Sabbath services on March 31, 2018 began with a song service led by Pedro Arce, accompanied by Jara (sophomore) on the piano. The opening song was “Open My Eyes”. Brenda Herra welcomed everyone, and Rodney Herra had prayer.
Audio of Pastor Spencer's question and answer session
Daniel Spencer then took over the program and the Sabbath School lesson time to talk about music. Eric (junior) volunteered to collect papers with questions for the speaker.
Following are a few notes from Daniel Spencer’s question and answer session on music:
- Results of stewardship include contentment and trust.
- Our spiritual opinions should be based on the rules God has put in place.
- Sometimes bad things can become good things like using movie theaters for evangelistic meetings as a good thing when most of the time their use is bad.
- Haggai 2:11-13 “11 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ask now the priests [concerning] the law, saying, 12 If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No. 13 Then said Haggai, If [one that is] unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean.”
- Holiness for Christians is attached to the presence of God as opposed to heathen cultures that reverence places. This includes time dedicated to the Lord.
- Many times Christian hymn writers use secular tunes (not profane tunes) for sacred hymns (Luther did this).
- There is secular, sacred, and profane music. Profane music involves words that attack Christianity; these cannot be made holy.
- Changing the words will not make a song holy.
- We are inspired either by God or by Satan. If Satan inspired the words, the words cannot be changed to make them holy.
- Secular things not dedicated to Satan can be made holy.
- The earth is protected by the presence of the Sons of God. When God’s protection is withdrawn after the Sunday law, God’s provision of early resources will end, and the plagues will follow.
- Can a Christian song written in the devil’s way be made holy?
- King Saul was holding a holy office, but he himself was not holy.
- Cain offered something to the Lord but not in the way the Lord asked. The Lord wouldn’t accept the offering.
- Even if I dedicate something to the Lord but constructed in the wrong way, this doesn’t make it holy.
- Amos 5:21-24 “21 ¶ I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. 22 Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept [them]: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. 23 Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. 24 But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.”
- Whatever we are feeding ourselves mentally and spiritually will show up in the song lyrics we use and compose.
- People take an example and turn it into a concept in a wrong way. The Bible talks about women being quiet in church in Paul’s society – this is an example, not a concept or basic principle.
- In the Bible, the stories gives us examples of how people used concepts rightfully or wrongfully in real life.
- Every story in the Bible talks about Jesus. Jacob worked for seven years to get Rachel (his lamb); Jesus came to this earth to get his “lamb”, Israel. In both cases, the person had to work a second time to get his “lamb”. Jesus eventually would get his “lamb” – His church at the End Time.
- Take any Bible story and ask what the concepts are here.
- You have to have solid spiritual concepts for whatever you do.
- Many outside His church are worshipping God in the wrong way, but God accepts their worship because they don’t know any better. God may accept a song written in the wrong way because of this.
- But God will not accept a song written in the wrong way if we know better.
- Isaiah 56:7 “Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices [shall be] accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.”
- We have to search the Word to know what God requires in every area – music, appetite, and so on.
Rodney Herra closed the program with prayer.
Personnel Other Than Students:
Brenda Herra – assistant girls’ dean / student vocational coordinator
Daniel Spencer – Tennessee Adventist pastor who specializes in music seminars
Rodney Herra – Laurelbrook church treasurer / works with the auto body and farm programs
