Monthly Challenge - October

 

Psalms 149:1  Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.

This month’s challenge is about music.  I was a church pianist for years, so music has been a big part of my life.  There are so many great hymns and songs that have been forgotten over the years.  There are also some great new ones being written.

So here we go!

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Learn a hymn or song.

And/Or

Listen to a CD, record or tape you like but haven’t listened to for awhile.

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This should give the option of choosing your difficulty level. :-)

Learning a hymn or song can be as difficult or easy as you want to make it.  If you play an instrument you could learn to play something you’ve never tried before.  Most of us don’t know every hymn in the hymn book, so picking something should be relatively easy.  Or you could learn to sing a new hymn/song.  You could also make a project of memorizing the all the words of a hymn, either one you are familiar with or a new one.  If you have children, think about including them.

If you need some ideas you can look back through the things I’ve posted on Saturday nights for over a year now: Evening Songs.

Listening to something you haven’t listened to for awhile is self-explanatory.  The only question is whether you have a way to play some of the older types. :-)

And, don’t forget, as Christians we are not supposed to be selfish with our music.  We can minister to our own family, even if we feel awkward singing a solo or something in church.  My mom and dad used to sing  Christian songs to us at bed time.  Being able to sing the words distinctly in congregational singing can also be a ministry.  It may help those who are less familiar with the songs, and it can help you to sing out more since you already know the words.  Playing uplifting music in the home is also a good ministry, whether it’s on your own instrument or through pre-recorded music.  If you are single you might still find a way to share your music with someone else – a roommate or friend or perhaps a shut-in, and, of course, congregational singing.

Colossians 3:16  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

1 Corinthians 14:7  And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped?

In case your excuse is that you don’t sing well:

Psalms 95:1-2  O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

Enjoy!