Music Mondays

We are in the middle of March Madness. 

 

The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is must-see tv for basketball junkies like me, to say nothing of the fans and alumni of college teams.

The basketball is not always pretty, but every year it provides great drama. So great, that you get this kind of reaction when teams are trading baskets at the end of a tie game:

To me, I find that whole thing amusing, concerning, and understandable. I would absolutely react the same way had it been my favorite team. It’s one thing to go crazy in the moment as a game is decided. It’s an entirely different issue when sports lead to this kind of thing:

Yesterday I preached (sermon upload coming soon) on how our society has made sports an idol and how that can lead to harmful results. But I also wanted to emphasize how Christians can properly view athletics. 

Sports aren’t inherently evil – don’t hear me saying that. They can be played and viewed with a balanced perspective. I believe God has given us things like sports to find joy in this life and to teach us spiritual lessons.  You can listen to my sermon for my biblical rationale, but I also thought this could lead into a Music Monday.

Admittedly, there aren’t a lot of sports-themed songs that really stand out (though feel free to comment if one does), but this song kind of fits the bill in a fun, silly way.

This is a classic “Youth Group” song of the 1990’s about heaven. And the unique thing about it is the line about how we’ll be playing football in eternity. Some more serious theologians may object to it’s biblical inaccuracy.  But really, who knows? 

We’re not given a ton of specifics about what heaven will be like beyond the glorious presence of God. But one can make the legitimate case that if God has given us elements in this life for our fun and enjoyment, what’s to say that there won’t be opportunities to play catch, shoot hoops, or something along those lines in heaven?

The bottom line is, we can play sports to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31, 9:24-27,  James 1:17), and when we do that well in the here and now, we’re really just practicing for eternity.

Music Mondays

It's been a couple weeks. We took a mini-vacation to Gatlinburg on a Pastors and Spouses Retreat. It isn't necessarily warm in Tennessee this time of year. But it was definitely pleasant and a needed get-away. It proved to be the kind of scenario where one is refreshed by almost everything - the food, the fellowship, and the scenery.

That experience plus a curious case of deja vu led me to this week's highlighted song.

This is new single by Needtobreathe is just perfectly fit for retreats surrounded by nature and Spring's arrival (it's today!). It also has happened to be playing three consecutive Sunday mornings in a row as I've been getting ready for church. And of course I heard it again on my way to the office this morning. I began to realize that maybe I should be sure to "come to the fountain and be satisfied."  
I can't be certain - maybe it's a message from God, maybe it's random deja vu, maybe it's just the nature of Christian radio...whatever the case it has inserted a little joy into each of my mornings when I've heard it. 
 

Music Mondays

The Beatles lied to us. Love is not all you need.

Ok, they weren't intentionally deceiving us, given that they wrote their famous hit "All You Need is Love" for a TV special promoting world peace and harmony. 

But how many people have taken that line and adopted it as a romantic philosophy, no-questions-asked?

On this blog, I typically highlight songs worth considering. This week, I decided to go negative given that "Love" has become such an American idol, it's hard to choose just one pop song that illustrates our cultural worship of romance.

I've begun a sermon series that works through many of these "American Idols" and we kicked things off assessing the dangers of making love an idol. Specifically we looked at an episode in life of Jacob that effectively illustrates all the pitfalls of treating love like a god.

Love is a crucial part of the Christian life and a natural part of the human experience. But to pursue satisfaction from it is a fool's errand.