Hi Friends!
Have you ever wanted to turn the volume down? I would really like to turn the volume down on some noise this Christmas season: things like consumerism, over-eating, road-rage for parking spaces at the mall, to name a few. On the other hand, I would love to turn the volume up, to literally crescendo in culture, as a part of Connections Christian Church.
Dictionary.com defines crescendo as follows:
cre·scen·do
[kri-shen-doh, -sen-doh; Italian kre-shen-daw] noun, plural cre·scen·dos, cre·scen·di [kri-shen-dee, -sen-dee; Italian kre-shen-dee] adjective, adverb, verb, noun
doʊ, -ˈsɛn
1. Music.
a. a gradual, steady increase in loudness or force.
b. a musical passage characterized by such an increase.
c. the performance of a crescendo passage: The crescendo by the violins is too abrupt.
2. a steady increase in force or intensity: The rain fell in a crescendo on the rooftops.
3. the climactic point or moment in such an increase; peak: The authorities finally took action when public outrage reached a crescendo. adjective, adverb
4. gradually increasing in force, volume, or loudness (opposed to decrescendo or diminuendo ).
verb (used without object)
5. to grow in force or loudness.
My goal this Christmas Season for Connections Christian Church is for us to embrace the crescendos of Sacred Christmas Carols and apply them with increasing volume in our culture. Try to imagine what the final crescendo might be?
- Hint...there is a Contemporary Song by Steven Curtis Chapman with this title?
- Yes...it's Love Take Me Over!
And so the invitation is to embrace the crescendos of Sacred Christmas Carols, learn how they find their origin and application from God's Word, and allow them to peak through your life.
My hope is as "Love Takes Me (Us) Over" at Connections that the crescendo in our culture will be more people accepting Jesus as their Savior and Lord and allowing His love to flow through them.
We'll launch the series on December 8th...so come ready to sing...come ready to crescendo...think love with lots of volume being played out in culture as empowered by the Holy Spirit living in you!
And remember...some people may want you to turn the volume down while others will want you to turn it up...so pray specifically that God's love will take you over in such a way that more people will desire to tune into Christ Jesus!
And remember...some people may want you to turn the volume down while others will want you to turn it up...so pray specifically that God's love will take you over in such a way that more people will desire to tune into Christ Jesus!
God's Peace,
Jeff
Exalting God Only
ReplyDeleteTaking every thought captive
Letting your light shine like a city on a hill
Love, take me over
All ways to say that we're sold out to God's plan for us, personally and corporately.
Interestingly, it is both "once-and-done" and a continuing process. God's mercies are new every morning. We always have more to thank Him for.
Steve