Leckieville Freewill Baptist Church

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Melodies

Dec 4th,2005 Brother Adam Dotson

Jingle bells, shotgun shells, Santa lost his sleigh

No that’s not right.

Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg.

Nope. That’s not it either. How does that song go?

I don’t know very much about music. Basically I know what I like, what I don’t like, what sounds good, and a little about the chords. I know the above attempt at singing a favorite old carol is way off. The tune is the same, the melody follows the original, but it is obviously not the real song.

At some point you have probably tried singing a song you’ve heard only to realize you don’t know the words so you just fill in the blanks with something close.. Sometimes we think we know the words but actually have them all wrong. For years I thought Kenny Rogers was singing about 400 children and a crop in the field! Our made up versions are sometimes more fun than the real thing. In the end, the tune is the same, the melody follows the original, but it is obviously not the real song.

Some do the same thing with Christmas. We put out the manger, hang a star on our tree, and sing Silent Night as gently as we can. The intent of our heart is good, but something is lacking: The melody. The sweet sound of pure joy in our heart. Lost amongst the ribbons and bows is the evidence of God’s hand conducting the orchestra. Don’t let the glitter, gold, and sparkle of how Christmas is celebrated in today’s times take the place of the real reason for celebration. You might get lulled into practicing a diluted version in which the tune is the same, the melody follows the original, but it is obviously not the real song.

Psalm 96:1,2 O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth. Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; show forth his salvation from day to day.