• Our annual Ladies’ Day is now only one week away, scheduled for this coming Saturday, April 30th. Our special guest speaker will be Mimi Tate from Kaughman, Texas. Our theme is “Behold the Bridegroom is Coming!” You will be so very glad to be here for this very special event just for ladies. Men: We can certainly help our ladies by serving lunch to those who are present.


• This Sunday morning we will continue in our series “Growing in Gladness.” Too many Christians have lost the true joy of worship and so, do not assemble with their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ as often as they should or could. Still other Christians may never miss an assembly, but they seem to have lost the joy that once filled their hearts and minds through worship. Last Sunday we discussed how we can grow in gladness through our assemblies. Preparing for worship, remember those present for worship, plugging-in to each aspect of worship, and putting into practice what we experience in worship determines our growth in gladness in our Christian lives.


• This coming Sunday we will take a look at “Growing in Gladness through Singing.” Psalm 100:2 says, “Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing.” James asks, “Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms” (James 5:13). Paul writes in Ephesians 5:18-20: “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Again he writes in Colossians 3:16 concerning singing: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” As you can see from just these few passages from the Bible, singing is a big part of the life of a Christian. Think about it. About one third (20 minutes) of our Sunday morning worship hour is spent singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. This is the way it should be. Notice also that throughout the New Testament you will not find a single passage that commands, suggests, or infers that God desires or allows mechanical instruments of music in addition to singing.


• Many Christians have lost the joy of singing? Some sing with little or no emotion. Some simply do not sing at all. I am not saying that we should be undisciplined in our assemblies or that our assemblies should be indecent and disorderly. I am saying that singing has always been, is, and ever must be a priority in our worship assemblies if we are to be pleasing to our Father in heaven. How can we rekindle our growth in gladness through singing? Maybe if we understood the purpose of singing and then looked at some principles that will help us appreciate singing more, then we would begin again to grow in gladness through singing.


• We are very blessed at St. Andrews Road to host the annual “All Night Singing” every year in August. We also allow our young men to lead our Sunday evening worship assembly three or four times during the year. This is good. But is this enough? If we expect to have good song leaders in the near and distant future we must allow ample opportunities for our young men to stand before the congregation to lead a song or two. If we expect our worship to God in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to survive and thrive in these modern times, we must give the more earnest heed to growing in gladness through singing.


• I am excited about the sermon this Sunday evening. We will look at the Lord’s instructions to those who ask “What must I do to be saved?” Hear the instructions. Believe God. Repent of any and every sin. Confess who Jesus is. He is the Son of God. Be baptized to have your sins forgiven. Live the Christian life every day, one day at the time until Christ returns to take you home to heaven.