My best friend in college went to a large high school who had a major cross-town rival. Each fall, the annual football game between the two schools was an epic event.
Game day at my friend’s alma mater was a sight to behold! The whole school shut down after lunch to hold a huge pep rally for the game. After a boisterous cheer fest in the gymnasium, all 1000+ students lined the hallways in anticipation.
“What’s going on?” I asked my friend. “Just wait,” he said. Sure enough, in a few minutes I heard the 85-member marching band coming down the main hallway blasting the school fight song. Everyone was chanting and cheering and shouting at the top of their lungs!
Yet amid such pandemonium, I heard God’s still small voice. As the band came into view, the Holy Spirit whispered, “I wish someone would do this for me.” And like the prophet Isaiah, I heard myself saying, “Here I am, Lord. I’ll do it!” (Isaiah 6:8)
At the time, I was the 19-year-old music minister at the little Baptist church where I grew up. It was a wonderful, loving congregation. But most of our worship services started at 11 o’clock sharp and ended at 12 o’clock dull.
I had no idea how to translate the atmosphere at the school into a church environment. We didn’t have a band. The only shouting was when one of the deacons called out an occasional, “AMEN!”
Over time I realized you don’t need to recreate the ambience of a raucous school pep rally to honor God. You just have to want to. True worship is a “pedal to the metal” reality—whatever form it takes. God seeks authentic, heartfelt praise. THAT’s what He wanted me to know.
“Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious! Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds!” – Psalm 66:1-3 (NIV)
“O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.” – Psalm 34:3 (NKJV)
Strike up the band!
Photo by u0410u043bu0435u043au0441u0430u043du0434u0440 on Pexels.com
This piece originally appeared on Devotional Treasures as a guest post. If you don’t already follow Alan Kearn’s excellent blog, please check it out!
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30 responses to “Strike Up the Band!”
Happy to do so, I love reading your posts!
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Thank you, Dawn. Blessings!
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Good point David! God looks at the heart. He wants our praise to be sincere regardless of rather we are quiet or loud. Great memories!
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It WAS His indoor voice! And it still made it through the noise of the band. Thank you for reading and commenting. Blessings!
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I just love when God uses His indoor voice to tell us truths! What a great reminder!
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Agreed, Nancy. “Shout with joy to God, all the earth. Make His praise glorious!” Blessings.
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In a Bible study one time about twenty women gathered in a circle and read–with loud, passionate voices–selections from the Psalms, including: “Who is the King of glory?” “The Lord strong and mighty!” “In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name!” It was a heart-lifting, thrilling experience. Perhaps we SHOULD chant and cheer and shout in church once in awhile! (The Psalms include at least seven times the instruction to shout to the Lord.)
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Thank you, Beth. I’d never heard this particular quote by JS Bach. I like it!
I enjoyed your guest post on Alan’s blog. Forgiveness keeps our fur slippery. Now, for a post about how mud does NOT fall naturally off a Lab.
Blessings!
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Thanks, Matcha!
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I think there is a lot to be learned in the area of true praise. Sometimes praying is just going through the motions. It should never be that way. Looks like God got His message across to you and you to us.!
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“whatever form it takes. God seeks authentic, heartfelt praise.” It’s never about how things look on the outside, it’s always about the condition of our heart. This post is perfect for this crisp football perfect fall day. I could almost hear the sound of the band playing as I read. My youngest daughter was studying Bach in school this week and showed me this quote from her reading. I thought you might appreciate his words- “Where there is devotional music, God is always at hand with His gracious presence.” – Johannes Sebastian Bach.
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Amen!
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Amen, Barb! God isn’t impressed by our talents, but only with our heart-felt praise.
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Make a joyful noise 🎉
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Thanks, Alan. I usually don’t revisit something I’ve already written—at least not without major changes. But this week I have two research papers due and little time to write a new post from scratch. Thanks for supporting and encouraging me, brother. Iron sharpens iron!
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Agreed, Matt. High church or low church—organ and choir, or praise band with pyrotechnics—God looks at the heart. I’m a bit behind in my blog reading, but I shall head over to the 24/7 coffee ☕️ shop office, aka your blog, to catch up. Blessings!
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Thank you for your encouraging comment, Tina. Yes, I misheard God at first, thinking He wanted me to bring a marching band down the center aisle of the church.😁 But, like you said, it was the honest zeal from the heart He wanted. Blessings!
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I loved it first time around, and this time too David. You can’t hide good writing brother. It will appear again in the near future in my re-posts of guest posts. God bless you this weekend David.
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God is looking for those who worship him in spirit and in truth. The style is not so important
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Really nice post David. Thought provoking. Authentic praise flows naturally as we get to know our merciful and kind Savior. He does supply and helps us to praise Him by loving us and being patient with us. He is full of grace and compassion.
I struggled for a long time to praise God. Or at least I thought I did because that enthusiasm wasn’t there due to depression. But praise doesn’t need zeal all of the time. God said it to you Himself. ❤ It simply needs honesty.
Thanks for sharing. Your posts are always down to earth and relatable. You’re one of my favorite bloggers. Keep up the great work!
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Thanks, Mandy. It took me a few weeks to understand what God said to me. It wasn’t the band, it was the whole-hearted devotion He wanted to see from me. Blessings!
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I felt your emotion and passion reading this! I haven’t thought about pep rally’s for a long time, thank you for the reminder! Worship is a lifestyle and I am thankful for your heart to sing His praises!!!!
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Amen, CG. It’s the inner motives that matter most in worship. Thank you for your thought!
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God knows our heart.
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I love it! Your story reminds me of King David leading the people of Israel in procession up to the temple. As I recall, the Bible says he, “Danced with all his might,” on one occasion—when the Ark of the Covenant was recovered from the Philistines. Blessings!
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You’re most welcome, Bridget! Thank you for reading and commenting. Blessings!
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What a beautiful message. “God seeks authentic, heartfelt praise.” Amen. Thank you for this inspiring post.
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As a child and young adult, I attended the Salvation Army in Scotland. Every Sunday we would march into town with the band, hold an open-air meeting (complete with hymns, testimonies and prayers), and then march to the Salvation Army hall.
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Thank you, BG! I’m running short on time this week, so I shared something I wrote a few months ago as a guest post for another site. Blessings!
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Strike up the band! Good stuff David!
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