But be ye doers of the word,
and not hearers only
James 1:22 (KJV)
*The following article may not be suitable for everyone and is geared towards people that currently listen to secular or contemporary Christian music. The evil I encountered while writing this makes me shiver and it was tough to know where to draw the line on what to include and what to exclude. So use this article as a resource to take a look into the evils of secular music; then run the other way and please don’t ever listen to any again!
The theme of a high priest is found in various places in the Scriptures. In both the Testaments, we can see references to a high priest, and yet in the book of Hebrews, we read of the Ultimate High Priest; Jesus Christ. After He came on the scene and finished His work of being the sacrifice for sin, once for all, He became the Author of eternal salvation. He ever liveth to make intercession for us, and His term of being a High Priest does not expire as did those of old who could not continue by reason of death.
Habakkuk had several complaints to the Lord. In Habakkuk 1:2 he asked the question, “how long shall I cry and you will not hear, even if I cry violence you won’t save me?" He went on to tell God how awful the conditions were. God answered that He would do a work that Habakkuk would not believe even if it was told him. (Hab 1:5)
Habakkuk asked another question, “Why do you look on the wicked and hold your tongue?” In chapter 2:1 Habakkuk said he would stand on the tower to see what God would say to him.
First Kings 21 records the story of two men whose choices and characters stand in stark contrast to each other. The one man said, in essence, “What I have is not for sale.” The other is described as having “sold himself to work wickedness.” It is the story of Naboth and his vineyard, the sulking King and his plotting wife, and the faithful prophet Elijah. It happened a very long time ago. The whole event sounds remarkably contemporary.
Today, the believer is living in a world that is connected as never before. The World Wide Web, social media in the hands of the masses, and agenda driven news cycles have honed information flow to a fever pitch.
We take our Sunday school classes for granted, but before the Sunday school movement began in the mid to late 1800’s, it was unknown in the Mennonite Church. The movement was influenced by the wider “Great Awakening” experienced in the Protestant churches. The Sunday school injected new life into the general spiritual laxness that was prevalent in a lot of Mennonite churches.
“Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee” (Psa 67:3,5).
As a conservative people, we have been blessed with a rich heritage of a capella congregational singing. This has been a tremendous blessing in uniting our hearts in worship. Whether we are young or old, talented or untalented, church leaders or lay members, we can all blend together in this wonderful aspect of worship. However, to have this practice continue, we need to continually strengthen this aspect of our worship.
“That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ” (Col 2:2).
Our worship services traditionally start with a time of singing, followed by a devotional. This short time before Sunday school serves as an appetizer and whets our appetite to the things of God again. It is therefore important that the devotional leader spend time to prepare thoughts that will inspire us and cause us to hunger and thirst after righteousness.
