Bryan Valentino on "Simple audio player help please, I am a newbie"

I am new to Word Press. I upload sermons in m4a format and I'm getting an error message about short code. I have no clue about this as I just upload and fill in the information. I don't do any coding. Also, what appears is a globe that when clicked the sermon downloads to my pc, but I would like a player that will just play the sermon online. How can I do this? I'm a bit afraid of messing up the church's website so if someone is willing to walk me through the steps, I would appreciate it.
Thank you.

alteative idea for audio file (I have used this option)

Use Soundcloud to host your audio files (there is a free version so you can try it.) https://soundcloud.com/
Upload the audio file to a soundcloud account
Add the link to the file on Soundcloud to WordPress page or post.

Less worry about messing up the church's website.

I would rather continue to upload to Word Press, so would I need to change the format of the file? Is that what the "shortcode" is about? Just wondering.
And thank you for your suggestion. I just don't think the church wants to have to pay for a place to store the files. But it's something I will speak with them about.

Cheryl

The solution requires a bit of coding.

http://www.w3schools.com/tags/tag_audio.asp

You can use the text editor tab when editing pages in wordpress to add codes.

I hope this helps.

Thank you Bryan. But I'm using m4a files and not mp3. Should I convert them before uploading? I am still confused. :(
Thank you for your patience and help.

Cheryl

This is what I see.... any help is appreciated.

Upload folder: wp-content/uploads/sermons/
Public podcast feed: http://immanuelpca-mesa.org/sermons/?podcast
Private podcast feed: http://immanuelpca-mesa.org/sermons/?podcast
MP3 shortcode:
Default: [audio mp3="%SERMONURL%"]
[audio:%SERMONURL%]
Sermons per page: 10
Filter type: Drop-down
One-click
None
Minimize filter

You don't need to. The code should work with an m4a file.

You can write the code like this:

<audio controls> <source src="https://your-site.com/file/file-name.m4a"> Your browser does not support the audio element.
</audio>