Some of the most beautiful "sermons" I have
ever heard have been in song form.The Bible
commands us to praise God in psalms, hymns
and sriritual song.There are several scriptures
that speak of singing as
'PRAISE'...'WORSHIP'...
'EDIFICATION' and 'TEACHING'.

• Ephesians 5:19
• Colossians 3:16
• I Corinthians 14:15
• James 5:13
  
  I know we aren't suppossed to understand all God's reasons for the commandments he has given, that's where Faith comes into play. However, it would seem that a commandment with this emphasis and repetition would also serve a purpose in worship. Of course, praise is first and foremost. God is due all the praise we can give and more.
  
  In the songs we sing are lessons to be learned. Never should we pass up an opportunity to learn how to be closer to God, sweeter in spirit, a better example to others or a better companion for ourselves as well as others. There should be a deep meaning in each song we sing or we can't truly sing in the spirit.
  
  Following are some hymns that have special meaning to me and hopefully will have an impact on someone reading the words.
  
  HOW BEAUTIFUL HEAVEN MUST BE
  

  We read of a place that's called Heaven
  It's made for the pure and the free.
  These truths in God's word he has given,
  How beautiful Heaven must be.

  In heaven, no drooping or pining,
  No wishing for elsewhere to be.
  God's light is forever there shining,
  How beautiful Heaven must be.

  Pure waters of life there are flowing,
  And all who will drink may be free.
  Rare jewels of splendor are glowing,
  How beautiful Heaven must be.

  How beautiful Heaven must be,
  Sweet home of the happy and free;
  Fair haven of rest for the weary,
  How beautiful Heaven must be.
  

  
  WORTHY ART THOU

  Worthy of praise is Christ our Redeemer,
  Worthy of glory, honor and power.
  Worthy of all our soul's adoration,<
  Worthy art Thou! Worthy art Thou!

  Lift up thy voice in praise and devotion,
  Saints of all earth before Him should bow.
  Angels in Heaven worship Him saying,
  "Worthy art Thou, Worthy art Thou!"

  Lord, may we come before Thee with singing,
  Filled with Thy Spirit, wisdom and power.
  May we ascribe Thee glory and honor,
  Worthy art Thou! Worthy art Thou!

  Worthy of riches, blessings and honor.
  Worthy of wisdom, glory and power.
  Worthy of earth and Heaven's thanksgiving,
  Worthy art Thou! Worthy art Thou!!
  

  
  VICTORY IN JESUS

  I heard an old, old story,
  How a Savior came from glory,
  He gave His life on Calvary,
  To save a wretch like me.
  I heard about His groaning,
  Of His precious blood's atoning,
  Then I repented of my sins
  And won the victory!

  I heard about His healing,
  Of his cleansing power revealing,
  How He made the lame to walk again,
  And caused the blind to see.
  And then I cried,"Dear Jesus,
  Come and heal my broken spirit!"
  I then obeyed his blest commands
  and gained the victory!

  I heard about a mansion
  He has built for me in Glory!
  And I heard about the street of gold
  beyond the crystal sea.
  About the angels singing
  And the old redemption story,
  And some sweet day I'll sing up there,
  The song of victory!

  O victory in Jesus,
  my Savior, forever.
  He sought me and bought me
  With His redeeming blood.
  He loved me ere I knew Him
  And all my love is due Him.
  He plunged me to victory,
  Beneath the cleansing flood.
  

  
  ROCK OF AGES

  Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee.
  Let the water and the blood, From Thy wounded side which flowed,
  Be of sin the double cure,Cleanse me from it's guilt and power.

  Not the labor of my hands can fulfill the law's demands;
  Could my zeal no respite know, Could my tears no longer flow,
  All for sin could not atone, Thou must save and Thou alone.

  Nothing in my hand I bring: Simply to the cross I cling;
  Naked, come to Thee for dress; Helpless come to Thee for Grace;
  Vile, I to the fountain fly: Wash me, Savior, or I die.
  

  
  WHAT IF GOD HAD AN ANSWERING MACHINE? ***"Thank you for calling My Father's House.
  Please select one of the following four options:
  *Press 1 for requests
  *Press 2 for thanksgiving*Press 3 for complaints
  *For all other inquiries, Press 4."
  What if God used the familiar excuse: "All of the angels are helping other customers right now.
  Please stay onthe line. Your call will be answered in
  the order it was received."
  Can you imagine getting these kinds of responses
  as you call on God in prayer?
  *If you'd like to speak with Gabriel, press 1.
  *For Michael,press 2
  *For another angel, press 3
  *If you want King David to sing you a Psalm, press 6."
  "For reservations at My Father's House,
  simply press the letters J-O-H-N on the keypad,
  followed by the number 3-1-6."
  "For answers to nagging questions about dinosaurs, the age of the earth and where Noah's ark is,
  wait until you get here!"
  "Our computers show that you have called once today already.
  Please hang up immediately."
  "This office is closed for the weekend. Please call again Monday."
  End of message.
  

  ---

  Thank God, you can't call Him too often!!! You only need to ring once and God hears you. Because of Jesus, you never get a busy signal. God takes each call and knows each caller personally. When you call and the Lord will answer, you will cry for help and He will say: "Here am I!"
  
  

Written by Danny Dutton,
age 8,from Chula Vista, California
His third grade homework assignment:
"Explain God"
############################################### One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth.

He doesn't make grown-ups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way, He doesn't have to take up His valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers.

God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times besides bedtime.

God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this.

Because He hears everything there must be a terrible lot of noise in His ears, unless he has found a way to turn it off.

God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting His time by going over your Mom and dad's head asking for something they said you couldn't have.

Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in Chula Vista. At least there aren't any who come to our church.

Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn't want to learn about God. They finally got tired of Him preaching to them and they crucified Him.

But He was good and kind like His Father and He told His Father that they didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said OK.

His Dad (God) appreciated everything that He had done and all His hard work on earth so He told Him He didn't have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in Heaven. So He did. And now He helps His Dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones He can take care of Himself without having to bother God. Like a secretary, only more important.

You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to hear you because they got it worked out so one of them is one duty all the time.

You should always go to Church on Sunday because it makes God happy and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God.

Don't skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong! And, besides, the sun doesn't come out at the beach until noon anyway.

If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can.

It is good to know He's around you when you're scared in the dark or when you can't swim very good and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids, but you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and He can take me back anytime He pleases.

And that's why I believe in God. #################################################