During our Bible studies on the Psalms, we discussed the power of song and how music and song are powerful ways of communicating and retaining God’s message in our hearts. No wonder Nebuchadnezzar connected worship with music, ordering the people to bow down as soon as they heard ‘the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music.’ (Daniel 3:5) Throughout history, music has been instrumental in focussing our attention – either on God or on false gods. What we sing so often reflects the truths (or lies) we are allowing to find residence in our heart.

Nowhere is the power of music more evident than in the world of films. Even in dramatic films, the musical score is used to heighten our understanding of what is happening. From the ominous refrain which heralds the arrival of the shark in ‘Jaws’ to the daredevil theme in ‘Indiana Jones’ to the ethereal notes of the ‘Harry Potter’ theme tune, the soundtracks in film prepare us to be excited, afraid, worried or happy, often without us even realising it.

‘The Lego Movie’ gave us an upbeat, catchy song called ‘Everything Is Awesome’, a cheerful, happy, beat-driven tune which radiated enthusiasm and positive joy. In the sequel, when everything is not quite so awesome, they slowed this tune down and made it seem bleak and depressing (‘Everything’s Not Awesome’). If you click on the links, you can listen to these tunes which show us something of the powerful effects of music. In ‘The Lego Movie 2’, there is another ‘catchy song’ whose lyrics proclaim proudly ‘this song’s gonna get stuck inside your head’, which is seen by Lucy and Emmet as a form of brainwashing. That is exactly the kind of power music can have in us.

Interestingly, however, at the end of the film, when the lyrics of this song are incorporated into the original theme tune as Lucy explores a more mature vision of the world when everything is not awesome but when there can still be hope and faith, there is a subtle change. Instead of ‘this song’s gonna get stuck inside your head’, Lucy sings ‘this song’s gonna get stuck inside your heart.’

The truth is that whatever song gets stuck inside our heads ultimately will get stuck inside our hearts. It’s why we need to be so careful what we listen to (and allow our children to listen to.) It’s why we need to take Paul’s words so seriously: ‘Instead, be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.‘ (Eph 5:18-20)

What we sing reflects who we worship. What we sing has the power to change us too.

In 2014, ‘The Lego Movie’ introduced us to Emmet, a construction worker whose positive outlook can be summed up in the song ‘everything is awesome… when you’re living out a dream.’ Emmet, with the help of Lucy and a group of friends, defeat an evil tyrant and restore harmony to their world of bricks.

Unfortunately for Emmet, everything is not awesome, and the sequel (just released in cinemas) explores this theme. Children’s films are good at exploring the real world through imagination and fantasy. The catchy theme song is now re-written with bleak lyrics and slower beat:

‘Everything’s not awesome.

Everything’s not cool.

I am so depressed.

What’s the point? There’s no hope.

Awesomeness was a pipedream.’

Our God created a perfect world which was indeed awesome, a world in which everything was good. But sin’s entrance into the world means everything’s no longer awesome. Disobedience, rebellion, injustice, sickness and death are now part of our world and awesomeness so often does feel like a pipedream.

This bleak, dystopian view of the world is not the end of the story, however. Lucy, as the Lego pieces are shut away in darkness, sings,

‘Everything’s not awesome,

But that doesn’t mean that it’s hopeless and bleak.

Everything’s not awesome,

But in my heart, I believe.’

Lucy faces the truth that ‘everything’s not awesome’, but still believes there is hope. She faces the unrealistic expectation of constant awesomeness all the time in a difficult world but also believes individuals can make a difference if they stick together. She becomes the embodiment of hope.

We may feel disappointed and disillusioned with the state of the world today. But the gospel message is good news that God cared enough to send His Son into our far-from-awesome world and that Jesus, through His life, death and resurrection, did everything that is necessary to restore things to how God originally meant them to be. ‘Everything’s not awesome’ – yet. But we have an awesome God and He’s given us a new song to sing. ‘The Lego Movie 2’ has a new song that’s going to stick inside your head! God has a new song too for us to sing, a song of praise to our God.

Life is meant to be lived one day at a time.

The Israelites discovered this when they were in the wilderness. God provided manna for them to eat, but this manna had to be collected and consumed on a daily basis. If they tried to conserve it, maggots appeared and it became inedible. (Ex 16:19-20) Only when the Sabbath was approaching did the manna last. On the sixth day, they collected twice as much and it did not stink or get maggots in it. (Ex 16:22-25) Similarly, Jesus taught his disciples to ask God to give ‘daily bread’. (Matt 6:11) We are not meant to live in such a way that we can survive without God’s provision and protection. Instead, we are called to live in daily dependence and trust and to heed His command to keep the Sabbath.

Most of us glimpse something of this daily recharging through products that have rechargeable batteries: mobile phones, tablets, Kindles and so on. A smartphone used throughout the day usually needs charging by the evening. We too need to learn to live in constant communion with the Lord. We need to be filled daily with His Spirit (Eph 5:18-20) and then need to give to others out of His provision.

It goes against our sinful natures to live in daily dependence. We prefer to run our own lives and spend an enormous amount of time fretting about the past or worrying about the future. The antidote to this is daily dependence and faith in a loving, powerful Father. A child has the gift of living in the present, rising each mornig with enthusiasm and vigour. We too need to learn the art of this daily trust.

“I won’t fear what tomorrow brings.

With each morning, I’ll rise and sing.

My God’s love will lead me through.

You are the peace in my troubled sea.” (“My Lighthouse”, Rend Collective)

There are a number of fun days coming up in the half-term holidays in our area.

Tuesday 19th February (11 a.m. – 2 p.m.) at St Helen’s Church Hall in Thurnscoe.

Wednesday 20th February (10 a.m. – 1 p.m.) at GPCC, the ‘Churches Together’ Family Fun Day, exploring the theme of new life through caterpillars, butterflies and cooking!

Thursday 21st February (11 a.m. – 2 p.m.) at Furlong Road Methodist Church.

On Sunday 24th February at 8 p.m., there will be a special service at the Salvation Army in Goldthorpe, with a production called ‘The Well’ being put on there.

We had two more birthdays to celebrate last night.

God Sees Us

God is given many names in the Bible, but there is none more lovely than the name Hagar gives to God in Genesis 16:13: ‘You are the God who sees me… I have seen the One who sees me.’  We need to grasp something of the omniscience and omnipresence of God. He sees us. He knows us. Nothing is hidden from His sight. (Hebrews 4:13) Ps 139 reminds us that God knows everything there is to know about us; He watches us daily (see Ps 33:13-15).

God Knows Us

Hagar and Ishmael were not without fault or blame in their situations, but God not only knows us through and through, He loves us unconditionally. Rom 5:8 reminds us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, and the book of Hebrews is at pains to show us that Jesus shared in our humanity and knows what it is to suffer. (Heb 4:15) Even if no one else knows or understands what we are going through, Jesus does and walks with us through the pain.

God Works For Us

These incidents also remind us that God is on our side, that He works for us. On both occasions, He helped Hagar. She was not left in the desert to die. Her son wasn’t left in the desert to die. Even though God’s plan was to bless all the nations of the earth through Isaac, the son of promise, He did not forget Hagar or Ishmael. He did not abandon them. He met with them, spoke to them, and revealed the source of living water to them.

God is always working for the good of those who love Him. (Rom 8:28) Paul says, ‘if God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?’ (Rom 8:31-32) It can be very hard when we are in the desert to believe that God still has good plans and purposes for us; we may well feel we are abandoned and on the scrap heap. But God is able to work things out; He is able to step into our situations in miraculous ways. Though we may have to wait for His plans to be fulfilled (see Hab 2:3, Ps 27:14), we can be confident that God will provide for us and will work His purposes out in our lives.