"Shake it up, baby, twist and shout" – B. Russell/P. Medley

Psalm 100:1-2 – Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness, come before him with joyful songs.

When the first songs of Elvis Presley and Bill Haley and the Comets became popular, many adults of that generation immediately dismissed the songs as fads and, worse still, the work of the devil. While this concept seems laughable today, early rock songs were viewed as pure evil and a terrible influence on youth. As popular music took hold, praise and worship songs composed around rock and pop rhythms began to surface and created a whole new controversy for the church — how can this "horrid" music be used to glorify God?

Let's step back and have a look at this. Most of the established hymns of the traditional church were either based on works by classical composers or traditional tunes such as "Greensleeves" that became the famous Christmas carol, "What Child is This". The music that comprises the bulk of our hymnbooks was composed in the 18th and 19th centuries, over 1500 years after the presence on this earth of our Saviour, who is the reason for the music.

Somewhere along the line, somebody composed music that changed the way we worship — be it the hymn writers of the last few centuries or the contemporary rock writers and performers of today. The point is that if the message of the music and the heart of the performer are clearly focused on glorifying God and Jesus, then the style is unimportant — what is important is that we spread the news of Jesus with passion and enthusiasm.

Make a joyful noise today — in any way that you want!

Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, thank you for the precious gift of Your Son. We are so filled with praise that we need to show it in every way possible, and we are grateful to be free to show it however we feel comfortable. In Your great name, we pray. Amen.

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