May 31, 2023
Scripture: 2 Samuel 6.14-15
David danced before the Lord with all his might; David was girded with a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.
Devotion:
My daughter is at an age where trying new foods is a pretty large production. When she sees a food on her plate that she hasn’t had or that she doesn’t recognize, she will fiddle with it, pretend to eat it, and set it aside. If she’s really feeling the terrible-two’s, she’ll throw it on the floor or ask for something else. We begin the constant chorus of, “Try it! You’ll like it!” This past weekend, she held a slice of babka in her hand for about 15 minutes and then finally said to herself, “Try it!” With that, she plopped the whole thing in her mouth, and shockingly, she liked it!
When we read this brief passage from 2 Samuel, some of us probably think of the classic movie Footloose, as this is the passage that Kevin Bacon quotes to promote dancing as ethically permissible. It is the end of the story, as David has conquered the Philistines and is coming into the city in power. And his celebration was wild. Certainly dancing before the Lord in your underwear, plus dancing with all your might, plus dancing, plus trumpets…this isn’t exactly the type of worship the people of Israel were used to. They were invited to try something new. And some of them liked it; some of them, not so much.
This summer, I’ll be doing a sermon series that pairs the texts of hymns with scripture. We’ll be singing some of our favorite old hymns, but we’ll also be learning some new hymns. Like my 2-year-old daughter, we’ll be invited to try it because we just might like it! I’m sure we will find that some of these hymns will become new favorites, while some we may never want to hear again. I’m also sure that favorites for some will be unbearable for others, and I’m sure we will all find an opinion about our journey through hymns. I invite us however to be willing to have an open mind to something new. I invite us to follow David in lifting our praise before the Lord with all our might, even if it’s uncomfortable, new, and bold. May this be a summer of dancing, shouting, and singing before the Lord our God.
This week’s new hymn is called “When in Our Music God is Glorified” and you can watch this YouTube
video to hear it before Sunday!
David danced before the Lord with all his might; David was girded with a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.
Devotion:
My daughter is at an age where trying new foods is a pretty large production. When she sees a food on her plate that she hasn’t had or that she doesn’t recognize, she will fiddle with it, pretend to eat it, and set it aside. If she’s really feeling the terrible-two’s, she’ll throw it on the floor or ask for something else. We begin the constant chorus of, “Try it! You’ll like it!” This past weekend, she held a slice of babka in her hand for about 15 minutes and then finally said to herself, “Try it!” With that, she plopped the whole thing in her mouth, and shockingly, she liked it!
When we read this brief passage from 2 Samuel, some of us probably think of the classic movie Footloose, as this is the passage that Kevin Bacon quotes to promote dancing as ethically permissible. It is the end of the story, as David has conquered the Philistines and is coming into the city in power. And his celebration was wild. Certainly dancing before the Lord in your underwear, plus dancing with all your might, plus dancing, plus trumpets…this isn’t exactly the type of worship the people of Israel were used to. They were invited to try something new. And some of them liked it; some of them, not so much.
This summer, I’ll be doing a sermon series that pairs the texts of hymns with scripture. We’ll be singing some of our favorite old hymns, but we’ll also be learning some new hymns. Like my 2-year-old daughter, we’ll be invited to try it because we just might like it! I’m sure we will find that some of these hymns will become new favorites, while some we may never want to hear again. I’m also sure that favorites for some will be unbearable for others, and I’m sure we will all find an opinion about our journey through hymns. I invite us however to be willing to have an open mind to something new. I invite us to follow David in lifting our praise before the Lord with all our might, even if it’s uncomfortable, new, and bold. May this be a summer of dancing, shouting, and singing before the Lord our God.
This week’s new hymn is called “When in Our Music God is Glorified” and you can watch this YouTube
video to hear it before Sunday!