Thinking about the language of music and art
“For : The Essentials Course Online Worship Course with Dan Wilt“
‘Art is the language of the soul’, and it is so fitting that a Christian circle can today enjoy the arts in a church setting (1). I have literally just got home from Judah Ministry fellowship where their new church building was blessed. Women in white with different coloured ribbon belts, danced with decorated circlets, and then tambourines. I looked around me and saw banners proclaiming that Jesus is Lord.
It reminded me of the course material in week 4, that we can have fresh visions of the kingdom through art. During the preaching of the word, echoing from an earlier week in Red, the preacher used the phrase let’s bring the kingdom of heaven down here to earth. Subsequently, people were prayed over and the holy spirit saw one after one, fall in His blessings to the floor!
The arts of movement and dance were so free today in church -I was so blessed and pleased, that we have kept this tradition of old but made it fresh for today.
I have recently become more aware of the importance of the Old Testament to New Testament Jewish traditions and how these traditions have become still valid for today. The symbols of the tabernacle, the rich tapestries, the holy of holies and the ark of the covenant and the layout of the tabernacle, tell us today of a beautiful story of sacrifice, of love and of a blessed covenant that can be ours if we would just claim it (2).
Our church today is full of different cultures and we should embrace their history, as Dan said, ‘every tribe, nation and people’ bring an artistic rendering that is special and gives glory to God but one that we can share in and appreciate.
Art can create a place in our soul, where God can meet us (3). I lose count of the amount of sculptures I’ve seen, or musical pieces, where I’ve felt the Spirit reach down and touch my soul. Even a written piece, can bring harmony and blessing. My project for the Red course, is more of a reflective psalm. I wanted to create a piece, where I wrote some words and then reflected on them. I’ve posted that item as a separate post.
‘When the world is broken Lord, yet, will I still praise You, I will proclaim You are my God. When my spirit is bruised and my mind feels crushed, Lord, I will declare You are King. When the promises I felt were mine are not delivered, Lord Almighty – I will reclaim them and live them out, for You.’
Amen
1.Dan Wilt, Bearers of Memory:Historic Reflections on Worship (e-book Essentials Red, 2010)
2.Dan Wilt, “The Worship Languages of Art and Music ” (lecture, Essentials Red, WorshipTraining.com, February, 2010)
3. Dan Wilt, ibid
