Psalms 149 - Sing a New Song!

July 9, 2018 Monday Message:

“Sing to the Lord a new song of praise when his loyal people meet!” Psalms 149:1b CEV

How should we offer worship to the Lord? Psalm 149 gives us several options.

It’s OK to offer a ‘new’ song to the Lord once in a while. While there’s nothing wrong with the old songs, God gave the gift of creativity to those talented and trained in music, and he delights when that gift is put into motion.

Many traditional hymns were written for classical organ. Nowadays a lot of churches have a contemporary worship band and singers. Either is OK, and neither is better than the other; they’re just different ways of praising the Lord. By the way, the pipe organ hadn’t yet been invented when Jesus walked the earth.

We’re told to “Celebrate and worship.” v5b I’ve always believed that worship should be a celebration, should be fun, should be something we look forward to. Bring your harp and your tambourine – let’s dance for the Lord! v3

See you at church!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship meets next Sunday, July 15, 2018, 3249 30^th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406, 10:30 AM. Pastor Van Dickerson continues our study in Hebrews.

Psalms 63 - Lift Up Your Hands!

-->

September 26, 2016 Monday Message:

“I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.” Psalms 63:4 NIV

Psalm 63 finds David in the desert, hiding from his evil son Absalom, who was trying to kill David so that he could be the next king. Turns out it was not his time, but for a while, David needed to leave Jerusalem to regroup, so now he raises his hands to the Lord in the desert.

Have you ever been attending a worship service, and the person next to you suddenly raises their hands like David? Did that confuse you, or did that make you feel right at home? David chose to reach out to God, offering all of himself in worship. It’s an outward sign of how he feels inside.

Each of us had different parents, went to different schools and attended different churches, so it’s not surprising that we would prefer one style of worship over another. If we’re all gathering to lift up the Lord, there are different ways to do that – different, but not necessarily incorrect. As long as we’re loving the Lord, it’s all good!

“Lord, your kind love is better than life, so my mouth will sing your praises.” Psalms 64:3

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) meets at the Akina Church, 3249 30^th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406, 10:30am. This Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016, Pastor Michael Pilla leads us into 1 Corinthians Ch 3.