PENTECOST AND MUSIC SUNDAY: A BEAUTIFUL COMBINATION

This coming Sunday, May 19th, we celebrate Pentecost and the abilities the Holy Spirit has given us – to spread the Good News in such a way that is meaningful, felt and understood. On this same Sunday, as we have traditionally done at St. Luke’s for many years, we also celebrate music – for the way it enhances worship, how it helps us pray and praise the Lord – and for those who share their gifts of music through their voices and instruments.

“ . . . be filled with the Spirit as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts”
Ephesians 5:18-19
 
The Bible is filled with verses related to music and its power and role in Christian faith and daily life. In many Biblical accounts, in both the Old and New Testaments, music is portrayed as a powerful way to praise God and to reflect the joy and peace we feel towards Him.
 
“Music paints pictures and often tells stories, all of it magic, and all of it true, and all of the pictures and all of the stories and all of the magic the music is you.”
John Denver
 
Just like the Holy Spirit as it descended upon the Apostles, music has the way of touching us in such a way that it often leaves us amazed and astonished. Someone once said that “music sounds the way emotions feel”. That may be the very “magic” that John Denver is speaking about – how music can paint pictures and tell stories so that we can better comprehend and understand. In other words, the magic of the Holy Spirit and music combine to make our relationship with God deeply personal, profoundly felt, and authentically aware.
 
So, on Sunday, let the Holy Spirit wash over you as you attend worship and may it stay with you in the days to come. Let the music touch and inspire you and make you feel closer to God.
 
And, may you extend your thanks for the musicians who communicate the music, the words, and the emotions that you experience:
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Bells of Praise
Jubilee
St. Luke’s Choir
Instrumentalists
Festival Choir
Lori Murray