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with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Let us analyze several hymns: “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” This hymn portrays the - faithfulness of God the Father, to which the Seasons and all nature join in “manifold wit ness.” “Fairest Lord Jesus.” The writer by comparison with created things describes the beauty of Jesus Christ. “For the Beauty of the, Earth.” Praise is rendered to God for Various bless ings. “Majestic Sweetness Sits En throned.” The grandeur of the Trinity is set forth. “Make Me a Captive, Lord.” Prayer for personal victory, is offered. II. CHOOSING OF HYMNS. Hymns should be chosen to fit the situation. You would not use “Day is Dying in the West,” or “Now the Day is Over,” at a Sunday morning Sunday school or church ,service. Choose your hymn with a view to the atmosphere you wish to create. Hymns about the Cross are appropriate for communion service. Choruses are always acceptable at a singspi&tion or Youth meeting, but do not exclude hymns and Gospel songs. Young people should acquaint themselves with the older songs as well as the new. Remember the sol diers adrift in a lifeboat at sea, whose nearest knowledge to a hymn was “Praise the Lord and pass the am munition.” The Church has many challenging missionary songs such as “We’ve & Story to Tell to the Nations,” “Send the Light,” “From Greenland’s Icy Mountains.” III. HYMNS IN EVANGELISM. Souls can be saved through the mes sage of song. This should be kept in mind when (‘invitation songs” are chosen. An Interesting story is told about the song “Come Believing." The words are by D. W. Whittle, music by James McGranahan. A lawyer from the West had become a “down-and-outer” in New York. He was fifty-four years old—a homeless, penniless wretch. One night as he stumbled by a mission, through the open windows came the words of a song: “Once again the Gospel message From the Saviour you have heard; Will you heed the invitation? Will you turn and seek the Lord?” It came to him like the voice of God. He was converted, and attended the meetings regularly. He secured good employment, wrote to his family, and becoming reconciled to his wife and children, he returned West to the old home, where he lived as an earnest Christian. Conclusion In 1 Corinthians 14:15 we read, “I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.” We cannot sing with spirit or under standing If we ignore the vital mes sage of the hymns.
to stoop to that level, it is not fun for him. “What can I do, then?” the young person will ask. “I realize that real fun comes from Christian activity, but we cannot spend all of our time in prayer meetings, and studying the Bible.” The answer to this question is found in Colossians 3:17: “And what soever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” This great gem of guidance sets forth the rules as to what we can do and what we cannot do as Chris tians. Hundreds of young people have found their final answer to this deli cate question right here. If an activity will pass this test, it is “O. K.” The beauty of it is that God wants us to decide. R e g a r d i n g that troubling thing, just ask: “Can I do it in the name of the Lord? Can I give thanks to God for it?” Conclusion We have seen that real fun finds its source in Christ, its outlet in that which brings glory to the name of Christ, and its safeguards in the Scriptures. Stop frowning! Put on that smile! The Christian is the happiest person on earth! JULY 29,1945 HYMNS OF THE KINGDOM P salm 96:1-13; C olossians 3:16 By Neva Behm Music has its place in many phases, of our life. On the radio we hear musical jingles to advertise merchan dise; we pledge our school loyalty with “Boola Boola” and “Alma Mater” ; we voice in song our unfavorable opinion of Tojo and Hitler. But the Christian fares best in the field of music. The church of today has a lasting testimony in its heritage of hymns. The minister preaches, the organist plays, the soloist ¡rings, but all Chris tians sing hymns. Since we all parti cipate in this phase of worship, let us ask ourselves, “Are we getting as much out of it as we should?” Once a musician stated that prior to his conversion, he enjoyed analyzing the harmony of hymns as he heard them sung in church. It was not until he was saved that the words meant any thing to him. For Those Who Hove Topics I. WHAT MAKES A HYMN GREAT? Jazz in the church will draw a crowd just as it does in the theatre. Hymns, on the other hand, are in structive and should be utilized to teach praise, love, duty, worship, thanksgiving, joy, prayer, and com munion. In Colossians 3:16 we read: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and ad monishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing
‘‘Let’s have fun” with the Word! Let us investigate the greatness of our salvation by studying the Bible daily and enjoying communion with the Lord. Paul advises: “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say, Re joice” (Phil. 4:4). III. SHALL WE KEEP THIS JOY FOR OURSELVES? This study of the truths of our sal vation and the person of Christ gives Us an inward thrill. But we must have an outlet for the joy it produces. It becomes real fun when it brings glory to the name of Christ. The Apostle Paul expressed it clearly in Philip- pians 2:16-18: “Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ. . . and if I b.e offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all. For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me.” IV. WHAT IS THE REAL PURPOSE OF JOY? One time I asked a preacher friend as he was sawing studs for a home mission church building, “What do you do for recreation? You don’t fish, play golf, hunt; where do you get relaxation from the heavy duties of the pastorate?” “I get my fun out of this sort of thing,” he replied, pointing to the saw and hammer, “I know it will ac complish something for the Lord.” With a desire not to speak unkindly of clean sports, I believe that my preacher friend “hit the nail on the head.” Real, lasting fun comes from ac complishing something for the glory of the Lord. Paul rejoiced in “holding forth the word of life” and in “the sacrifice and service of your faith.” My personal testimony is that al though in school I enjoyed sports and clean, social good times, my real fun has been in those things which have accomplished something for the glory of the Lord such as gospel team work, Christian Endeavor activities, Sunday school work, and tract distribution. The real thrill comes from being in the place where God wants us at the time God wants us there. V. ARE THERE RESTRICTIONS ON JOY? The Word of God puts certain safe guards on the fun that the Christian may have. These safeguards are re vealed in the two main texts of the lesson, Ecclesiastes 11:9 and Colos- sians 3:17. The first of these passages is a definite warning. It states that if the young man’s rejoicing is merely in his youth, in the cheer that his own heart can give, and if he walks by sight alone, the judgment of God will come upon him. Worldly pleasures cause one to delight in youth, attempt to satisfy a person with his own life, and try to bring fun out of visible things. The genuine Christian’s fun transcends all of this. If he endeavors
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