Introduction: In the past 50 years, American society has moved from being largely unified to being fractured into many splinter groups.

Once we were relatively unified religiously around what we call the Judeo-Christian religion. When I was a boy there were cards on the restaurant tables that had three table prayers, one Protestant, one Jewish and one Catholic. Now cults and other religions have proliferated and restaurant owners wouldn't dare put out such cards.

Once America was united in language. Now we have become a bi-lingual nation, English and Spanish.

Once we were united in our morality. Everyone knew pre-marital sex was wrong. High school kids didn't have sex. High school kids didn't do drugs. Homosexuality was in the closet and not an issue. Divorce was very rare. America's morals have changed.

Once Americans were united in our musical tastes. There was pretty much one style of music that all Americans listened to. It was tuneful, cheerful, romantic and upbeat.

That is no longer the case. In the past 50 years we have invented rock and roll, disco, hiphop, rap, gangstarap, technopop, heavy metal, ethnic, and a dozen other styles. We have also invented niche radio stations, and cd producers that cater to each of these esoteric musical tastes, to the extent that Americans have divided into groups of people who prefer to listen only to one particular kind of music.

The same fracturing process has been going on in the churches, and has contributed to the exodus of younger generations from the churches.

This is not a question of new music versus old music. It is a question of musical style, and musical taste. Young people who have given their allegiance to rap or heavy metal music have thereby alienated themselves from 99% of church music.

According to the Barna Research Group, 75 million Americans NEVER attend church. That means that they, and their children, have no exposure to church music or the Gospel. Entering a church, for them, is like entering a foreign country.

Theologians, church growth experts, and para-church organizations all speak to the church from different viewpoints, with different axes to grind, and with different advice. Some if this advice is good, and some is mis-guided.

What does the Bible say about music in the church?

I. Church music should be as excellent as we can make it.

Psalm 59 was dedicated to the "music director." In the temple worship of the Old Testament, they employed full-time singers and instrumentalists.

I Chronicles 9:33

"Those who were musicians, heads of Levite families, stayed in the rooms of the temple and were exempt from other duties because they were responsible for the work day and night."

I Chronicles 15:16, 22

"David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their brothers as singers to sing joyful songs, accompanied by musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals...Kenaniah the head Levite was in charge of the singing; that was his responsibility because he was skillful at it."

Psalm 59 is called a "Miktam," which means an "inscribed poem." In other words, it wasn't something tossed off casually in a creative moment. It was carefully composed, and written down to be performed and preserved. It was designed to be excellent.

We should try to do our music with excellence. We should choose our music with care. We should practice to do our best. In congregational singing, we should put our hearts and minds into it. We need to be willing to be servants of God and His people in the area of music in worship.

II. Church music should have a teaching function.

In Psalm 59, the author took the time to write down the circumstances of the composition of the song. He wanted people to know what happened, and to reflect on it, and learn a spiritual lesson.

This Psalm is called a Miktam. Some other Psalms are called "Maskils." There are thirteen Psalms that bear that word in a preface. The word "Maskil" means "for instruction."

Paul wrote to the Colossians telling them that their church music should have a teaching function.

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."
Colossians 3:16

We are to allow the "Word of Christ" to dwell in us richly as we sing. The "Word of Christ" means the Bible. There needs to be doctrinal content in our singing. We sing not only to express our feelings, but also to be taught of the Lord.

III. Church music should be about worship.

In the Christian Church, God's people sing three kinds of songs: Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (Colossians 3:16 and Ephesians 5:19).

A Psalm is just what it sounds like. One of the Psalms of the Bible. God gave the Book of Psalms to His people over a period of 1000 years, and it has been a worship tool of the Church since 1500 BC.

We have about 40 Psalms in our hymnbook, and sometimes we sing them:
#20 is "All People That On Earth Do Dwell," from Psalm 100.
#26 is "A Mighty Fortress," from Psalm 46. #50 is "The Lord's My Shepherd," from Psalm 23.

A hymn is a song of praise, thanksgiving and adoration to God; not an inspired psalm, but man-made poetry.

Examples of hymns:
#59 "I Sing the Mighty Power of God"
#6 "Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above"

Many songs in our hymn book are neither psalms nor hymns. They are "spiritual songs." For example:

#430 "I Must Tell Jesus"

In this song the author is telling us that he really ought to pray to Jesus, because he needs help with his problems. When we sing this song, we are confessing that we need to pray. This is true. This is a point that we should remind ourselves about. It's a neat song. But it is not a Psalm, and it is not a hymn. It is not addressed to God, and it does not consist of praises to God. This is a "spiritual song."

#498 "I've Got Peace Like A River"
This song also is not about God. It is about the feelings of the person who is singing the song. God is not praised. There is no prayer here. Nothing is said about Jesus or salvation. No Bible verses are quoted. It is just a Christian singing about himself and his feelings of peace love and joy. It is a fun song to sing, but it is not a psalm or a hymn.

When we choose songs to sing in church, we need to choose them carefully. Worship is not about US. It is about GOD. We shouldn't choose songs that make US feel good. We should choose songs that make GOD feel good. We shouldn't sing songs that glorify ourselves. We should sing songs that are praise and adoration; psalms and hymns that are addressed to God. There is a place for the other songs, too. But it is important for worship that MOST of our songs are truly addressed to God.

Conclusion: Our meeting is called a worship SERVICE. We call it a service because we are here to serve God with our praise. I would like to point out that to "serve" means to work. It is not easy to be a servant.

Many people have the wrong idea about worship. They think that they have come to church to be served by God and the church. They think: "Here I am. I'm ready. Make me feel good. Make me feel religious. Make me this or that. I'm waiting." They are coming to church like a baby bird with it's mouth open waiting for momma bird to drop in a bug.

We should see the worship service in exactly the opposite way. We must be alert and ready to work hard to serve God in every aspect of the worship service.

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." Matthew 22:37

We must address ourselves to worshipping God from the beginning of the worship service all the way through to the organ postlude. We may have frog-like voices, but we can do our best for God. We must give thought and will to all the prayers, all the hymns, all the special music, all the Bible reading, and all the preaching. The worship service, including the psalms, the hymns, the choir anthems and the special music, is a time for us to WORK to serve God to the best of our ability. Amen.