I'm Back With a Song

Well it's almost been a month since I last posted.  Life has obviously been crazy with starting a new job at a new church, a snowstorm that took out power for almost a week at said church, and a wedding and subsequent honeymoon (which was AMAZING).  As I'm trying to settle back into "normal" life I decided the first blog post I would make as a married man is a song that my lovely wife shared with me this morning.

The song is "Everything I Own" by Jason Gray.  You can listen to it on GrooveShark.

What would I give to be pure in heart
To be pure in flesh and bone
What would I give to be pure in heart
I’d give everything that I own
I’d rid my whole house of its demons of lust
And open the windows of trust
And out of those windows all fear will have flown
I’d give everything that I own

What would I give for the words of God
To come tumbling from the throne
What would I give for the words of God
I’d give everything that I own
I’d open my head and they’d roll right in
When I opened my mouth they’d roll out again
And uproot the weeds of the deeds I have sown
I’d give everything that I own

Now what would I give for my children’s strength
On the day that they stand alone
I mean what would I give for their strength to stand firm
I’d give everything that I own
I’ve wasted my life in accomplishing things
Ignoring the giver of wings
So Lord teach them to fly to the foot of your throne
I’ll give everything that I own

All I’ve accomplished, the titles I hold
My passions, position, possessions and gold
To God they must look like a thimble of foam
And it’s everything that I own
Dirty rags are all that I own

So I stand before God with my stubble and hay
He just laughs, but says there’s still a way
Because “Father, Forgive” are the words Jesus moaned
When He gave everything that He owned

So what would I give to be pure in heart
For the known to be made unknown
What would I give to be born again?

A Series on Worship (Part 11) - Why Music?

Lastly, I must say that I think music is of utmost importance in all of this and should hold a central place in our corporate services.  This is based on the teaching of Scripture, the traditions of the church, and personal experience.  I believe that God has given us music for a number of reasons:

1)    Music is unique out of all human activities in that it has the ability to connect our heart, spirit, mind, and body.  We sing with our physical mouth, our spirits join in with the music, our emotions are stirred by the music, and our minds process the words.  This is why I think that it is very important that people join in the singing, that they think about what they are singing, that they feel the freedom to express the emotions this evokes (crying, shouting, clapping, kneeling), and that they have a proper understanding of what their spirit is and how it is united to Christ.

2)    Music causes words to be more easily remembered.  I believe that God wants us to sing Scripture and theology because it causes it to be embedded in our minds and therefore more easily recalled in a time of need.  Our greatest defense (No, our ONLY defense) against the attacks of the evil one is truth as contained in the words of God.  What better defense than easily accessible truth, and lots of it, through the regular singing of theologically deep songs.

3)    Music allows us to practice love and caring for the people around us.  We must be aware of our own ability to sing and not sing out at the top of our lungs if it will distract others.  But we also have to be aware of the needs of those around us and not respond negatively if they sing or act in such a way that we find troublesome.

4)    And lastly, by uniting our voices we are reminded of our unity with each other and with the united Trinity.