Dance

I hope everyone had a good Mother’s Day and was able to honor their mothers. In worship, we honored the godly women in our lives and celebrated a God that cares for us like a mother. Melissa Kaminski beautifully sang, “I Hope You Dance,” and in the sermon we talked about how God invites us to dance with him. If you’d like to hear the sermon, follow the link or read below.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/y2mgnntymmt/Dance.mp3

DIGGING DEEPER:
If you want to dig deeper, read the following Scripture and questions:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. 8 It will be a healing for your flesh and a refreshment for your body.” ~Proverbs 3:5-8
How do you struggle to trust God?
How have you experienced God’s trustworthiness this week?

“Dance”
Brimfield Faith UMC, May 9, 2010
Zephaniah 3:14-20

INTRO
The first time I heard the song, “I hope you Dance” I was sitting in a theology class in seminary. Dr. Elaine Heath played the song as we began our first UMC doctrine class and she invited us into a journey to discovering God through theology. It was one of my first classes in seminary and it helped determine the trajectory of my life. In fact, if it wasn’t for that class and maybe even that song, I probably wouldn’t be a United Methodist pastor today. Ever since that day, the song has stuck with me.
It gained additional significance for me on my wedding day as Michelle and her Dad danced the father-daughter dance to it. Hearing it on Mother’s Day adds to the memories, especially because today is Michelle’s first Mother’s Day. While this song doesn’t make any direct references to mothers, Lee Ann Wolmack’s music video depicts a mother singing this song to her daughter. As I consider the lyrics from that perspective, the song clearly is about a mother’s hopes and dreams for her child.
Today is the last week of our “Gone Country” series. Over the past five weeks we have been seeking to find Christ in culture and to talk about spiritual issues with non-spiritual language. We talked about how to see God in everyday life, how to see God in the hard times, and God to see God in the extraordinary moments. Last week we talked about seeing glimpses of eternity. One of the ways was through the gift of art, especially music. Music truly holds the power to move people. In the Scriptures, the Lord understands the power of music and frequently uses it to minister to the people of God. My hope is that we are becoming a people that realize and relate to God in all aspects of our life. To wrap up the series, we are going to learn how to hear the songs of the Lord in the world.

THE SINGING MOTHER
In the last seven months since Caleb was born, I have gained many new perspectives on the world. I have learned a lot about myself, about Michelle, and about raising a child. While there have been challenging times throughout the journey, the tender moments tend to stand out more vividly. One of them most tender of times is watching Michelle hold Caleb and sing to him. I don’t think words can truly capture the moment, but if you’ve ever experienced a similar moment you know what I mean. Mothers are naturally inclined to nurture, care for and sooth their children. There is something miraculous and beautiful about the way a mother invests in her children. “I Hope You Dance” resonates with all parents, but especially mothers, because it expresses the hopes and dreams a mother has for her children.
Many of us have been blessed with wonderful, nurturing, godly mothers. It is important that we thank them and God for their positive presence in our lives. Whether you have the best mom or worst mom in the world, she probably let you down at some point. It’s important to remember that moms aren’t perfect; they aren’t God. Thankfully, we have a Heavenly Creator whose cares for us is as tender as a mother’s. While we generally talk about God in father terms, there is strong biblical basis for thinking of God as a mother as well. Psalm 131 and Isaiah 66 are two examples of God’s mothering qualities.
I want to spend some time this morning paralleling the song “I Hope You Dance,” by Lee Ann Wolmack and the Zephaniah song found in chapter 3. Doing so will help us to hear the songs of the Lord in the world. The Zephaniah 3 passage we heard read earlier is another example of a motherly God. Like mothers, God has magnificent hopes and dreams for each of us because we are God’s children. Not only does God have hopes and dreams but God can help bring them into fruition. When God sings over his people is it not simply a wish or a hope, but a prophetic declaration. The songs of the Lord bring things into being. They make dreams a reality. They turn hopes into joys. They are the songs of the Lord and they invite us to respond to them. Let’s look at the first song of the Lord we hear in Zephaniah’s song.

SONGS OF THE LORD
#1. The Lord sings us a song of protection.
Life has a way of throwing ample challenges against us. The obstacles and barriers loom large and seek to overwhelm us. In verse two, the mother hopes these challenges to keep us from fully living life:
I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance,Never settle for the path of least resistanceLivin' might mean takin' chances, but they're worth takin',Lovin' might be a mistake but it's worth makin',Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter,When you come close to sellin' out reconsider,Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance,And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.
I think many of us are tempted to take the safe road of life. We allow our fears to control our choices and our decisions. We avoid getting married because we don’t want a broken heart. We take the better paying job instead of doing what we love. We miss glimpses of heaven and we miss God in our lives because we are imprisoned by our fears and worries.
When the Lord sings, we are protected from our enemies and freed from our fears. Listen to the Song of Zephaniah: “The Lord has taken away the judgments against you, he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more. 16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak. 17The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory;” The Lord in his power is able to provide us with the protection we need. We do not need to be afraid any longer. I love the description (although it’s not very motherly…) “a warrior who gives victory. God fights for us. His songs are victory songs of joy and jubilation.

#1a. We sing back a song of trust.
As we hear the song of protection and victory, we sing back a song of trust. The song us trust allows us to engage in the dance with the Lord. It allows God’s work to be done. Proverbs 3 exhorts us to trust in the Lord: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. 6In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. 7Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. 8It will be a healing for your flesh and a refreshment for your body.” Before we make decisions, we need to seek the Lord’s guidance. We need to trust the wisdom of the Lord. In tight spots, we need to wait on the Lord and look to him for strength. We refrain from worrying about things we cannot control. These are some of the ways we sing back the song of trust.

#2. The Lord sings us a song of restoration.
As we face challenges throughout our lives, they have a way of wearing us down. The first verse of the song, speaks to the hope of the mother that her child doesn’t get burned out. Listen to the hopes:
I hope you never lose your sense of wonder,You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger,May you never take one single breath for granted,GOD forbid love ever leave you empty handed,I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens,Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance,And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.
As the mother hopes her child doesn’t get run over by life, the Lord sings a song of restoration and renewal over our lives. Listen to the song of the Lord, “He will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival…” It goes on, “And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. 20 At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the Lord.”
God’s song prophetically brings new life to dead bones. We are freed from judgments against us. We have been forgiven and that frees us from the past. God’s song, therefore, reenergizes us in weary times. It brings erases shame. It brings renown and praise. It showers down God’s love. It brings gladness and rejoicing. God’s song invites us to respond and to participate in the restoration of our souls.

#2. We sing back a song of delight.
We are invited to sing back the song of delight as we are restored. In Psalm 37, we are encouraged to sing both the song of trust and the song of delight. “Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers, 2 for they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb. 3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.
4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.”
If we need our souls restored, we must sing delight back to the Lord as he sings restoration over us. This begins as we trust in the Lord but continues by delighting in him. By saying thank you. By worship him passionately. By giving generously. By appreciating the small blessings in life. These are the ways we begin to delight in the Lord. And the way that we are restored and renewed by his singing.

CONCLUSION
Lee Ann Wolmack’s chorus captures the essence of the song: “I hope you dance… I hope you dance…” The mother hopes her child learns to dance through life and to enjoy every moment of it. Zephaniah’s song expresses a similar sentiment in the first verse: “Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.” The dance and the song are about responding to God moving in your life. It is singing in response to God’s song. It is dancing with God as he dances. It is moving when he moves, and him moving when we move. The dance and the song are about an interconnected relationship with our Creator. God does not and will not force us to sing and dance. Instead he invites us to join with him. And that is the beauty of the dance when we chose to participate in it. Let’s pray.