1 They brought the ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and they presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before God. 2 After David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord. 3 Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each Israelite man and woman. 4 He appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, to extol, thank, and praise the Lord, the God of Israel… 

People have different understandings and tastes when it comes to music. Some people think that every hymn that is sung in church is a lullaby.

Music is an integral part of life and teaching. It has been part of the Biblical history since Genesis 4 which mentioned Jubal was the father of all who played the liar and pipe. We are aware of the place music has had when excitingly Moses and Miriam sang and played the tambourine before the Lord and wrote and sang the hymn after crossing the Red Sea when the Egyptians were drowned. David often calmed Saul's uneasy moods by playing a harp. Elijah reported in II Kings 3:15,16 “but now bring me a minstrel and when the minstrel played the power of the Lord came upon him and he said thus sayeth the Lord…”

Mary sang to the Lord when she was told she was to give birth to the Messiah. Paul and Silas sang hymns while in prison and the Bible ends in Revelations depicting joy and celebration in heaven before the throne of God when all creation will sing and shout the victory songs of praise.

 I hope you like music for that will go with us all throughout eternity. I would like to think together about the ministry of music and in doing so realize that this can be a subject where people respond to music they like even though most cannot say what's good or bad music except what appeals to them.

Since people have different training and different cultural experiences, most assume that music and art are very personal tastes.

Since I have been exposed to a variety of styles of music, I will confess to you, that I too have my likes and dislikes. However, I also find that my appreciation for the music is varied. In fact, the only two styles of music that make me want to leave or turn off are heavy opera on one extreme and hard acid rock on the other.

I would like to use 1 Chronicles 16 as the passage to lead our thinking in music as a ministry and what place music has in the church.

Application:   What style of music do you prefer?  Why?

Prayer: