Instruments of Worship

Immanuel in the Busyness: Christmas Gigs As Worship | Ep. 35

• Casey Rinkenberger • Season 2 • Episode 35

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Do you need some encouragement as you head into this busy Christmas season? How do we navigate it well as Christian classical musicians? In today’s episode, we talk about how to worship the Lord by embracing all the extra musical opportunities this time of year brings. We’ll explore how to use our influence and our gifts for His glory, and reflect on the sweet truth that Jesus is God with us—His presence is near no matter how many directions we’re pulled. My hope is that you leave encouraged and equipped to step into every Christmas gig this month with purpose, joy, and a heart of worship.



If you haven't heard, the Instruments of Worship Podcast is now offering two brand-new music tote bags!! These bags are practical, beautiful, and designed to be a daily reminder of worship.  Check them out at this link and hear more about the heart behind them in episode 33 here!


Also, would you kindly take a few minutes to fill out this anonymous survey about the Instruments of Worship Podcast?  Your feedback would help me so much as I continue shaping the show. Thank you!



Discussion Questions - Try discussing on your own or with a friend in our Facebook Discussion Group 

  • What were you most encouraged by from today’s episode?
  • What are other ways you can think of that we can intentionally worship Jesus even in the midst of such a busy time of year?
  • Do you see gigs, rehearsals, or concerts as an opportunity to share the light of Jesus with lost people?  Or more of an obligation?  
  • Are there practical tips you have to create relationships in the classical music world?
  • How does knowing God is with you cause you to worship God and celebrate the arrival of baby Jesus more fully this Christmas? 


For the full Charles Spurgeon writing, click here!

For the link to the Advent Study I am doing, click here!


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SPEAKER_00:

Hi friends, my name is Casey Rinkenberger, and I am so excited to welcome you to today's episode of the Instruments of Worship Podcast. This is a podcast dedicated to encouraging and equipping classical musicians to apply the name of Jesus with their instruments but also their lives. Before I get into today's topic, I have a quick request. Would you kindly stop listening and go to the description to take a survey for the Instruments of Worship Podcast? This will take you a few short minutes and it is completely anonymous. Your feedback is so valuable to me as a creating podcast for you. So thank you so much for your willingness to do that. Lastly, if you haven't heard the Instruments of Worship Podcast now, we're selling two different music tote bags. These bags are practical, worshipful, and beautiful, if you ask me. My hope is that they will encourage you in worship and spread the light of Jesus as they are viewed by the watching eyes around you in the classical music world. These bags are only available until January 1st, though, so check out the link in the description below to snag yours and maybe even gift one to a friend this Christmas. Alright, now with all the logistics out of the way, let's get into today's episode of the Instruments of Worship podcast. I'm not sure about you, but between Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year, the end of the year is just crazy. Kind of nuts. Of course it is for most people, but certainly also for the classical musician. Many of us are packed playing Messiah, the Nutcracker, Christmas concerts, gigging at various Christmas events, planning end of the year Christmas concerts for our students, or studying for finals, you name it. And that's all on top of the normal life busyness that just comes with the end of the year. And so what I want to do today is take this episode to share a few thoughts on how we, as Christian classical musicians, can kind of reframe our thinking this time of year towards greater worship, not just getting through it, which might be what we revert to if we're not intentional about worshiping during this time. And I know that as I look at the rest of December, it's easy to become just overwhelmed. But this set apart time to intentionally celebrate the arrival of our Savior on earth that we call Avent is so special. And I don't want to miss the opportunity to worship him for it. Honestly, I was convicted about Thanksgiving. After Thanksgiving was over, I kind of looked back and was like, honestly, I did not do a good job of being intentional to be thankful. And so I don't want to take that attitude into Christmas with me. I want to be intentional to worship Jesus during this time. But how do we do that in the midst of such a busy time of year? We can't just clear our schedules. Sometimes we're literally contractually obligated to be where we're supposed to be. We can't just clear our schedules. So let's discuss some thoughts on this to help ground our hearts and minds as we walk each day this upcoming Christmas season. So the first thought I have is to take advantage of your musical opportunities. We can't back out of our musical commitments like we talked about, so we might as well take advantage of them. One way to worship this Christmas season is to take advantage of the ability and opportunity it is to worship the Lord through stewarding our gifts and our influence well. So first let's talk about stewarding over our influence. Like I said, this can be just such a busy time of year for the musician. So instead of having a grumbly spirit about all the gigs that you have to go to, let's try to reframe it as an opportunity. Especially as a Christian in the classical music world, this just means I have tons of opportunities to love on the lost people around me and hopefully be a light to point them towards Jesus. I hope that can be our goal collectively as Christians in the classical music world. So when it comes to our influence, you may or may not know that people are watching you all the time. And I don't say this in a creepy way, but just in a normal people are interested kind of way. They notice how you react to situations, how you speak your just general affect, if you have joy or are grumbly, if you are approachable or more standoffish, if you come prepared or ride on other people's coattails in rehearsals, and the list could just go on and on and on. People are just watching and they pick up on things. And so this is an opportunity to use your influence for good. Especially in rehearsals for different concert cycles, you are with those people for kind of a very condensed amount of time. It's not very many days, but it can be a lot of time within those days. So use it as an opportunity. People watch our lives. We don't ask them to, they just do it, and hopefully, since they do that, they see the light of Jesus through us. The light of Jesus was prophesied all the way back in Isaiah. Isaiah 9 2 says, The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in the land of deep darkness, a light has dawned. And so Jesus is a light coming into the dark world that it's talking about there. In John 8 12, Jesus says, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. And that is what we celebrate at Christmas, that Jesus brought with him salvation and hope for a dark and broken world. First Peter two nine encourages us to testify of this. It says, Declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. So declare it with your mouth, of course, when it's appropriate, but also just in how you live. You can show off, declare the glories of this just in how you live. Matthew four, fifteen through sixteen says, You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden, neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. So to have the light of Jesus in you means that you enjoy the gift of salvation. And it's just a question, are we a light that gets giving off light to the people around us? Does my life reflect that I enjoy the gift of salvation? Do I live or do you and I live like we are saved from such great a debt? Do we live like we are completely and perfectly loved by our Creator? Do we live like we have hope? Do we live in such a way that people notice something different about us and want to know where that light is coming from? So here are a few things that I thought of on how practically we can show the light of Jesus during long and late rehearsals and multiple concerts or events to our on-looking classical music friends or colleagues. And so the first one that I think is so important is just to create relationships. And most of the things that I say following this are ways that you can create relationships. And I know that sometimes this can seem unfruitful and like a lot of work since you may not play with the same group of people all the time, especially if you're in the professional music setting. But it's so important to get to know the people you may have a future opportunity to minister to, the people you hope to show Jesus to. You might have to be the one to initiate these relationships. Don't expect that people will come up to you, introduce themselves, want to get to know you. But you can do that for them. And it's as easy as just saying, hey, I'm not sure that we've met before. My name's Casey. What's your name? Or introduce yourself and ask a little bit about them. Just start up a conversation. I know that can be intimidating, but it is certainly a way to love them. And this is a simple tip, but try your best to remember their names. I know that this is really hard, especially if you're meeting a lot of new people in a quick concert weekend and you only see them a few times a year. But every interaction you have with them, you may never know, but you could be planting seeds. You may not be the one to see the fruit, but you can be faithful to plant seeds and trust that God will orchestrate the rest out in his perfect way. So remembering their names shows that they are loved and valued and immediately makes you feel like closer friends. And it's hard to be friends with someone that you don't know their name. It's really awkward. So if that means it takes making a note on your phone to remember people's names and a few things about them, go ahead and do it. We have those resources at our disposal now, so take advantage of them. In terms of building relationships, ask and be interested in their life in music, but also outside of music. I just played a concert with somebody that I learned that he is like creating different AI and he thinks that that's so cool and he's so excited about it. And it's just fun to get to learn those new facts about somebody, especially outside of their what their music life is like. It shows that you're not just wanting to know them on a professional basis, but just really connect with them and create a relationship. It shows that you're not being a bystander, but that you're investing intentionally into their life. And this is not common from my experience in the professional orchestra setting. Most people come probably to get a paycheck. I don't want to assume that, but that's what it seems like. And so this is a way to stand out and go against the grain to show off Jesus. Christmas is a perfect time for this because you can really easily and naturally ask about their Christmas plans and what they plan to do, what their hopes are for the holiday. Sometimes people will bring up their family or or their past or some of their likes or their dislikes. And those are things that are helpful to know as you are creating new friendships. And I think what another one of the most impactful things that might stand out to these people is if you remember. If you remember the things that they say, if you're truly listening, and if you might check back in with them. That's another suggestion I have is just check back in the next time you see them. It might be a month, two or three or more. Who knows? But you can just say, hey, how was your family Christmas? Or how was the vacation that you took to XYZ? Or how did your finals go? Again, this just shows loads of intentionality that isn't already there typically in the classical music world. And so it sets you apart and shows off Jesus. And it shows that you care about people outside yourself. And again, that can be uncommon in the music world. A lot of people have their own interests at heart. But if you can show that you live for a greater purpose, that you don't live for yourself, you live for someone else, you live for the Lord, that just can speak volumes, and even just asking intentional questions might even show someone that. Again, that not that it's bad in its entirety, but it's just something to be thoughtful of. Is it the first thing that you run to in a break? And I just want to encourage you that it doesn't matter how old you are, you can be young, you can be old, you can do this. You can be a light for Jesus in these places. You can invest in people who are even older than you, who have been in orchestras or this orchestra for decades. First Timothy four twelve says, Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity. So whether you are young, influencing the older, or the opposite is true. If you are older, you can witness to the young, and that is such an encouragement to new people in the orchestra. It's never too late to start investing, even if you haven't for years, never too late. So when you create and invest in relationships with joy in these spaces, you share the light of Jesus with a potentially lost, lonely, and broken world that is thirsty for someone to care about them and to love them. And no one can love them like Jesus. And that's what we hope they will see one day, that they need the grace and the love of Jesus in their life. And if we can be a vessel to show them that in some way, we want to be faithful to do that in our circles. Okay, so that was stewarding over our influence well, and now stewarding over our gifts well. And I won't talk about this much because we've talked about this like all year long, it feels like, about how our work and our playing can be worship as unto the Lord, doing our best with joy for the Lord. And I just have to bring it up again. Psalms 33, 3, which is on the front of the music bag for a reason, says, Sing a new song to him. Play skillfully with a shout of joy. And this has just really been an encouraging reminder for as I play in orchestras recently. Play skillfully, do your best, work hard, but do it with joy, and don't do it for the conductor or for the people around you. Do it as unto the Lord. Work heartily as unto the Lord, not human masters. Like I said, this can be such a busy time of year for the musician. So instead of having a grumbly spirit about all the gifts we have to go to, let's try to remember to have joy and see it as an opportunity to invest in the people in the places that the Lord has put in our life. Okay, the next thing I want to remind you that I need reminded of this also is that the Lord goes with you. I'm not sure about you, I know this is a case for me, but you may have to miss out on certain Christmas festivities or times with loved ones during this season. Because sometimes we can plan around and schedule around concerts and such, but other times it's just not possible and the world doesn't stop for you, you know? So whether it's missing out on things like that, or if you're like me, I just don't always love leaving in the evenings for rehearsals or for concerts when my husband just gets home from work and we don't really cross paths during the day. And I would love to just stay in in the evenings. It feels like a chore to to leave, and I'm sad to miss out on time with him or time with others during Christmas festivities. So if that's you this Christmas like it is me, I just want to remind you that we can cling to the hope that God is with us. He never leaves us, we are never alone. His presence is inseparable from us. So wherever you go, you are not alone. God is with you even when nobody else from your family or none of your other friends are. And really, I want to tie this into a bigger picture of the Christmas season that this is what we remember and worship him for at Christmas. Way back in Isaiah seven fourteen, Isaiah prophesies about the coming Messiah. He tells them when they will know that he has come, and he says, Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign. The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Emmanuel, which means God with us. So fast forward roughly seven hundred years, and in the first chapter of Matthew, we see this take place. Matthew one, eighteen through twenty three says, This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph, her husband, was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet. The Virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel, which means God with us. So the coming of Jesus fulfills this prophecy and so many more, but we're not gonna get into all of them today. He is the long awaited Messiah, though, and Isaiah gives him this name of Emmanuel, which means God with us. And so we're gonna think about it in two parts, that three-word phrase, God with us. The first being God, so Jesus is God, and then the second part being is with us, God with us. So God with us. And I'm just gonna warn you in this next section, I'm gonna be quoting a lot from a Charles Spurgeon writing because I think the way he writes is just so deep and eloquent that it can just open our hearts and minds to understand these truths in a new way that maybe we haven't before. I'll link it in the description, and if you have time, you can go ahead and go read more in depth about the realities of God with us. But we're gonna start with the first part, God. With the arrival of Jesus on earth came the arrival of God with us. Charles Spurgeon writes about how if an angel or any other person or thing arrived on earth in human flesh, it wouldn't be remarkable, it wouldn't be comforting and glorious. But he says, God with us is exquisite delight, all that God means, the deity, the infinite Jehovah with us, this is worthy of the burst of midnight song when angels startled those shepherds with their carols singing Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill to men. This was worthy of the foresight of seers and prophets, worthy of a new star in the heavens, worthy of the care which inspiration has manifested to preserve the record. This too was worthy of the martyr deaths of apostles and confessors who counted not their lives dear unto them for the sake of the incarnate God. And this, my brethren, is worthy at this day of our Most earnest endeavors to spread the glad tidings worthy of a holy life to illustrate its blessed influences and worthy of a joyful death to prove its consoling power. Wow. Said so well. Jesus is so worthy because God is so glorious and mighty and awesome, and he came down in human flesh. He is so worthy because only could one fully God and fully man accomplish salvation, and that is Jesus. And that is a reality that is so big and so wonderful and so so deep that our minds may never be able to comprehend it. The next part is God with us. So with us. And Charles Spurgeon kind of writes about three different ways to think about this. The first being that Jesus as fully man bore what we bear. He says, the Greek here used is very forcible and expresses the strongest form of with. It is not merely in company with us, as another Greek word would signify, but with, meaning together with and sharing with. So Jesus was weary, he was tired, he was labored, he was a child, a baby, and a teen. He suffered and rejoiced, he wept and he knew poverty, he knew loneliness, he knew betrayal. While fully God, he fully identified with our human state. Charles Spurgeon says, In the fires and in the rivers, and in the cold night and under the burning sun, he cries, I am with thee, be not dismayed, for I am both thy companion and thy God. Mysteriously true is it that when you and I shall come to the last, the closing scene, we shall find that Emmanuel has been there. So nothing you experience is outside of what Jesus knows intimately. He has lived it and he is with you in it. He is with you in all that you face. The second way he talks about God with us is that Jesus, he has reconciled us to God because of the sin so grave that we are born with, we are rightly separated from God. But through Jesus, he has made a way for us to be made right with God, God with us. He has made a way for us to be reconciled. Charles Spurgeon says. So Jesus is God bearing with us. Like we said before, he is God now reconciled to us, and he is God communicating and communing with us. After Jesus ascended back into heaven, the Holy Spirit now indwells believers. God is with us, yes, but through the Holy Spirit, he is now in us too. Charles Spurgeon says, He was in these last days spoken to us by his son and by the divine spirit with this still small voice of warning, consolation, instruction, and direction. Now, like Enoch, you walk with God, and like Abraham, you talk with him as a man talketh with his friend. So God through the Holy Spirit is communicating with us. He is fighting on our behalf, the internal and external trials we face. He carries us home to eternity, and all of this is a work of his marvelous grace. So Jesus is God bearing with us, he is God reconciled to us, and he is God communicating us. He is God with us in life on earth, and he will be with us in newness of life for eternity. And I want to leave you with the last words of Jesus at the end of Matthew 28 20. He promises, Surely I am with you always, even to the very end of the age. And so we can cling to that every day that we walk on this earth, and certainly as we enter this busy Christmas season. So, God with us. This is one of the many things you can worship God for in the busyness of this Christmas season. He is Emmanuel, He is God with us. So actually go to Him without hesitancy or delay. And one of the most direct ways we can do this is to pray. May we not rush through this Christmas season without communing with, praying to our God. And sometimes, I don't know about you, I feel ashamed about how distracted I get in busyness, and I'll go through a day where I just don't even commune with God, where I don't think of him, I'm not intentional to spend time with him or worship him. Maybe I go through seasons where I just don't think to talk to him. And sometimes that can be really embarrassing. And it's hard to know how to return to a friend like that. Return to your father, your God, when you feel like you've just not done it well. And I just will say that I'll probably be the first not to walk through this Christmas season perfectly or flawlessly, I guarantee you. But because Jesus has come, my salvation is based on his righteousness, not on my works. And so if you're like me and if you get embarrassed or filled with shame because of your sin, just repent and turn to him quickly. His righteousness covers you the same on your best days and your worst days. His grace, his blood, and his forgiveness are real. They are strong enough to fully cover me. Praise God, and that's what we celebrate, the coming of our salvation this Christmas season. So be quick to repent. That's why he came. Be quick to confess your sins and turn to him. This was his plan from the beginning of time to save us and to make a way for him to be God with us. Alright, well, thanks so much for spending part of your day with me today. This will be our last episode of the year. So I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy new year. Thank you all so much for listening and tagging along on this podcast venture this year. I started it back in January, and here we are in December. So I just appreciate you so much. And I hope that this podcast has added some value to your life and has helped me quick and encouraged you as appreciate in the comments of. Another thing I want to say is that this season of advent that we are currently in is just such a special time as we've already talked about today. Special time to reflect the meaning and just the glory of the Christmas season. The true advent is Latin for arrival or coming. And so I just want to encourage you that one of the ways I've found to just prepare my heart to remember and celebrate the wonder of Christ coming to Earth is by doing an advent study. And there are so many of these out there. And so if this would be helpful in preparing your heart, I just would say it's not too late. It's not too late to start. And so I will link in this description the study that I am doing. And if this is something that would be beneficial or a helpful resource to you, I hope that you will find an advent study that is a good fit for you this Christmas season. As always, make sure to check the description for the link to purchase the music bags and a list of discussion questions that you can reflect on by yourself or with a group. We have a Facebook page that you can join where we talk about these discussion questions, we answer them, and we can encourage and equip one another as we walk this road of being a Christian in the classical music world. Please feel free to leave us a five star review if you like this episode, and I will see you next year.