Mary's Song

You are listening to a message from Thrive Community Church, a church located in Southwest Florida. For more info, visit us at thrive-fl.org. Thanks be to God for your presence here and for the opportunity. Let me ask you a question kind of to lead in. When was the last time you broke out in song? That you were so overjoyed, that you were so enthusiastic, that you were so relieved, that the pent-up emotion in you turned into song. When I started asking myself that same question, I came up with sports events. So it took me, for whatever reason, it popped way in, right? I used to take my pre-teenage sons, they were 12, 13 and that, to a ball game. And we'd go watch the Texas Rangers. And at that time, seats were decently priced, so I could afford to take them and buy some food to eat. And Texas Rangers were not the big show they are today, and it was in a smaller stadium. Anyway, so we'd get there, and it was always hot in Texas. We'd have little side bets with the boys about what inning it would be when the temperature fell below 90. I mean, it was just that kind of thing going on. But they had a tradition, is that when the Texas Rangers knocked out one of the relievers, one of the pitchers for the opposing team, you know how that goes if you're not a baseball fan. The manager goes out there and gets the baseball from him, and the pitcher who's been beaten would then walk off the field, kind of dejected, and go to the dugout. We would break out in song. The entire stadium would break out in song. As soon as that pitcher took his first step with this song that would be blared out over the speakers, it was, hit the road, Jack, don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more. Let's do it together. No, let's not. I thought, too, especially with my mom in town, she's a diehard Cub fan, that is another time when fans would break out in song. When the Cubs win, which happens less than half the time, the fans would hang out a W and sing, Go, Cubs, go. Go, Cubs, go. Hey, Chicago, what do you say? Cubs are gonna win today. I asked if the band would start that as sort of a lead song, and I just got a funny look. So point being, sports events give us lots of opportunity to sing, to break out in song, and you can see where I was obviously going with this. The likelihood is we usually don't. It's usually part of a larger crowd or group or setting. So Mary breaks out in song, and that's what we're gonna focus on, with keen insight into the way in which God is in her life, in the world, and in the generations to come. What my hope and prayer is is that you will find the song in your heart, that you will find an opportunity to break out in song at Thanksgiving to God over the next couple of weeks sometime. That, look, not because things are going well, not because you're on top of the world, not because you're disease-free, and not because you got a great report. Those are good opportunities to thank God. But because God is in the midst of the chaos, because God is in the midst of your pain, because God is in the midst of your humiliation, because God is in the midst of your degradation, because God is in the midst of your sin, and then you realize God is coming to visit you in that state that you didn't have to be something you weren't, you didn't have to go someplace you didn't want to go, you didn't have to accomplish something that was all up to you. God visited you, and He knows. He knows your hurt, your pain, your sorrow, your humiliation. We're going to unfold that. Can I get this screen, Jayden, to come on so I can control the length? There's no signal. Give me a second. Magnificent. Once again, our remote is malfunctioning, so we have the marvelous opportunity to watch this. Jayden, go. So what I want to start with first is sort of a broad point of view. I'll talk about what happens with music in general. Scientists have learned that music's effect on the brain can become addictive. Isn't that interesting? Addictive? Acting out of the same parts of the brain as illegal drugs, but without the side effects. How nice is that? No side effects. Singing can help improve psychological well-being and reduce symptoms of agitation, anxiety, and depression. It encourages the brain to release feel-good chemicals such as endorphins and helps to strengthen neural pathways and increase neuroplasticity. I love that word, neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to change and adapt to new experiences. So these are things that we may know intuitively, or maybe you know this actually just in reality yourself, but singing, song, music has that opportunity. Musicians know this inherently. But there's more to it. This is your brain, this is your body on music. Jayden, next one. It may help lower stress, boost immunity and lung function, enhance memory, improve mental health, and help you cope with physical and emotional pain. One of the best things about singing is that you don't have to be good at it to reap the rewards. And for many...