Soundtracks for the Battle

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For as long as I can remember military history has occupied a chief place of interest in my life. Whenever I came home from school and my parents asked how my day was I invariably responded, “Boring.” It was only during times when my social studies class studied a famous war that the response changed to, “My day was awesome!

I majored in history for my undergraduate degree and still spend a fair portion of my week reading books about military history. When I heard my three little boys off to bath time each night I do so by commanding, “Get off the beach! Move, move, move!”

It is probably not surprising then to find out that I like to think of preaching as being, primarily, an act of warfare. When a preacher stands behind the sacred desk to deliver God’s Sacred Word he enters into the greatest battle the universe has ever seen. Through gospel courage and clarity he assaults the kingdom of darkness and the gates of hell. His weapon is the sword of the Spirit and with it he aims to slay sin and liberate its captives.

Therefore, I believe that war soundtracks – from major movies or mini-series – are the most appropriate background music for sermon preparation. John Murphy, a friend and church planter, tweeted last week:

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So in honor of “Murph” – a preacher and former solider – here are the soundtracks I listen to most often, in no particular order. Some of them prove a lousy movie can have a fantastic musical score. Maybe they can fuel your preparation for the coming weekend’s battle.

Are there any specific styles of music that help you during sermon preparation?