---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Dean Ober" <noreply-comment@blogger.com>
Date: Nov 4, 2008 11:46 PM
Subject: [FARMStrong] New comment on Sing! Sing! Sing!.
To: <praisetool@gmail.com>
Dean Ober has left a new comment on the post "Sing! Sing! Sing!":
JD, thanks again for hosting this dialogue. My heart has been singing this song of "what worship in the Church looks like" for quite some time now. And the funny thing to me is that singing in worship is just like the opportunity us readers are given here: to comment.
My thoughts go back to the differences between priests and prophets, and identifying where singing fits into that picture.
As prophets are those who declare God's Word, and priests those who speak on behalf of the people to God, public singing worship is clearly priestly in nature. So in the context of corporate worship, we excercise our freedom to relate directly with the Father, as an act of priestly prayer. But what separates this time of prayer from any other is the music that it makes. I think this is an important thing about our perception of worship that is often lost... it's not music until we sing it. I think we often switch that around in our heads when we're joining in a song. It becomes at this point another growth spurt with the Lord, when we take ownership of His gift of singing. We then not only join in singing, but at the same time, the music happens.
I mostly share this because of what the Lord does for a person's singing. Not as a quid-pro-quo (sp?) thing, but as what naturally happens as a result of presenting ones voice to the Lord.
Singing empowers people. What we sing about then becomes the crux point, where our hearts are sifted, and we learn what we're made of.
To emphasize where my heart is at:
The words we choose our congregations to sing determines our service to them. If we make the choice lightly, we are not loving them the way they deserve. We must help them sing what God is calling them to sing. This is where our prophetic and priestly nature is in tension, which in my opinion is the coolest place to be! =]
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Posted by Dean Ober to FARMStrong at 2:46 AM
As the dawn of our nation's political leadership now crests into view, so does our future. I look around my life and see four distinct roles (work, education, family, and worship) each lending themselves to a season of change. But the questions that continually arise are these:
With the expectation of hope, how will God continue to provide and support this change?
How will He motivate those who's support is needed?
And how deep of a commitment will they give?
Only our character displayed tomorrow morning will really give us a glimpse of what the answers to these questions might be.
So as the evening wraps to a close, ponder the choices made today, and determine if they reflect the endurance of running the good race. If they do... then hope will be here tomorrow as it is here today.
Romans 5:1-5
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When I was a young boy, my parents were amazing to not only provide a home piano, but lessons to go with it. It was on that piano that I first began to articulate my musicality. I learned the disciplines that helped shape what it is I know today, and yet I still find myself playing those "same 3 tunes" from time to time. But that one I composed during a very emotional time seems to remind me most of what music is all about from the writers perspective.
It's almost comical to think about after having forced myself into the listening role for the last 10 years.
As I feel a season of writing coming on again, I'm excited to go back out with not only the intent, but the hunger to see people praise God, with words and melody that express their earnest hearts.
Lord, use my hands, and let Your people use my ears.
-dean
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