One of the greatest gifts is music! Music has become so much a part of worship services and of Christmas especially. Interestingly, "music" and "worship" were not synonymous in the Bible as they are often used today. In Acts 2:42, we are told that the believers in the early church met and "devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." (NIV) In other places in the New Testament, detailed descriptions are given for spiritual gifts, teaching, leadership, and organization within the church. No "worship ministers" or "song leaders" are listed, and yet these are huge parts of our church today. And yet, we do know that the early Christians sang as part of their worship. Ephesians 5:19 says to "speak to one another with psalms" (literally the Old Testament songs from the book of Psalms, which they would have used like we use an old hymnal today, and which probably would have been sung with instruments), "hymns" (which I believe were a cappella songs), and "spiritual songs" or "songs from the Spirit" (which pretty much covers anything else - probably songs contemporary to their era and possibly written by the church members). So they sang a mix of old and new. We also see songs being sung in the following verses:
Matthew 26:30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Mark 14:26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Acts 16:25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
1 Corinthians 14:26 What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.
Colossians 3:16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.The Old Testament has a great deal more content about music, from the lyrics of the songs to the instruments used to the entire families assigned to concentrate their efforts on making music in the Temple. So while music was not the focus of early church services as it often is today, it is a beautiful gift God has given us to express emotion and praise to Him that would be difficult to express with words alone. It is a gift He gave us which we can give back to Him in the form of singing praises and playing instruments to His glory. This is a wonderful gift to use year-round, but I especially love the music at Christmas!
I have so enjoyed seeing my children involved in musical presentations at Christmas over the years. The video above is "Sleigh Ride" from the Christmas concert by the Johnson City Community Concert Band, where my daughter is playing the flute. Below is my son's a cappella group, Herd Mentality, singing "Ding-A Ding-A Ding." Well, except they are not singing a cappella here!
Digital Scrapbooking Freebies for today:
You can find wonderful daily freebies, including a great deal of Christmas content, at www.dailyarthub.com. Today's freebie is a set of baking clipart, and if you start a membership, you can also get this great "Ice Queen Clip Art Set"!
Merry Christmas!
