13 Sep, 2007

Do you ever play "air" guitar?

How about "error" worship?

Japanese man remains air guitar champion

OULU, Finland - A Japanese man out-"played" challengers to win the Air Guitar World Championship for the second consecutive year at a contest in northern Finland.

Ochi Yosuke received the highest score from a panel of judges in the finals at the Teatria rock club near the Arctic Circle.

Apart from the glory, he received a custom-made Flying Finn electric guitar worth $3,400.

The talent on display was variable at best. The surprise of the qualifying round was Oulu native Hilkka "Gore Kitty" Suvanto, who has twice before scored the lowest points ever in that round but now achieved a perfect six from many of the judges.

However, it was Ochi who impressed the judges the most in the final showdown, ahead of Guillaume "Moche Pitt" de Tonquedec, of France and Austria's Max "Herr Jaquelin" Heller.

"It's great. We've seen all the nations, united nations, 'rocking on the free world' and that's good, that's great," de Tonquedec said.

photo & story courtesy news.yahoo.com, 9/8/07

Psalm 33:1-3 (The Message)

1-3 Good people, cheer God! Right-living people sound best when praising.
Use guitars to reinforce your Hallelujahs!
Play his praise on a grand piano!
Invent your own new song to him;
give him a trumpet fanfare.

What does today's God's Story scripture remind us about worship?

First of all, we are instructed to praise God! If we are genuine followers of Jesus, worship is a privilege, not an option.

Secondly, "right-living" people will naturally want to worship God. If you and I are in tune with what God wants for us and from us, our lives will sound great! Our obedience is an act of worship.

And now for the crescendo - we can be creative in our worship of God! This not about the instruments we use (guitars, grand pianos, trumpets), but rather the condition of our hearts and the focus of our minds.

Let's not "error" in our worship. Let's sing God a new song every day!

How can we connect today's God's Story scripture to our lives?

  • Do a daily "tuning" of our lives by confessing sin, receiving God's forgiveness through Christ, and offering our obedience as our act of worship.
  • Every week, spend some time reading out of the book of Psalms which is a great way to let God help us live a life of genuine worship.
  • For the next month, whenever you hear some great guitar skill, let Jesus remind you to praise Him with "right-living".

How can we connect today's story and God's Story scripture to others?

  • If you recognize your own lack of "right-living" in front of those you are trying to connect to God's Story, go to them and apologize for faking your faith. It will help them understand how much you need Jesus every day and it may open up their eyes to the love found only in God's Story.
  • Use this DAILYBIDE as a discussion starter with your youth group or small group. Have a little "air" guitar contest and then talk about real worship of Christ.
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God's Story is brought to you by Youth for Christ. YFC works with young people on campus and in the community in over one hundred countries around the world so that they might have an opportunity to become a follower of Christ and be a part of a local church.

Our writer, Byron Emmert, has been with YFC for over 30 years and has served as Campus Life Staff, in leadership for DCLA, and as an author and speaker. Byron is available for speaking at youth or adult events and conferences. For booking, write to byron@3Story.org.

Byron and his wife Linda live in Minnesota and their family includes two married sons and daughters-in-law, a grandaughter, and a daughter in college. He loves sports, deep dish pizza, and spending time with his family.