Music Mondays

This week I'm featuring a couple things that popped up in my Twitter timeline over the weekend. 

The first features the greatest shooter of all time (with apologies to Larry Legend) getting some stage time at a Lecrae concert.

On the other end of the music genre scale is this SiriusXM video that featured NeedtoBreathe covering a couple songs seamlessly - almost like they wrote the selections themselves.

How good is that? A Jackson 5 classic along with a Otis Redding/Black Crowes song (I had to look it up).

Music Mondays

My most recent Music Monday selections have related to my sermon series through the Minor Prophets of the Old Testament. 

One that quickly came to mind from yesterday's message on Habakkuk was this song from Bethel Music:

Habakkuk is a book expressing confusion at the work of God. "How could he let his people go on in their sinfulness?" "How could a Holy God use a wicked empire to punish a people more righteous than they are?"

In the end, God shows up. He reveals his greatness and majesty and it satisfies Habakkuk, who to paraphrase the end of the book concludes, 'even if my present circumstances are more wasteland than oasis, through it all my eyes are on you and it is well with my soul.'

Habakkuk and this song both challenge us to embrace the proper spiritual perspective. We are called to embrace the view that even if our problems seem overwhelming, we can trust in our Great and Awesome Creator.

This 'story-behind-the-song' clip is worth checking out too.

Music Mondays

Yesterday's sermon was on the book of Zephaniah. 

Zephaniah checks all the boxes of what OT prophets did, in three succinct chapters.

• He criticizes God's people and pagans for their wickedness. Along with that criticism comes vivid descriptions of promised judgment.
  
• He energizes the faithful to persevere through adversity by describing the future hope and restoration God will bring.
  
• He calls the people to repent and seek the Lord's presence before it's too late.

Read works by Dr. Walter Bruggemann and/or my former professor, Dr. Brent Sandy and you'll discover Zephaniah fits the prophetic mold to a 'T'. 

Given that summary of the minor prophet, crafting a worship service around the book didn't seem particularly natural. Our worship planners didn't even know the specifics but knew the broad strokes. Honestly though this seemed like one of those weeks we didn't tie the worship to the sermon in real specific ways.

Yet the way the Lord brought things together did just that. Zephaniah's a book describing how God is the one whose powerful wrath we need saved from, but he's also the only one who can protect and deliver us.

The song we used to close the service captured that idea well in my view. It's a newer 'classic' by Michael W. Smith. Simple yet deep in it's biblical descriptions of who our Lord is. 

Music Mondays

No one likes a hypocrite. Unfortunately, hypocrisy is one of the common reasons Christians turn off those who are outside of the faith. Hypocrisy and failing to live according to God's will were major issues the prophet Micah highlighted as he served as God's mouthpiece. 

It's a shame that the people of God haven't eliminated their tendency to be hypocrites. Thankfully that's where God's grace comes in. Since humanity is sinful, there will always be some measure of failure when it comes to practicing what we preach. 

This week's selection for Music Monday centers on a theme which Micah specifically condemned his contemporaries for. Especially in chapter 3, Micah calls out the leaders for exploiting their positions for their own benefit. All-Star United, a late-nineties Christian rock band, cornered the market on sarcastic-but-true themes and with 'Smash Hit' call out all those who use Jesus to further their own personal gain - much like Micah.

The impetus for us is to be faithful and consistent, resisting the temptation to use our advantages for selfish reasons.

Music Mondays

Our current sermon series is a study on the Minor Prophets of the Old Testament. Yesterday we looked at Hosea. 

Hosea was a prophet of God called to marry a woman who God promised would break their marriage vows and cheat on Hosea. God asked Hosea to do this because it signified Israel's spiritual adultery and unfaithfulness towards their Lord. 

And as the story unfolds, once his wife has left him, Hosea goes and takes her back. Why would he do such a thing? Because it is a picture of how God loves Israel so much that He will redeem them. 

The entire book is an astounding object lesson about the love of God and our awful sinfulness. 

I became enthralled by the book and its story in high school when I heard the song "Gomer's Theme" by Third Day (Gomer being Hosea's wife). It is off of Third Day's second album and powerfully summarizes the book of Hosea while speaking to our own condition and predilection to go astray.

 

Music Mondays

Around these parts, this summer has been largely characterized by precipitation. Even this morning a severe thunderstorm warning was issued for Northern Indiana and sure enough, the skies opened up around 9:45 and it's been steadily raining for a good hour and a half - with no signs of stopping.

Without any other ideas, I figured I might as well use it as inspiration for today's Music Monday. Scripture certainly uses rain in literal and figurative ways to teach us lessons. 

Here are my top 3 Christian songs that involve rain:

3. Michael W. Smith - "Let it Rain"

2. Delirious? - "Rain Down"

1. Jars of Clay - "Flood"

After the jump we have two honorable mentions that didn't quite qualify since their content doesn't exactly deal with rain, but they were close enough to be considered.

Music Mondays

I attended a funeral this morning of a college friend's father who had actually been a co-worker of mine at my previous church. 

Reflecting on the life of such a Christ-like servant and devoted family man was, I teared up as I listened to the eulogy my college friend gave in honor of his dad. His testimony was a powerful one. Stories were offered of how Dave never thought he was better than anyone and how he saw people who others often overlooked. 

Funerals of saints can easily turn into celebrations. Celebrations of the faithful. Celebrations of their life. Celebrations of the Savior. 

One of the hymns sung during this particular service is my pick for this Music Monday: Blessed Assurance. 

"Filled with His goodness, lost in His love"...this was his story, this is my story, this can be your story.