Psalm 150: Ways To Praise The Lord

***The first musician in the Bible is: Jubal, in Genesis 4:21. He was the father of all that handle the harp and organ. Congrats to Sheryl for getting the right answer! It was also pointed out to me that really the Lord is the very first musician! So true! But the first human musician was Jubal. Great job!***

We have been discussing how to apply Psalm 150 to our lives as musicians. If you missed the other posts in this series, here is Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

Most of the time on this blog, I focus on piano teachers, their teaching and their students. But praising the Lord with music is not limited to this group of people. What are some other ways that we can praise the Lord with our music?

Singing. We often joke that the Bible says, "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord," but it doesn't say it has to sound good! (Psalm 100:1) Anyone can sing to the Lord. I have known people who, shall we say, "can't carry a tune in a bucket," but they don't let that stop them from joining in the congregational singing at church. I deeply admire those people that are willing to sing from their heart and not worry about what other people think. We are all commanded to sing to the Lord. (Psalm 100:2)

Playing an instrument. It doesn't just have to be piano! Any instrument can be played for God's glory. Just be sure the focus is not on you, the musician, but on ministering to the hearts of the people listening. A good question to ask yourself is, "Will my "performance" (I don't like to use that word when we are speaking about playing for the Lord, but I trust you understand what I mean.) turn the listeners thoughts to God, or to myself?"

Playing the radio. You may have started to figure out that this radio thing may come up often in my posts. :) That's ok, because I think it is so, so important! Along with this we can include any music you play, on cds, ipods, and all the other gadgets that are out there today. Yes, even this music should be played to bring glory to God! I do not think that all music we listen to as Christians needs to be hymns played slowly on an organ. I love a good soundtrack every once in a while! The Irish Tenors + me = love. Are you getting the picture? I do think, however, that even this music needs to be glorifying to the Lord in its style. Think about it this way: we've all pulled up beside a car at a stop light and had our eardrums blasted out by the vehicle next to us. Usually this music sends a VERY clear signal - and its not a signal that makes me think any thoughts about glorifying God! So if someone else were to hear the music that I listen to, would it in any way hurt my testimony for Christ? Think about it.

Invest in others. Maybe you are beyond the age where you feel you can learn an instrument. Maybe you are one that can't carry a tune, or you've lost your ability to sing due to illness. Whatever the case, you can invest in some one else! Let (or make) your kids take instrument or voice lessons. Set an example to others by joining in congregational singing or some other involvement. If you are a man and you can play an instrument, please, please, PLEASE don't hide your talent under a rock! Little boys need to see that playing an instrument is not in any way "girly." You don't know the impact you could have just by your example. Perhaps you don't have kids or grandkids of your own, but you could provide a way for someone else to take lessons. Offer to help with a piano recital at your church (food, decorating, etc) or be a van driver for your Christian school choir or band. If you use your imagination and become intentional about music, anyone can find a way to participate. Be creative!

Those are the ways I have come up with. Does anyone else have suggestions? What are the ways you have found to praise the Lord with music? Don't be shy, we'd love to hear!

What I Heard On The Radio

Before I begin this post, let me remind you to be looking for the first musician in the Bible! See this post if you missed the challenge. Before I give the answer, I wonder if anyone else has any guesses? Have you been looking for him?

This post is a continuation of our discussion on Psalm 150 and applying it to our music. If you missed the other posts, here is the first one and here is the second one.

It is no secret that I LOVE to listen to Christian radio. I listen to the radio all day long, when I'm in my vehicle, over the internet while I am in the office, and its always going at my house. Yeah, you could say I'm addicted. That's ok. I believe that Christian radio is so, SO important.

But this post isn't really supposed to be about why I feel Christian radio is important or why you should listen to it or why I am in love with the radio. I would love to tell you all that, and I most likely will, one of these days. :) Don't say I didn't warn you! But today I'd like to share with you something I heard while I was listening to the radio. It just happened to go along well with our discussion of Psalm 150.

I don't even know what the program was or who the guy was that was doing the talking. I wasn't really paying attention to that part. But a mother wrote in to give this situation and ask a question.

She had a 16 year old son that was part of a hard rock band with his buddies. They had been together for a year and a half. She was a Christian and so was her son. They recently had an offer to be sponsored by XYZ person, with an "opening night" in conjunction with another, more popular band. This opportunity, as far as they were concerned was a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and they couldn't believe their good fortune.

This mother's concern came because her son was kind of perplexed as to how to present their band. This other, more popular band used profanities in their lyrics. Being a "christian" group, her son and his band didn't know if they should appear with this band that uses bad lyrics. And if they did decide to accept this offer, how "hard" should they come on with their christianity, knowing that the rest of the crowd present would not appreciate their beliefs?

Can I just say that I spent the next 15 minutes forming my response to this mother! I had a few choice things I would have LOVED to have called in a said in response. But I refrained. Instead, I decided to pose my view of this to you, my wonderful blog readers, and get your opinion!

I do think it is neat that this "problem" goes right along with what we've been talking about....how to praise the Lord and honor Him with our music, whatever venue we might be in. So here is my response to this mother and son.

The first concern is whether or not the band should accept this offer, based on the fact that the other band is profane. I think the son and his band needs to realize that if they are going to play hard rock music, they are going to draw a type of crowd that appreciates that music...and that crowd is going to be profane. Profanity and suggestive lyrics are a characteristic of rock music, and no matter how much they try to "christianize" their band, rock music has an understood message...and it is not christianity. As a rock band, they are not going to be associated in people's minds with "religion," but with the kind of music the world wants.

So the next problem is, if they do decide to accept this offer, how "heavy" should they lay on their christianity to this very un-christian crowd? Because of course, on their opening night, they don't want to be rejected. That would not be a very good start to their band.

This band needs to decide what they are most concerned about. Is their objective to become popular by man's standards, or bring glory to God? If they are out to be popular, then by all means they should accept this offer. If they want to focus on bringing glory to God, they need to be in a different line of work. A hard rock band is never going to bring glory to God, so maybe they need to try a different genre of music, one that will honor the Lord not just by its lyrics, but by its presentation, its style, and by the crowd it draws.

I think if this band accepts this offer, they need to leave Christ out of their performance, because the two things can never go together.

I would love to hear how you would have answered this mother's concern. Leave a comment expressing your opinion of this situation! And don't forget to leave a guess as to who the first musician in the Bible is!

Psalm 150: Where Is The Balance?

To read the first post in this discussion, click here.

We've established the fact that we as Christians are commanded to praise the Lord with music. As "professional musicians" (and I use that term loosely) I believe we have an even greater responsibility. The Bible says "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the LORD, and not unto men." (Colossians 3:23) So not only are we commanded to praise the LORD with our music, but we are to do it heartily, to the best of our ability. Depending on our area of expertise, that may mean playing an instrument, singing, teaching music, etc. We must give the Lord our absolute best

But how do we balance this as piano teachers? (or violin teachers, or trumpet teachers...you get the picture.) How do we teach a piano lesson for the Lord without it turning into a church service? How do we focus on doing what we're supposed to do...teach piano....while doing the other thing we're supposed to do...praise the Lord? (Phew, this sounds complicated!)

1. Give God the Glory

Whenever you have the opportunity, give God the credit for what happens in your studio. The positive things and the seemingly difficult things! "Isn't it amazing that the Lord created our minds so we could process all this information at the same time?" "Isn't the Lord awesome for creating music all around us."

You students don't all have to be "religious" or church-goers for you to do this. Even "non-churched" students can hear these words! You most likely are not teaching in a public school...you can mention God or you can pray and not get in trouble for it! If you know that the religious views of a particular family might be offended by this, then use discretion. There is no need to offend. There is no need to embarrass your student or make them feel uncomfortable. Give God the glory where you can, and then move on with your lesson.

2. Live it

Realize that whether you are in or out of your teaching studio, you are teaching by your example. When your student or their parent sees you in the grocery store, their eyes don't see you any differently than when they see you in your studio. You are a living advertisement for your studio. So if you are going to "bring God into things" by giving Him glory in a lesson, then the rest of your life must fall into line. In all areas of your life, you must give Him glory and live a life that points others to Him.

3. Apply it

Find small ways to praise the Lord collectively in your studio. As I mentioned in my last post, several of my students and I memorized Psalm 150 this last year. Did all my students participate? No. Again, I tried to use discretion and not cause offense. But many of my students did and now several have a new favorite passage of scripture. :) Another thing that many of my students did was to find the first musician mentioned in the Bible. They had to tell me his name and one thing about him. Believe me, this isn't as easy as you might think! (Hint: its not David!) For some, I gave them the book or even the chapter so they wouldn't be overwhelmed. This was a fun assignment! (Especially when I heard my siblings asking their pastor-dad...even he didn't know!)

On the surface, having my students find the first musician doesn't seem like an activity that praise the Lord. After all, they are just finding the verse in the Bible...thats it. But it does cause them to not only search the scriptures, but also to realize that music and God are connected. They can see first hand that God does care about music...after all, He mentions it many times in His Word!

You don't have to be a Bible teacher or graduate from seminary to bring praise into your studio. Just find simple ways to praise God while teaching your students about the music He created.

What things do you do in your studio to bring glory to God? Are you wondering who the first musician in the Bible is?? :) How about a little challenge!? Lets see who can find him first. If you think you know, leave a comment with his name and the passage. If no one can find him, I'll start giving clues. :) Ready, set, go!