A New Tenor In The Choir
Sermon
Life Everlasting
The Essential Book of Funeral Resources
Object:
For a man who loved to sing
A New Tenor In The Choir
Revelation 5:13
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing.
-- Revelation 5:13
Shhh ... Listen ... There is a sound in the air that wasn't there last Christmas time. If you listen carefully you can recognize it. It is a familiar sound to you all. You have heard that sound before, not lately, though, not for the past few years. Listen. Listen with your heart. Listen with your faith. Do you hear it? It is there in the heavenly chorus which John describes for us in the book of Revelation. You can hear it in that great choir of God's people who have experienced his miracle of resurrection. Now they surround his throne and sing his praise.
* O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant
* Hark! The herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn king"
* Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
* It came upon the midnight clear, that glorious song of old
The great Christmas choruses we sing here on earth are also being sung in heaven as Jesus' birth is celebrated not only here, but there. And there in heaven, what a celebration it must be. They sing standing in the very presence of the King. They see, in all his glory, who the Bethlehem baby has become; King of kings and Lord of lords. They have experienced every miraculous thing he has done, for them, and for the world. Now they sing. They sing with a joy that we have only hints of in our Christmas celebrations here on earth.
Listen to them sing. Listen to those who once sang on earth now singing in heaven. Listen to those who had their voices stolen from them by sickness, by weakness, by death. The Lord Jesus has now returned their voices to them, stronger, clearer, richer, than ever before. Listen to them as they use these instruments God has created so magnificently for their joy and for his praise.
If you have heard them before at Christmas time, do you hear a difference now? A new voice has been added to the choir. A new singer has taken his place in the tenor section. On earth, Martin loved to take his place in the church choir singing the praises of his God. He hasn't sung for years, with his voice at least. I suspect Martin never stopped singing God's praises with his heart. Now he has his voice again, right at Christmas time. That's why, among all those voices, you can hear Martin's voice. He must be so excited to be in heaven at Christmas, in heaven with his voice back and so much wonderful music to sing!
I wonder. I wonder if the others in the chorus, the others in their thousands, the others in their millions, I wonder if they can sense how much it means to Martin to sing to his Lord at this, his first Christmas in heaven. I wonder if the rest of them will grow quiet for a moment, as hard as that would be with so much to sing about. I wonder if they are allowing Martin to sing a solo. Listen. Listen. Someone is singing, "O Holy Night."
O holy night! The stars are brightly shining.
It is the night of the dear Savior's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!
O night divine! O night when Christ was born,
O night divine! O night, O night divine!
Well sung! Is it Martin singing? I think it is. Let's sing with him, at Christmas time and all year long. Let's sing with him, sing the songs of praise to God for the joy he has given, joy to the world, joy to Martin, joy to us.
Amen.
A New Tenor In The Choir
Revelation 5:13
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing.
-- Revelation 5:13
Shhh ... Listen ... There is a sound in the air that wasn't there last Christmas time. If you listen carefully you can recognize it. It is a familiar sound to you all. You have heard that sound before, not lately, though, not for the past few years. Listen. Listen with your heart. Listen with your faith. Do you hear it? It is there in the heavenly chorus which John describes for us in the book of Revelation. You can hear it in that great choir of God's people who have experienced his miracle of resurrection. Now they surround his throne and sing his praise.
* O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant
* Hark! The herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn king"
* Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
* It came upon the midnight clear, that glorious song of old
The great Christmas choruses we sing here on earth are also being sung in heaven as Jesus' birth is celebrated not only here, but there. And there in heaven, what a celebration it must be. They sing standing in the very presence of the King. They see, in all his glory, who the Bethlehem baby has become; King of kings and Lord of lords. They have experienced every miraculous thing he has done, for them, and for the world. Now they sing. They sing with a joy that we have only hints of in our Christmas celebrations here on earth.
Listen to them sing. Listen to those who once sang on earth now singing in heaven. Listen to those who had their voices stolen from them by sickness, by weakness, by death. The Lord Jesus has now returned their voices to them, stronger, clearer, richer, than ever before. Listen to them as they use these instruments God has created so magnificently for their joy and for his praise.
If you have heard them before at Christmas time, do you hear a difference now? A new voice has been added to the choir. A new singer has taken his place in the tenor section. On earth, Martin loved to take his place in the church choir singing the praises of his God. He hasn't sung for years, with his voice at least. I suspect Martin never stopped singing God's praises with his heart. Now he has his voice again, right at Christmas time. That's why, among all those voices, you can hear Martin's voice. He must be so excited to be in heaven at Christmas, in heaven with his voice back and so much wonderful music to sing!
I wonder. I wonder if the others in the chorus, the others in their thousands, the others in their millions, I wonder if they can sense how much it means to Martin to sing to his Lord at this, his first Christmas in heaven. I wonder if the rest of them will grow quiet for a moment, as hard as that would be with so much to sing about. I wonder if they are allowing Martin to sing a solo. Listen. Listen. Someone is singing, "O Holy Night."
O holy night! The stars are brightly shining.
It is the night of the dear Savior's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!
O night divine! O night when Christ was born,
O night divine! O night, O night divine!
Well sung! Is it Martin singing? I think it is. Let's sing with him, at Christmas time and all year long. Let's sing with him, sing the songs of praise to God for the joy he has given, joy to the world, joy to Martin, joy to us.
Amen.
