Amazing

Public worship can be a visible expression of the work of God in a person's life, testifying to the
greatness of our Lord. Consider this passage from Isaiah chapter 12:
2 Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; 'For Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.' "
3 Therefore with joy you will draw water From the wells of salvation.
4 And in that day you will say: "Praise the Lord, call upon His name; Declare His deeds among the peoples, Make mention that His name is exalted.
5 Sing to the Lord, For He has done excellent things; This is known in all the earth.

There are innumerable resources available for the child of God - He wants us to draw from what this passage, in verse 3, calls "the wells of salvation."  We have to dig deeply into what God has in store for us, especially in difficult times. We can anticipate what He will do when we lift us His name; after all, Jesus said that if He is lifted up, He will draw all to Him.  When the presence of Jesus is integrated into a difficult situation, that can change the calculus - He is the one who renews and restores.

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Our worship is an expression of our love for Christ and our corporate worship can reflect our unity in Christ; I believe that worship can bring people together. Follow the progression in Colossians chapter 3:
14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Things are going out of tune in the Music City - according to Nashville's newspaper, The Tennessean:

Activists and protesters gathered Friday night outside the Tennessee state Capitol to claim the space as an autonomous zone, bringing forth a new strategy for demonstrators who have been consistently protesting statewide since the end of May.

A group of approximately 50 people gathered around 5 p.m. Friday and plan to stay for an undetermined amount of time. Ahead of the protest, Gov. Bill Lee issued a warning that autonomous zones "will not be tolerated."

"We encourage Tennesseans to exercise their First Amendment rights and have seen many examples of peaceful protests across our state in recent weeks," Lee said in a statement midday Friday. "As demonstrations continue, we will continue to protect Tennesseans' right to peaceful assembly, while also reassuring citizens that lawlessness, autonomous zones, and violence will not be tolerated.

And, while the Capital Hill Autonomous Zone in Seattle, or "CHAZ," has crafted a lengthy list of demands for local officials, the Nashville would-be anarchists have a more simplified agenda, according to the newspaper:

The group's listed platform includes the firing of Metro Nashville Police Department Chief Steve Anderson, to "defund" and "demilitarize" police, as well as removing "racist statues."

But, Nashville has had its share of looting in the downtown area, and according to the website, WorshipCity.com:

During the protests after the tragic death of George Floyd, our friends knew our city needed hope in the aftermath of the traumatic looting in downtown Nashville. Broadway is a place our teams go for continual prayer and worship to pray for revival. But now we have felt the whole city needs re-uniting.

Barbi Franklin, who is in music ministry with her husband Terry, came up with an idea.  The website says:

...Barbi had a vision. Some of our team leaders spoke with bar managers on Saturday, June 6th asking if their bar bands could sing Amazing Grace at the same time that our worshipers would be singing it on the street. Surprisingly, 18 out of 20 bar bands agreed, so the whole Broadway strip was singing Amazing Grace at the same time. FOX 17 NASHVILLE showed up and Live-Streamed the worship to Facebook, getting well over 120,000 views in just a few days.

This past weekend, it happened again!  The Worship City Facebook page brought live video and this report:

Almost all the bars joined us to "Sing Amazing Grace At 8" again tonight on Broadway. We stood in front of the Boot barn that had been looted more than a week ago during the protests. We wanted to spread a little love and grace at this tumultuous time and www.GetAmericaSinging.com instead of fighting! #GetAmericaSinging #SingAmazingGraceAt8

And, others joined in - in Rogersville, Tennessee up in the extreme Eastern section of the state, they were singing Amazing Grace.  Sheldon Livesay of the Of One Accord Ministry shared this on Facebook:

Tonight, in the midst of unrest and national turmoil, Christians take to the inner cities, to the streets and the bars at 8pm to sing probabaly the most well-known Christian song of all time- Amazing Grace

We sang it as a prayer asking for God's amazing grace during this most critical time in our nation's history to rest on our nation from the east coast to the west coast.

You may remember my report about Awaken Tennessee a few months ago - Livesay, along with the Franklins, were involved in that effort, where some 1,000 churches were committed to spiritual awakening.

I think this is really a testimonial to the power of corporate worship - when we come together and honor the Lord together and sing songs that exalt Him, it can strengthen a church body.  And, the act of worship can build bridges, unite the saints, and help heal.  It's a reminder of our one purpose in Him.

I do believe that God has moved in the midst of our isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.  People that may not have been interested in attending a church service have heard God's Word through online services and other content.  But, I also think our separation may have adversely affected our cohesiveness as a body.  We need those reminders to show us how to function together, and I would hope that we can get that sense of common purpose back, quickly - the world needs our witness.

This is yet another example of positive action that can grow our of negative circumstances.  The Nashville protests, while peaceful by and large, have certainly had some destructive elements.  We can't condone all that occurs in local bars and honkytonks along Broadway, but we can't condone the destruction of property and local economy, either.  And, thanks to these worshippers, those who work in the bars on Broadway joined in to honor God.  That can have a peaceful effect on a city and a nation, reminding us that He holds the solutions to the upheaval that we are experiencing.