Grace Notes: An Introduction

Chuck Spangler

Grace Memorial Parishioner and Former Youth Christian Formation Teacher

Over my several decades of leading youth Christian Formation, I resorted to any number of “enticements”, “behavioral modification”, and outright bribery to reach our kids (boys and girls, ages 12-17).  And I must admit, it’s no small feat to attract 14 year olds with wildly fluctuating hormones.
What seemed to do the trick was the introduction of contemporary Christian music (aka “Praise Music”).  I must confess that a caramel latte and a blueberry muffin from PJ’s didn’t diminish the youth’s interest!

The evolution of the “Christian “Praise” Music Reflection” began by my listening to hours of YouTube videos by scores of artists and settled on a dozen or so of my favorites.  Once I settled on a cut that I felt would be enjoyed, I went through my Scofield Bible looking for scripture that was reasonably related to the song lyrics, putting them all together on a single sheet.  Guess what?  Our fabulous sons and daughters responded.  I then began each Sunday tying each individual cut to closely related scripture and made the scripture the focus of each session, supplemented by the song.  
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The typical presentation begins with a specific scripture reading.  We challenge each other to read directly from the Bible…if one is not handy, the text is included with the handout.

We then discuss the Christian music group that is upcoming.  We discussed their origin, history, and resume (one might be surprised at the accolades earned by some of those groups by the professional music industry).

We then share the YouTube video on my iPad while keeping up with the music by referencing the typed lyrics.

After the music video concludes, we revisit the selected scripture and try to draw analogies between the video and the Scripture reading.

While I’m uncertain if our youth gained much from this type of lesson, I am 100% certain it helped me grow and discern scripture more deeply.

Hope you enjoy the upcoming offerings which are presented here as they were shared with Grace Memorial youth over the past 8-10 years.

Click Here to Read the First Reflection