Celebrating
the freeing, supportive presence of God. So your experience of God may
become your experience of life. It is wonderful what God can do!
JANUARY 16, 2005
GETTING IN TUNE WITH GOD
Guest Speaker: Eric Kelly
In the years that I have spent
performing and teaching music, I have been blessed on several occasions when
music has come together and truly expressed something beautiful. Those musical
moments are times I never forget. That exact moment when chords, melody and
rhythm all combine to produce pure magic can be, in a sense a very spiritual
experience. I am sure that many of you here today have felt those moments as
well.
As a teacher I love to see those moments in my students eyes.
One such time happened about 10 years ago. My 7/8th grade band had been working
on the Largo section of Atone' Dvoraks
"New World Symphony"
- Much time struggling with notes Rhythms.....
- Trouble getting the feel of the piece.
- Explained the Idea of the "New World"
- Stayed focused for weeks.
- One day it started to come together.
- End of rehearsal one last try.
We began to play, the kids watched, they listened, the
dynamics rose and fell and the tempo felt good. Then as the climax of chords and
melody came together the beauty of the piece could be felt. When we finished I
looked around at the 80 or so students.
- some quiet, some smiled
- some were amazed
And one young lady had tears streaming down her face. At
first I thought something was wrong. Then I saw a small smile and she said
" that was beautiful. Young Amy Winter had been touched by what Antone
Dvorak was trying to express in his music. I will never forget that. That was an
"in tune" musical moment for Amy.
I am sure all of us have also
had moments in our faith walk with God where we have experienced those "in
tune" moments.
-my Christmas experience
-Thought about that feeling for weeks
-Realized that what it takes to experience an "in tune" music moment
can be similar to what it takes to have an "in tune" moment w/God.
For musicians Playing or singing in a group.
1. Get to know the basics of the piece your
studying
-notes, rhythms, dynamic aspects.
- the written basics of what the is about.
For our spiritual growth to get "in tune" we have the Bible as our
written word. All the basics and more are contained in Gods written word.
- practice, practice, hard work.
- reinforce the basics by doing it.
James would have been a good musician. Nothing gets better without
practice.
2. Listen to what is going on around you.
- listen to the feel of the music
- listen to the other players around you. ---get in sync with those other
players.
-Feel the spirit of the piece as it is being performed. In our spiritual
lives...
- allow the holy spirit to touch you as you listen to your inner voice and
people around you who God is using to "tune you in"
3. Watch, follow and listen to the conductor. The
conductor...
- Keeps the beat
- Encourages us
- Through his/her actions helps us speed up slow down or play softer or louder.
- Most important of all- the conductor uses all of these techniques to help us
express the will of the COMPOSER.
As we play and sing our way through our walk with God,
remember that we need to turn our eyes, ears and minds to our conductor, JESUS.
(John - see me seen the father)
We can look to Jesus for our..
- Dynamics
- Beat
- Rhythm
If we follow Christ he will show us all the aspects
of good spiritual music and most of all - he will help play and sing and express
the will of the greatest composer of all - our creator God. So when we
have trouble playing or singing God's songs remember the three ideas that might
help us.
1. Learn the basics. Learn to read the written language. Study the Bible and
practice, practice, practice your faith.
2. Listen to the spirit around and inside you. Listen to those around you whom God has chosen to help you.
3. Watch and follow our conductor, our savior Jesus. By following him we can perform our song according to the vision of our composer, our creator our God.
