asked, “Each time you gave her the herbs, did you sing a song?”

“Song!” exclaimed the woman’s family members.  “No, we didn't sing her a song!  What’s that got to do with it?” 

The Seminole doctor replied, “The potential to heal is in the herbs, but the power to heal is in the song.”

SUNG BENEDICTION: 

BENEDICTION:   

 In prayer sometimes we are lost for words and can speak to God only in sighs.  At these times music is the only thing that can begin to utter what we are feeling.  Sometimes just humming the tune, does the trick. 

Often in the cold of late November, the day is darkening so early and the gray branches of the trees are backed by the gray thickening clouds with the first snowflakes of winter falling, I will hum “O Come, O Come Emmanuel..”

ORGAN POSTLUDE: “Come Thou Font of Every Blessing”