Today is J.S. Bach’s and in celebration of that fact, I am jammin to Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos. I may have found my new sermon writing mix! I hope that today the church on earth recognizes the amazing talent and giftedness of J.S. Bach. As a Lutheran, I love the great heritage of music left to us by such masters as Bach. The wealth of great organ works and orchestrations left for us is amazing first of all in the exceptional quality of the music, and secondly by the sheer volume of the work that has been given. When we look at the life of J.S. Bach we see a life dedicated to using his God given gifts to his praise and glory. 

Bach at the age of 48 got a hold of a copy of Luther’s three-volume translation of the Bible. It became for Bach a long lost treasure over which he spent exhaustive hours. He underlined passages, corrected errors in the text and commentary, inserted missing words, and made notes in the margins. In Bach’s Bible, this notation was found near 1 Chronicles 25   “This chapter is the true foundation of all God-pleasing music.” At 2 Chronicles 5:13 (which speaks of temple musicians praising God), he made the note, “At a reverent performance of music, God is always at hand with his gracious presence.”

Bach in addition to being one of the greatest organist and composer of the baroque era he was a theologian who wrote his theological writing on the staff of musical notations. One historical scholar said that Bach was “a Christian who lived with the Bible.”

Who are the Bach’s of our day? Who do you know that uses the gifts that God has given them to the praise and glory of God’s name? They could be a musician, an artist, a doctor, a builder, or a homemaker.

Take time this week to thank someone that you know that gives Praise and Glory to God in all that they do as they “live with the Bible.”

Share your vote for the “Bach” of our day in the comment section below.