All Posts Archived Lessons New Testament Old Testament Book of Mormon Doctrine & Covenants Search “I Can Do All Things through Christ Which Strengtheneth Me” CFMCorner Oct 8, 2023 27 min read CFM: October 9–15 Philippians ; Colossians Videos and Podcasts Video/ Podcast ​Lesson Extension ​Additional Materials Scripture Central Philippians; Colossians Study Guide Follow Him Philippians; Colossians Part 1 , Part 2 Transcripts Line Upon Line Philippians; Colossians ​FHE Lesson Teaching with Power Philippians; Colossians ​ Don't Miss This Philippians; Colossians ​ ​CFM New Testament Philippians; Colossians ​Unshaken Philippians; Colossians ( Part 1 , Part 2 ) ​ ​The Interpreter Foundation Philippians; Colossians ​Study helps by Jonn Claybaugh ​Teaching Helps with John Hilton Philippians; Colossians ​ ​Add On Education ​Philippians; Colossians ​ ​Ponderfun Philippians; Colossians ​Talking Scripture Philippians; Colossians Show Notes ​Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class , New Testament The Epistles of Paul, Colossians & Ephesians: Notes , Slides , Handout arnt25_presentation .ppsx Download PPSX • 9.00MB Galatians, Philippians & Philemon Notes , Slides , Handout arnt23_presentation (1) .ppsx Download PPSX • 3.70MB Resources and Insights about this Week's Lesson This week, Lori Denning knocked it out of the park with Hank and John on their Follow Him Podcast. I would highly suggest this week's episode! Among the highlights of this podcast, Lori goes into an excellent discussion pertaining to the Hymns that are included in both Philippians 2:5-11 and Colossians 1:15-20. In some of our earlier lessons, we discussed some of the poetic structures used in the Biblical texts, and Lori describes some of theses elements, including Chiasmus and parallelism, poetic forms that we have previously encountered and explored. For those who are interested and want to dig deeper, here is an excerpt from some personal notes that I took last year relating to the Poetic structure of the Ketuvim (the Poetic Writings of the Old Testament), these go into more detail about about some of the different literary devices that were commonly used Hebraic music and literature and might be interesting to those who would like to learn more. Excerpts from A Survey of the Ketuvim “Writings” .pdf Download PDF • 896KB I especially loved that Lori points out that almost every time we see examples of the Lord speaking to his people, it is written in a poetic, musical form. This is powerful, and it highlights the profound and divine nature of music. Several months ago, I came across a Jewish parable, and it seems very appropriate for this lesson and this topic. The Soul of Song By Simon Jacobson The only way a soul can move about is through a song. Without song the soul remains stuck in one place. In the Holy Temple in Jerusalem there were fifteen steps corresponding to the fifteen Shir HaMaalos (“songs of ascents”) in the book of Psalms (120-134), which the Levites would sing as they stood on the 15 steps between the Women’s and the Men’s “courtyards.” In order to climb from one step to the next a song had to be sung. In our material world we can convince ourselves that we are mobile – movers and shakers – even if our souls never budge an inch. There are people who chalk up millions of frequent flyer miles, others who move around in all the high circles, and yet others who are climbing the corporate ladder. But are they truly moving? Their bodies may be traveling places, but are their souls in flight? Then there are people who perhaps sit in the same place, praying or meditating, but spiritually they are moving millions of miles. But in the spiritually intact Holy Temple, where spirit met matter and the physical was seamlessly aligned with its inner purpose, you simply could not move from one step to the next unless your soul was lifted through song. …melody is the language of the Divine. Why do songs have this power? Because melody is the language of the Divine. A parable: When God created the universe, He consulted the angels: “Should I bestow upon the human race the gift of music?” The elitist angels unanimously replied with a resounding “no.” “The human race will not appreciate the sublime power of melody. They will abuse and commercialize it. They won’t know how to appreciate the angelic, divine nature of song. “Give us your gift of music,” the angels said, “and we will sing Your praises, we will sing Your songs. We will know how to use the power of melody to reach great spiritual heights.” God considered their opinion, but then overruled them. “No. I will give the gift of music to humans. Because I want them to have something to remember Me with. “Sometimes life will be difficult. In such times the pressures can be overbearing. Man can feel depressed and hopeless. I therefore want them to have song to remind them, that even when you’re stuck in the dire straits of material existence, even when you are experiencing existential loneliness and “quiet desperation,” you can break out in song, which will lift your spirits. “Sometimes life will be comfortable, too comfortable. Let man then sing to remember that there is more to life than instant gratification. “Yes indeed,” the Lord concluded, “I will give the human being My unique tongue – the language of music and song, so that he can use it to discover transcendence.” The reason song has the ability to transport the soul is because its true nature and the source of its power is its Divine language: Song is a dialect from another plane. If the conventional word is the language of man, music is the language of the Divine. Songs, therefore, are the wings of the soul. They have the ability to lift our spirits to unprecedented heights. They allow us to fly; to soar away to far-away places – places that are beyond pedestrian life and mundane monotony. Song is spiritual transportation. As one Rebbe put it: The spoken and written word is the “quill of the mind;” Music is the “quill of the heart.” If a soul looks like a flame, it sounds like a song. Ah, who hasn’t been drawn by the wish to just go out and sing, unrestrained, to the open heavens. To get away from it all and sing away, with your hands waving free, like there is no tomorrow. To close your eyes, and allow the music to take you to unknown places beyond the anguish and pain of life’s tribulations? …music has become the “hymns” of today’s souls… This may explain the compelling power of music… Being a language of the soul, music fills the deep spiritual void…. For good or for bad, music has become the “hymns” of today’s souls.” The soul finds its expression in song – to free itself from the materialistic bondage of the body; a way for us to dialogue with God (whether we know it or not). Unfortunately, like any powerful force, music too, untamed and unfocused, can be hijacked and turned into another hedonistic vehicle of indulgence rather than transcendence, narcissism rather than selflessness, and entertainment instead of inspiration. Nevertheless, at its heart, song has a hold on our souls because it is ultimately Divine language – the natural language of the soul. Our challenge is to recognize the true nature of song’s power and the reason this gift was given to us: To allow us to touch the Divine and integrate it into our lives. Now just to listen to the pleasant harmonies and dance to its beat, but to allow the soulful language of music to refine our personalities, strengthen our commitments, connect with our higher calling, help us build healthy homes and families, and illuminate each of our respective corners of the world with our unique light. We live in a dichotomous, fragmented world. Matter and spirit compartmentalized make it terribly difficult to hear the music of our souls. Instead, we fabricate a superficial language to maneuver in our mundane lives. Music then becomes an exotic escape to an island. In search of some relief from the quotidian, you plug in your headphones, and block out the world around you – and you soar on music’s wings. But then you have to return, and then the music dies…. In truth, however, an inner hum fills all of existence. Every creature, every molecule, every atom emits its own unique sound. Every soul pulsates and purrs. Even when the “rush hour” of our lives with all its extraneous noise drowns out the “gentle, subtle voice” within, the music continues to play (even if you’re not plugged in). In a seamless world all our experiences would sound like a song, all our movements would look like a dance. If our insides and outsides would be aligned, we would be singing all the time, and we wouldn’t be able to move unless we had a song to sing us along (as it was in the Temple). Imagine: What would it be like to hear the music of the cosmos? How would it feel, the song of your soul? Of other souls? How would life be different if you could generate a song at will? Every time we experience a moment of truth – an experience that resonates – we are hearing the inner music of existence. How do we access the music within at all times? By getting in touch with your life’s purpose, and recognizing that every moment of your day, every activity, every interaction is a spiritual opportunity. You are charged with the mission to realize each of these opportunities by ensuring that all the material gain is simply a means to express higher spiritual truths and bring more virtue into this world. This attitude taps into the very fabric of the harmonic chords of existence, which allow us to hear the music within. In every life experience you have two options to choose from: To serve your own needs, or to serve a higher cause. When you touch the surface of the experience it usually will result in narcissistic results. But when you tap into the inner meaning of the experience, its music will play. In every experience we can either just ride through the experience, or we can learn to play the inner chords that releas