Exaltation of God

All cultures seem to have at least one thing in common—they write music and sing. But why? Music baffled the evolutionist, Charles Darwin. Humanity’s ability to produce and enjoy melodies, he wrote in 1874, “must be ranked amongst the most mysterious with which he is endowed.”

All human societies made music, and yet, for Darwin, it seemed to offer no advantage to our survival. He speculated that music evolved as a way to win over potential mates. Other scientists were skeptical. That debate continues to this day. Some researchers are developing new explanations for music. Others maintain that music is a cultural invention, like writing.

In recent years, scientists have analyzed the acoustic properties of thousands of songs recorded in dozens of cultures. One researcher offered the following guess for why we sing: “Maybe music was needed to improve group cohesion.” Or maybe sharing choruses and melodies, could have brought people together whether as a community or in preparation for a battle. Or maybe it helped parents bond with children.

Possible Preaching Angle:

The fact is, these are all guesses, but the Christian knows the best reason for singing—because the Living God is worthy of our joyful worship. He puts a new song in our mouth.

What's blasting from your car speakers, and more important, how does it sound? For sound-system engineers at the audio-equipment manufacturer Bose, a playlist is more than tracks that slap. To test stereos, they need songs representing a variety of sounds and recording techniques to make sure new systems can re-create a song with the depth of the original recording.

To have a common reference point, Bose engineers all over the globe share a master playlist. Mark Armitage, head of the acoustical-engineering team at Bose says, "Every system engineer knows these tracks inside and out. It makes for a universal language we can use when testing and tuning." He named a few selections from the test list:

Bruno Mars, "24K Magic" – It features a lot of instruments from the high tweeter notes all the way down.

Tom Petty, "Learning to Fly (Live)” - The crowd starts singing along, Petty's voice drops out, and you get a real sense of how big that auditorium is.

Dave Brubeck Quartet, "Take Five" - Listen for the cymbals from the intro, which are hard to reproduce.

Straight No Chaser, "Homeward Bound" All a cappella. The vocals span all the way across the stage and you can independently hear each person singing.

Possible Preaching Angle:

We also use music to tunes our minds and souls. The world has its music, which attunes them to worldly thoughts, desires, and actions. But believers also have music which tunes our hearts to God by giving us the vocabulary to express praise and worship to God, unifying us as we gather for worship, and adjusting our hearts so that our faith is expressed to God in worship.

In his book, Every Deep-Drawn Breath, Critical Care Doctor Wes Ely explores the ordinary miracle of taking a breath.

We take for granted our ability to breathe. We do it again and again, one breath after another, without thinking. Yet the lungs are incredibly complex, the respiratory system made up of so many different actors, structures, and functions. Cells with hair like projections called cilia move fluid, goblet cells secrete mucus, and column-like cells line and protect. Our lungs have cells that are integral parts of our nervous system, lymphatic system … and immune system. They contain cartilage, elastic tissue, connective tissue, muscle, and glands, and all of this gives rise to a system of airways that is 1500 miles long, from New York City to Dallas, and filters every ounce of air entering the body.

Dr. Ely feels so much admiration for the simple process of taking a breath that he compares it to how “an artist admires a Rembrandt [painting], the way the light, the colors, the brushstrokes all work together to create something more.”

Jesus is the reason for the season. But he doesn’t show up much in the top Christmas songs played on Spotify. According to October 2021 data from the streaming service collected by Every Noise, the most-played Christmas song around the world is Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas,” followed by Wham!’s “Last Christmas,” and Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me.” Some top songs make oblique references to the religious aspect of Christmas, but most stick to love, the weather, and an occasional chestnut.

Globally, the most popular Christmas song to mention Jesus is Boney M.’s “Mary’s Boy Child/Oh My Lord,” which comes in at No. 71. It is followed by Nina Nesbitt singing “O Holy Night” at No. 79 and Josh Groban and Faith Hill performing “The First Nöel” at No. 90.

The presence of Jesus in popular Christmas music varies widely by country, however, revealing differences in musical taste, holiday traditions, and the spread of Christianity by missionaries, militaries, markets, and immigration.

Top Christmas Songs to Mention Jesus Around the World:

In Sri Lanka at #1 is “Bethlehem Pure” by Anil Bharathi

In Nigeria at #4 is “Silent Night” by Just Faithful

In Egypt at #6 is “What Child is This?” by Peter Basket

In Australia at #6 is “Silent Night” by Dean Martin

In the United States at #10 is “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” by Perry Como

In France at #28 is “O Holy Night” by Tracy Chapman

In Hong Kong at #93 is “O Holy Night” by Nina Nesbitt

In a recent issue of CT magazine Tim Larson reflects on Christ in Christmas:

Some of us are worried about others experiencing doubts: children, siblings, friends, or maybe even spouses or valued members of our churches. Perhaps we are even worried that our entire culture is losing its faith. If so, I have good news for you: Christmas is your ally in the tussle between faith and unbelief.

As a scholar of the subject, I can tell you with confidence that, by and large, atheists love Christmas. They see it as Christianity at its most inviting. Unbelievers often feel closest to the faith at Christmastime.

I have a friend who was once a zealous Christian. He left the church and became quite comfortable saying he no longer believed in God. Yet a few years ago, he told me rather sheepishly that he had gone back to his old church for its Christmas Eve service. Since then, the way he talks about Christianity has noticeably softened. I would not be surprised to hear someday that he had returned to Christ. Christmas draws even skeptics toward the faith rather than pushing them away.

In our culture … the Christmas season takes up 10 percent of the year! Our entire culture is geared up during the holiday season to make it easier to talk about Jesus. Even the Salvation Army suddenly becomes part of mainstream culture.

We can’t force our secular culture to celebrate Christmas in a Christian manner. And yet, our culture is amazingly interested in the Christian aspects of Christmas. A Christian sacred day is also a federal holiday. Many churches gather their largest congregation of the entire year at Christmas.

In the Chicago area there is a radio station that uses the standard rock format for most of the year. But for about the last ten percent of the year, you can tune in and hear, “Joy to the world! The Savior reigns,” or be invited to “cast out our sin” and let Jesus enter in, or be offered “tidings of comfort and joy” because “Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day.” We should be grateful that for six weeks during every year, even pop stations sometimes play songs that proclaim salvation through Jesus Christ.

When the prospect of war threatened the viability of the annual international classical Kharkiv Music Fest, organizers were left scrambling. But their answer was found in the same place as many other Ukrainians looking for shelter amidst the conflict: underground.

Instead of the Kharkiv Philharmonic concert hall, musicians assembled their instruments inside of an underground subway station. They played their instruments for a grateful public in an ad hoc event known as the “concert between explosions.”

Among the first pieces was the Ukrainian national anthem, played while members of the audience stood with their hands over the hearts. Art director Vitali Alekseenok said, “Music can unite. It’s important now for those who stay in Kharkiv to be united.”

The program was intended to highlight the connections between Ukraine and other Western Europeans. It included arrangements of Ukrainian folk songs, interspersed with works by Bach, Dvorak, and other well-known composers.

One violinist said that the concert was unique among his performance experiences. “There was no stage excitement that usually happens when performing for people. But I knew that I was where I should be.”

Possible Preaching Angle:

Even in a time of deadly conflict, music and art are gifts that can point us back to God.

New York City has the largest Ukrainian population in the United States, a community of about 150,000. Thousands had come to the United States as Christian refugees, most of them Baptist or Pentecostal, under a special asylum for those fleeing Soviet religious persecution.

As President Vladimir Putin put his nuclear forces on high alert, some took to the streets to join the protests against Putin’s aggression. But mostly, these followers of Jesus gathered in the churches to pray, weep, lament, and sing to God. They called their praise songs “weapons of war.”

As the nuclear threat escalated tensions, people in the service were in disbelief about how quickly the situation had spiraled. One church leader told Christianity Today, “Our minds fail to understand: How is this possible in this day and age? God allowed this to happen, and we do not know why. But we know God is sovereign, and he is on his throne. There are people who think if they kill someone it will accomplish a goal.”

A worship leader said, “Our hope is in the Lord, the one who holds things together. No matter how things fall apart, the Lord created this world, and he holds things in his hands.” He played music and led worship in tears. But he also told his church family, “Even if a nuclear attack happens, the hope we have is we go home. And we will be together with Jesus, the one we know will help us.”

Ligonier Ministries asked Americans a practical question about worship. “Must churches provide entertaining worship services if they want to be effective?”

Frequent attendees of evangelical churches (monthly or more):

Strongly agree: 9%

Somewhat agree: 25%

Somewhat disagree: 25%

Strongly disagree: 39%

Infrequent attendees of evangelical churches (holidays only/rarely/never):

Strongly agree: 8%

Somewhat agree: 32%

Somewhat disagree: 27%

Strongly disagree: 29%

Millennial attendees of evangelical churches (ages 18 to 34)

Strongly agree: 11%

Somewhat agree: 29%

Somewhat disagree: 22%

Strongly disagree: 37%

Boomer attendees of evangelical churches (ages 50 to 64)

Strongly agree: 7%

Somewhat agree: 31%

Somewhat disagree: 22%

Strongly disagree: 37%

Fender Musical Instruments Corporation sold a record number of guitars in 2020, driven in part by people forced to stay at home during the pandemic. The company calculates that nearly a third of those new musical instruments were purchased by people who play in praise and worship bands. This may not be surprising to anyone who knows a worship leader who are always wanting to “up” their guitars.

No one knows the first person to bring a guitar into church, but it became common in charismatic congregations in Southern California in the 1970s. Folk-rock went to church with the hippies who converted during the Jesus People movement. Guitars became staples of the Calvary Chapel and Vineyard church style before spreading to other evangelical churches.

The style signaled openness and authenticity to baby boomers raised on the Beatles. But guitars also had some practical advantages. They were portable. When a new church started in a school, or someone’s house, or even on the beach, no one had to haul over an organ. Guitars are also easier to learn to play than the pianos and organs traditionally used in church music.

Duke Divinity student Adam Perez says, “People joke about how simple it is—three chords or four chords—but that was a strength, not a weakness. You could have a beginner guitar player who learned to play to lead their small group or even a new church. You’re democratizing access to the sacred.”

Worship music in the 2020s is not all guitar-based, but industry experts know there is a lot of money in church guitars. According to Ultimate Guitar, an estimated one million guitar players are “gigging” at churches every weekend, and more people play praise and worship music than any other genre in the US.

The Trinity almost never comes up in the songs sung by American Christians, according to a new study from Southern Wesleyan University. In worship songs churches mostly sing about Jesus (68%), with only occasional references to the Father (7%), and few (if any) mentions of the Holy Spirit (5%).

The relationships within the Godhead only rarely make an appearance in the 30 most popular hymns or the 30 most popular worship songs. Michael Tapper, professor of religion at Southern Wesleyan says, “In the music we sing, it seems like we’re not as Trinitarian as we think we are.”

One of the most prolific songwriters in the history of Christianity has been Fanny Crosby, who wrote over 9,000 spiritual songs. Crosby was blinded in both eyes at six weeks of age through a medical error. However, she could still visualize the beauty of Christ's blessings, often with more clarity than those who had sight. As a result, it has been noted that in many of her hymns, this visually impaired lady quite amazingly spoke about sight, as seen in the following examples.

“Visions of rapture now burst on my sight” (Blessed Assurance)

“Watching and waiting, looking above” (Blessed Assurance)

“Near the cross I'll watch and wait, hoping, trusting ever” (In the Cross)

“But purer and higher and greater will be, our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see.” (To God be the Glory)

Possible Preaching Angle: Even as we receive spiritual insight through the lyrics of a lady with no vision, may we too, get a new vision of the glories of Christ! "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith ..." (Hebrews 12:2)

You thought pianos dropping from the sky is a gag for cartoons? Then hear this story out. During World War II, all kinds of production involving metals, such as iron, copper, and brass, that was non-essential to the war effort were halted by the American government. This was because these metals were needed to make guns, tanks, and artillery. Many musical instrument makers were affected by the new regulations, which meant that either they had to manufacture something else the military could use, or wait for the war to end, which was as good as going out of business.

Piano makers Steinway & Sons was also affected by the restrictions. Instead of shutting down their factory, Steinway decided to bide their time manufacturing parts for troop transport gliders.

Steinway’s patience was rewarded when the US Military granted them a contract to make heavy-duty military pianos. By June 1942, Steinway’s workers had designed a small upright piano, no more than forty inches wide and weighing 455 pounds. It was light enough to be carried by four soldiers. Each piano was treated with special anti-termite and anti-insect solution and sealed with water-resistant glue to withstand dampness. The best part was— the piano used only 33 pounds of metal, about a tenth as much as a typical grand piano.

Known as “Victory Verticals,” these pianos could be packed into crates and conveniently dropped by parachutes along with tuning equipment and instructions. An estimated 2,5000 pianos were dropped to American soldiers fighting the war in three continents.

Steinway’s pianos continued to serve the military well after the war was over. When the nuclear-powered submarine USS Thomas A. Edison was built in 1961, a Steinway upright was installed in the crew’s mess area at the request of its captain. The instrument remained on board until the sub was decommissioned in 1983.

Possible Preaching Angles: The US military knows the importance of music and singing for the morale of the troops. God’s people have also sung through the ages, from the shore of the Red Sea (Exodus 15:1-21), to the battlefield (2 Chronicles 20:21-23), and from deep within dungeons (Acts 16:25). Believers know that singing “songs, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16) is a powerful encouragement and an act of worship.

There are two kinds of magnifying: microscope magnifying and telescope magnifying. The one makes a small thing look bigger than it is. The other makes a big thing begin to look as big as it really is.

When David says, “I will magnify God with thanksgiving,” he does not mean, “I will make a small God look bigger than he is.” He means, “I will make a big God begin to look as big as he really is.”

We are not called to be microscopes. We are called to be telescopes. Christians are not called to be con-men who magnify their product out of all proportion to reality, when they know the competitor’s product is far superior. There is nothing and nobody superior to God. And so the calling of those who love God is to make his greatness begin to look as great as it really is. That’s why we exist, why we were saved, as Peter says in 1 Peter 2:9, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

The whole duty of the Christian can be summed up in this: feel, think, and act in a way that will make God look as great as he really is. Be a telescope for the world of the infinite starry wealth of the glory of God.

Somewhere in the Namib Desert, the American rock band Toto’s song “Africa” (first released in 1982) is blaring from a set of speakers. Namibian-German artist Max Siedentopf spent December constructing a new art installation on the rugged desert landscape of his home country. His goal: that the sounds of Toto’s rock anthem “Africa” be heard in perpetuity. To that end, Siedentopf connected six speakers to an MP3 player loaded with the song set to play on a loop and placed it in an undisclosed location in the Namib Desert. According to the plan, the solar batteries hooked into the speakers and player will ensure perpetual power and allow “Africa” to play—at least until it rains.

Possible Preaching Angle: In heaven there is a truly perpetual song of praise lifted up to the eternal and almighty God. Saints and angels will sing his praise unceasingly in love and worship.

Here’s the most common question from visitors to Brooklyn Museum's Egyptian art galleries: Why are the statues’ noses broken?

Edward Bleiberg, who oversees the museum's Egyptian art, was surprised the first few times he heard this question. He had taken for granted that the sculptures were damaged. Certainly, after thousands of years, an ancient artifact should show wear and tear. But the broken noses led Bleiberg to uncover a widespread pattern of deliberate destruction. He noted, “The consistency of the patterns … of damage found in sculpture suggests that it's purposeful.” A protruding nose on a three-dimensional statue is easily broken, he conceded, but the plot thickens when flat reliefs also have smashed noses.

The ancient Egyptians believed that the essence of a deity could inhabit an image of that deity. These campaigns of vandalism were therefore intended to "deactivate an image's strength." "The damaged part of the body is no longer able to do its job." Without a nose, the statue-spirit ceases to breathe, so that the vandal is effectively "killing" it. To hammer the ears off a statue of a god would make it unable to hear a prayer. Pharaohs regularly issued decrees with terrible punishments for anyone who would dare threaten their likeness.

Bleiberg noted the skill evidenced by the iconoclasts. "They were not vandals recklessly and randomly striking out works of art." In fact, the targeted precision of their chisels suggests that they were skilled laborers, trained and hired for this exact purpose.

Possible Preaching Angle: In the same way, our idols are absolutely powerless to help us, even as we keep running to them. God showed his utter contempt for the idol of Dagon in its temple (1 Sam. 5:1-5) when he threw it down and decapitated it. The prophets also spoke of the powerlessness of the idols to see, hear, or defend themselves (Ps. 135:15-18) but in contrast our God made the heavens and earth (Psalm 96:5).

In October of 2012, the Opera Company of Philadelphia brought together over 650 choristers to perform a Random Act of Culture in the heart of a busy Macy’s store in Philadelphia. Accom­panied by the largest pipe organ in the world the Opera Company infiltrated the store as shoppers, and burst into a rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s “Messiah” at high noon.

The reactions on the faces of shoppers and salespeople are worth the YouTube visit —which has been replayed over 9 million times. People with shopping bags stop to raise their hands. Phones are pulled out of pockets and purses to record the moment. The busywork of a crowded mall in action otherwise stopped in its tracks by words that make it all seem so small.

And He shall reign forever and ever, Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

The most posted comment after the replaying of this random act of culture is the presence of teary eyes and tingling spines. “Just beautiful!” said one. “Moving beyond words.” “It brought tears to my eyes.” “It gave me goosebumps.”

Noticeably absent from all this commentary was reaction from those who seem to find something wrong with anything Christian in the public arena. “I’m an atheist, and I approve of this random act,” writes one responder with a smiley face. “I’m Hindu and I tearfully agree!” another replied.

Handel and the art that still stirs imagination and gratitude were inseparably inspired by the story of a God who comes near—the Good, the True, and the Beautiful in Spirit, embodied, in Person. Hallelujah indeed!

Russell Moore shares a story of dropping into a local bookstore and overhearing a man talk about why he hated Christmas music. Moore writes:

This guy started by lampooning one pop singer's Christmas album, and I found myself smiling in agreement on how awful it is. But then he went on to say that he hated Christmas music across the board. That's when I started to feel as though I might be in the presence of the Grinch. But then this man explained why he found the music so bad … It was boring. "Christmas is boring because there's no narrative tension," he said. "It's like reading a book with no conflict."

Moore notes that the man's anti-Christmas music monologue occurred right after one of America's most gut-wrenching shooting incidents. He continued:

For him, the tranquil lyrics of our Christmas songs couldn't encompass such terror. I think he has a point … The first Christmas carol, after all, was a war hymn. Mary of Nazareth sings of God's defeat of his enemies, about how in Christ … he "has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate" (Luke 1:52). There are some villains in mind there. Simeon's song, likewise, speaks of the "fall and rising of many in Israel" and of a sword that would pierce the heart of Mary herself. Even the "light of the Gentiles" he speaks about is in the context of warfare … [God's] light overcomes the darkness (John 1:5), and frees us from the grip of the devil (2 Cor. 4).

Our corporate worship [often] ignores this spiritual warfare … In a time when we seem to learn of a new tragedy each day, the unbearable lightness of Christmas seems absurd to the watching world. But, even in the best of times, we all know that we live in a groaning universe, a world of divorce courts and cancer cells and concentration camps. Just as we sing with joy about the coming of the Promised One, we ought also to sing with groaning that he is not back yet (Rom. 8:23), sometimes with groanings too deep for lyrics.

This time of year, the songs of the season are everywhere: at the mall, in elevators, on TV, and in the earbuds of many personal audio devices. But recent research has conflicting ideas about how this music affects people.

Mayo Clinic experts say tuning in to music can be good for you. Dr. Jonathan Graff-Radford says research suggests listening to or singing music can provide emotional and behavioral benefits for people with Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia. Another study shows music may also help reduce pain.

But other studies show the opposite result. According to another study conducted by British psychologist Linda Blair, listening to cheerful, jolly Christmas could harm a person's mental health. Blair said the continuous playing of Christmas music in the car or at stores reminds people of all the things they need to do before the holiday arrives. "You're simply spending all of your energy trying not to hear what you're hearing," Blair said.

Meanwhile, a 2005 study showed an even different result. When Christmas music was combined with Christmas scents, it encouraged people to spend more time in a shop and subsequently boosted sales.

Possible Preaching Angles: The Christmas/Holidays season brings out very different reactions in people—joy, longing, stress, sadness, reunion, loneliness, etc. But no matter what we're going through right now, Christ can meet us in this season.

There are some songs that are just so good that it's hard not to sing along when they come on in the car. That was the case for Montreal native Taoufik Moalla when C+C Music Factory's 1990 hit "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" came on while he was driving. Moalla began to sing along (presumably with some enthusiasm, if you are familiar with the song), but quickly noticed police lights behind him. "I was thinking they wanted to pass, but they called on the speaker, 'Please go to the right side,'" he told reporters. "I stopped and four police came, two on each side, and checked the inside of the car. Then they asked me if I screamed. I said, 'No, I was just singing.'"

Montreal has varying bylaws depending on the neighborhood, but police apparently felt that this case fell under the category of "Noise resulting from cries, clamors, singing, altercations or cursing and any other form of uproar" prohibited in that part of the city. It earned the poor 38-year-old father of two a $118 ticket. "I don't know if my voice was very bad and that's why I got the ticket, but I was very shocked," he said. An NPR article recounting the story concluded with an amused question for the Montreal police: "How do you not sing to this song?"

Potential Preaching Angles: Just as our favorite songs seem to tug at us to sing along whenever they come on, so ought God's glory pull at our hearts to cry out in worship whenever we catch glimpses of his goodness and faithfulness. As Jesus said to the Pharisees about the cries of "Hosanna!" during his triumphal entry into Jerusalem: "If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." (Luke 19)