Scripture: Jeremiah 23: 1-2
Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! Saith the Lord. Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.
Scripture Commentary: False prophets scatter and destroy
Leaders are responsible for those entrusted to their care. How does a nation become corrupt? False prophets have, do, and will play a large role is misguiding innocent people. We like to hear what makes us feel comfortable; whether it is the truth or not.
A person like Jeremiah will have a message from God that will be unpopular among many people because it shows how corrupt we are. Whether we speak from a pulpit, teach in a class, or share with friends, we are entrusted with accurately communicating and living out God’s word.
True prophets and false prophets are as different as straw and grain. Straw is useless for food and cannot compare to the nourishing value of grain. False prophets may appear to speak God’s message, but they do not live according to God’s principles. They will water down God’s message in order to make it more palatable, often subtly encouraging their listeners to disobey God. These false prophets tend to be arrogant and self serving.
As you share God’s Word people will look at you and see God in you. Unless it has changed you, why should they listen to your godless talk?
Read the Entire Chapter:
Jeremiah Chapter 23
The music in churches of today ignore hymns and go soley for loud, boisterous, noisy clamor rather than a reverence for unity with hymns..our church refuses hymns in our worship service, with many elderly in attendance, the word tells us to praise God with hymns and other songs, but the young music leaders ignore this..The church leaders are aware of this but minister more to the needs of the young people and not include the elderly.What are your scriptural thoughts of this?
Thank you for reaching out. If I understand your question and concern, it is the music being played and sung during service. I will list some Psalms that tell us to praise God: Psalm 104: 33, 105: 2, 108: 1-3, 111: 1-3, 112: 1-2, 117: 1-2, and lastly Psalm 150.
As long as the music and singing praise God, then we are to be thankful for we are in God’s house. The older saints are to be helpers to the younger saints. We should not put our likes or dislikes on them as this could be a stumbling block to a new Christian. Although we’ve been doing things a certain way for a long time, we can be open to change.
Read Matthew 20: 1-16. This parable tells of a land owner who is hiring laborers for his vineyard in the morning and throughout the day until the work is finished. He then pays them all the same wage. The workers he hired in the morning complained that they were being paid the same as the laborers who were hired last and had worked less time.
We are to be glad whenever a person comes into God’s kingdom no matter the time. In God’s eyes, the new Christian is the same as a 50- or 60-year saint.
Music is only one part of worship. The Spoken Word (i.e., The Bible) and the message in the sermon is the food that God is giving us through His messenger.