All the hype

 

All the hype September 13, 2024 Psalm 19:1-14

Recently, a church included in their worship a Christianized version of a popular song. That's not unusual. I've heard churches do that plenty of times, whether it was a good idea or not. This song, though, made waves because it was unusually loud and rock concert-y. Some of you may already be thinking all new church music sounds that way, doesn't it? Well, not like this. Now, I'm not against new or loud music, mostly. I want creatives to have space to express their creativity. What got me about this piece was the rationale behind it. Come to think of it, this church voiced what other churches haven't explicitly said. They played this song right before the sermon. The reason for its placement was to "hype" people up for the pastor's message. Ouch. To be fair, I've heard my share of stale sermons. You know what a sermon is, but do you know the definition? One definition is "a long or tedious piece of admonition or reproof." Yea, I've heard those in church, too. When I give my testimony, I mention being a bored teenager in church. My listening to the preacher meant counting ceiling tiles. When I started preaching, I promised myself to do everything I could to not make other people want to count. I still try. And I often reflect on an exclamation I came across once: How dare you bore them with the gospel! Again, I try. Still, my job isn't to hype up the sermon. It's not your job either. Instead, let's nurture a love for God's word. When we have that, the sermon can happen before or after any song. It can happen on a podcast or video playback. It can happen in a coffee shop or through a text message. The psalmist said, "The law of the Lord is perfect," and "they (God's decrees) are more precious than gold" (Psalm 19:7, 10). It's the text itself that is the hype. And you can tell if a preacher has a love for the text. Just like you can tell if a listener has a love for the text. Stay blessed...john