Musical Church

Services this morning were a blast.  I didn't want them to end.  I shared a teaching on worship, focusing on our musical expression.  I ended the message with one challenge stated two ways. 

Stay in the Shower.  Some of us will only sing in the shower.  That is because we have a fear of foolishness.  David Crowder, in his book Praise Habit, talks about how kids have an advantage at praise.  They are easily excitable and haven't yet been plagued by every adult's fear of looking foolish. 

As kids, we are fabulous at it.  But as adults we become self-conscious and awkward.  Something gets lost.  I think we do it to each other.  At some point, I hold the toy up exultantly and you comment that it looks ridiculous to hold the toy up in such a way.  It's not a cool toy like I believed it to be.  It is worn and tired, you point out.  And we slowly chip away at each other's protective coatings of innocence until one day we wake up and notice we are naked and people are pointing.

Stop Being Sober.  I got this one from Ephesians 5.18-19.

Do not get drunk with wine, which leads to debauchery.  Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.  Speak to each other with Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.  Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord.

In some way the Spirit-filled life relates to drunkenness.  How?  One of the primary expressions of Spirit-filled drunkenness is singing.  We sing to each other, and we sing to God.  We get drunk by drinking.  We stay drunk by continuing to drink.  The problem with some believers who once drunk deep is they've sobered up.

I taught the message at the beginning of the service so we could end with praise.  God's Presence was fantastic.  I could feel people losing their inhibition.  There was a celebration energy that was contagious.  Normally reserved people were dancing in the aisles.  I even busted a move myself!  We looked like a crazy group drunk on praise, and I felt lighter.

For what it's worth, I think that when we forget about who's looking at us, we more readily see God.

To listen to Musical Church, go here.

To read Musical Church, go here.

Comments

[Tiffany]

Sounds awesome! I'm gonna listen to it.

[hisjoy59]

I agree - Sunday was a blast! I continue to come to expect God to move in our services and am blessed to be there each Sunday.

I also enjoyed experiencing the moving of the Spirit - even watching my Pastor "bust a move!"