If you were listening to things unseen yesterday, you'll maybe remember two things.

First that our theme for the week is Christians love to sing.

And second, I signed off with a question.

Hardly the most profound soul-searching question

you've ever been asked, but nevertheless, I meant it quite seriously. Do you own a hymn book?

Remember, I was suggesting that next to a good Bible translation, a concordance, and a decent one-volume

commentary, a hymn book is perhaps the most important book you could own.

And part of my reason for asking the question

is because I've come to suspect that many Christians today

don't actually possess a hymn book.

That's a huge contrast with the church culture of 50 years or so ago. When I became a Christian,

many Bibles were actually published with a built-in hymn book at the back. You not only took

your own Bible to church, but your own hymn book too. Now, I realize there's something very

convenient about the church supplying everything you

need for the worship service.

But I actually think it's been at a cost.

For example, it's no longer clear to your neighbors when you leave for church that that's

where you're going with the book in your hand.

But there's something else. Part of the loss in some churches is that you end up

at the mercy of seeing the words you're singing only on a screen. And I think you can become a victim

of the law of unintended consequences. If your church uses a screen, let me urge you today to buy a hymn book.

You owe it to your Christian growth to own one.

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