Essential Music: A Biblical Strategy for Worship in the Urban Church

ISBN-13: 9781512314434 / Angielski / Miękka / 2015 / 246 str.

Willetta Greene Johnson Ph. D.

Opis

Essential Music is music that supports the vital agenda of winning souls to Christ and fostering compassionate discipleship. The book is written for anyone who enjoys music, has an interest in the theology of worship, its pivotal place in Christ's agenda and its impact on the next generation. Every leader, music pastor, music minister, administrator and layman can profit from its life applications and the remarkable chronicled positive effects of music on human health.

Executing "essential music" gives God great glory and improves our lives spiritually, mentally, and physically. Essential Music reviews some of the many medical benefits of singing reported in scientific journals.

Singing and playing instruments have been shown to lower blood pressure, combat depression, kill certain bacteria (sonic waves), and even help one recover motor skills faster after a stroke. These physiological benefits flow naturally from a rich and steady devotion to God and from enlarging our understanding of the scriptures.

Physicists discovered about 60 years ago that Sun-like stars 'sing', emitting ultra-low frequency acoustical waves. 'Stars singing' is mentioned in the book of Job nearly a millennium before the scientific discovery. The very heavens declare the glory of God, (Ps. 19); let us take a cue from them. Psalm 150 says if you have breath, you can praise the Lord. Another psalm says that the praise of God is to be continually in our mouths. There is continual music in nature and in the heavens. Essential Music examines and reiterates our invitation to offer a holy music to a worthy God.

Listening to and singing essential music can radically improve our daily lives and mitigate its stresses. Invoking "essential music" is a game-changer for the patterns of our lives, relieving us of bad habits and increasing the frequency of victories. Our corporate worship and relationships with each other can benefit greatly from the immense power that flows from our private worship.

Music orchestrated by the Holy Spirit is a tremendous change agent for healing and tearing down walls of strife and hatred. There is no force greater than God's love. So here's the million-dollar question: Is our worship atmosphere altering? Does it produce "light," or just heat?

Authentic Christianity, the kind Jesus has in mind, is trans-generational and must be evident in our lives and passed on to the next generation. This is true of music as well. Young people are looking for authenticity. This gifted future generation needs to know what music ministry is really about...They must hear both musically and spiritually. They need to hate sin "and" wrong notes.

Finally, it is the intent of Essential Music to bring insight on how to incorporate the practices of singing or playing an instrument in worship to shake off the distractions of the day, connect with our wondrous God, and through that priceless, precious connection, experience new mercies and unprecedented victories.