“ Great Sermon! ” Directory For the Public Worship Of God
It is the duty of Christians to praise God publickly, by singing of psalms together in the congregation, and also privately in the family....
WCF ch. 21 Religious Worship
The reading of the Scriptures with godly fear; the sound preaching and conscionable hearing of the Word, in obedience unto God, with understanding, faith and reverence; singing of psalms with grace in the heart;....
“ Interesting ” Follow the money.
Hymns are wonderfull, they can be filled with good doctrine, that both glorifys God and teaches us to be more Christ like. It can also be very comforting in times of trial. You can buy them, but its made for edification foremost.
CCM is sold for profit, to entertain, to stir up passion, that quickly dies away or leads astray. It changes often and theres no solid position or clear doctrine in much of it. There is always a new CD out. Are we singing from the same hymn sheet? No Not anymore. We're not on the same page, infact we have done away with pages aswell.
“ What about Psalms? ” In terms of hymns, we need to define them not as tradition has taught us, but what the word meant at the time the Scriptures were written. This is proper Biblical exegesis.
With this, I think the more fitting question is to ask why Johnny doesn't sing the Psalms. Something that is explicitly commanded in the NT Scriptures and that which the NT apostolic church did.
Yet how many sing the Psalms? Why is this so? Why do most cringe at the thought of singing the Psalms, God's word, but will gladly sing a man-made composition by an ecumenical CCM artist, or a 17th century musician?
Finally, if a command in the NT is really a command and not a multiple-choice test for the elders to do what they want, than it IS unlawful to bring in human compositions. A study of the Regulative Principle will reveal this is not novel but what Protestants have held to for centuries (until recently).
“ Signs of the Times ” This was one of Kevin's most substantive shows in a long time. So much great information coming so fast, Kevin was uncharacteristically quiet. I think he was as intriqued by Gordon's information as I was. Gordon is a Christian media ecologist and is exposing the agenda of our consumerist, media-driven and media-shaped society in the tradition of Marshall McLuhan ans Neil Postman. What he exposes here is how Christians are as duped by the world's infantilizing agenda as are non-Christians, buying the latest CCM CD and wanting their churches to entertain them with the latest ear-tickling sounds. Even bigger than the music issue and sad loss of hymns is Gordon's discussion of adults who refuse to put childish things away and grow up.
“ Great Sermon! ” Johnny (nor Janey) cannot sing because...they don't want to. Maybe we need a vocal version of the popular computer game, "Guitar Hero" to encourage singing. I know they've got "American Idol" but it doesn't seem to encourage much singing.
Kevin seems to pine for a day when grandparents, parents, children, and grandchildren worship at the same service. First we should ask if that is true in our own case, or was it ever true? It might be true in Roman Catholic churches in some rural Latin American hamlet, or it may be true in the Amish or Mennonite groups in the US, but not in many groups that I see represented here at S.A.
“ Great Sermon! ” This is excellent because it not only addresses the problem but gives practical biblical solutions to implement that provide hope and build faith.
“ Tempest in a Teapot ” Yes, I had to read Arthur Miller's play THE CRUCIBLE in high school and it was an overtly anti-Christian work that perpetuated many of the myths of the Salem Witch Trials. The nadir was reading the play INHERIT THE WIND (and then watching the movie), a work that viciously mocks fundamentalist Christians and dismisses as hopelessly ignorant a literal reading of Genesis. Those are two examples that spring to mind, BUT what I remember most from high school English is being introduced to Shakespeare and Dickens and many other wonderful works of literature. As Christians it's tempting to become paranoid and suspect a cabal of publishers and teachers are crafting anti-Christian textbooks and syllabi. Such is not the case, and I speak as a certified secondary English schoolteacher. The books don't set out to undermine faith, even if not promoting it. Chaucer, Milton, Blake, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and a host of other Christian authors still enjoy a place in the canon for upper-level courses. For the majority of students in the dumbed-down "Language Arts" classes, studying thoughtful works of substance has been replaced with reading popular young adult fiction and drawing pictures afterwards. Trivialization is more the threat and reality than the anti-Christian agenda Kevin suggests here.
“ Pseudo-wholesome ” Now her "god-mother" Dolley Parton has come to her defense.
I would guess to excuse her rebellious attitude.
Parents who love their children will keep them from people like this.
All this is promoting is the spirit of rebellion and it has to stop.
“ No substitute in Twilight ” Nothing "good" about Twilight, Rose.
Isaiah 5:20 (King James Version)
20Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Thats the whole point. It is Jesus blood that saves us from hell and protects us from sin. Stephanie Meyers replaces Jesus with Edward.
“ interesting view of RL ” Of all the things I've heard Rush Limbaugh criticized for, his 4 marriages have not been included, probably since many criticizing have been divorced themselves once or twice or more. If you tape Rush you can fast foward later on through his many commercial breaks; you will also learn why he earned $415 million last year--the show is mostly commercials!! But he seems to spend most of his time criticizing the mass media-mostly TV networks and a few newspapers. I listen to him to get another perspective on the news, though Kevin and other radio (and Internet) talk shows offer the same alternatives. Unfortunately, studies I've seen on the Internet say most people do not read their own local newspapers (which do carry the same stories from the major newspapers that Rush comments on) and few people watch network TV news. Those who do both think of themselves as being 'very well informed' on the issues of the day, but anyone who listens to Rush or Kevin or Mark Levin soon learns they are not getting the whole picture. Nevertheless, the people you work with, the people in your church, the people in your neighborhood, and the people who vote with you---are only watching TV network news and reading the newspaper, so you (we) are in a small minority. In the end, our votes count the same!
“ Thank u Sermon! ” Kevin for more info on the farm murders and Genocide contact Adriana Stuijt or look at Censorbugbear-report.com Adriana Stuijt is the leading Lady in this matter ..Its much worse the what ppl hear ...Thank u
friend from South Africa
“ Great Interview! ” Praise the LORD! This is a very encouraging interview and one Protestants need to hear. Thank you to Pastor Swanson and Dr. Sproul for sharing their knowledge of God's Word and Church history with us.
“ Many thanks! ” Thanks for the reminder that our gracious heavenly Father has given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness in the Scriptures and in the Lord Jesus Christ! In Him alone is there life and light!
8/8/10 9:00 AM
