Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Welcome to the Turkey version of your favorite blog, Tuesday's Musical Notes!
We hope the remainder of your week is filled with thankfulness festivities involving family, friends, food, and football! Here in Notesland, we are thankful for YOU as we find the Cross & Kin Entertainment fiscal year winding down. That's right friend, around here our year goes from December 1 to November 30 so we can give you the best in fresh entertainment as you celebrate the kickoff to the Christmas season! (Plus it gives us the time for the tabulations and research that goes into the end of the year Tuesday's Musical Notes! Watch for that special countdown edition of the Notes coming on December 26th. 
But for now, we have one question...whatcha doin' tonight?
Partnered with the nostalgic A.D. 1928 (same melody as the #3 "The Best of Times") comes the #8 Top Rock Track Chart smash hit from the Chicago-based band Styx. (Be watching for a Cross & Kin Entertainment YouTube video entitled "Songs with a Slash" in the future. I can guarantee that this one makes the list!) The fourth single from the band's tenth album soon became a fan favorite and has been used in many of the following year's tours as a focal point. In recent years, Styx has used the song during their "greatest hits" section as their tours include new music, the most recent of which is 2021's Crash of the Crown.
The song delivers a positive message about hard work and folks feeling useful, with a hint of patriotism thrown in for good measure. "Rockin' The Paradise" serves as a kind of antithesis to the protest songs of the 60s all the while calling out politicians for being political. It is a positive-themed song about working together to maximize everyone's well-being all wrapped up in a rock-n-roll party.
And...when MTV actually was a music video station, the "Rockin' The Paradise" video was the 11th shown on August 1, 1981, the network's debut.
We would be remiss if we did not mention the #1 Paradise Theater album from which today's featured song derives its title. For three weeks Styx owned the Billboard 200 album chart with the early '81 release. Including today's song, four of the album's five singles went into various Billboard charts with two going into the top ten on the Hot 100. The album was a concept album based on the theater in Chicago, tracing its history from 1928 to its closing in 1956. The theater was eventually demolished but because of this 1981 classic album the spirit of American determination from the era lives on today as the band continues to engage and ignite fans with the rallying cry to keep "Rockin' The Paradise".
Today we find the Apostle Paul beginning on his travels for a third missionary journey to tell folks the Good News of Jesus and starting new churches, all along the way he is engaged in making disciples and training new believers. Early on in this trip a couple of important events happen some directly involving Paul others involving believers that Paul has trained.
We first encounter Apollos in Ephesus. Paul had left Priscilla and Aquilla here to continue to strengthen the Ephesian church. Apollos had been instructed in the Scriptures. The NASB goes so far as to call him "proficient in the Scriptures", and "an eloquent man". There was only one problem. Apollos was only familiar with baptism through the stories of John the Baptist. Apparently, Apollos was also a humble man as he was teachable about the more accurate ways of God, baptism through Jesus, by Priscilla and Aquilla. Buoyed by this knowledge, Apollos began his own journey, teaching and strengthening disciples in the region eventually making his way to Corinth.
While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul came to Ephesus seeking disciples of The Way. These disciples did not know the Holy Spirit when queried by Paul about their relationship with Jesus. These disciples also knew only of the baptism that John the Baptist had performed so their discipleship was lacking in the full knowledge of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit as the Trinity. Paul explained that John's baptism was sufficient for repentance and for seeking the One who would follow John. Paul explained Jesus as the One and the disciples instantly wished to be baptized in the name of Jesus. These twelve men, after having Paul lay his hands on them, then received the Holy Spirit and began showing the works of those who were born again. Paul took these twelve men and continued his practice of teaching Jesus in the synagogue while having private moments of instruction with the twelve.
Through the Holy Spirit, the miraculous was taking place in Ephesus as Paul continued to preach and teach. Even the touch of his handkerchiefs and aprons was enough to cure those who were ailing. This drew the attention of a group of men that the Bible calls, "Jewish exorcists" who desired the power that was evident in Paul's ministry. They are specifically identified as the Sons of Sceva who was a Jewish chief priest. When they attempted to cast out demons from those who were possessed, they shouted at them to come out "in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches." Then they got the shock of their lives as one of the demons replied to them, " I recognize Jesus, and I know of Paul, but who are you?" Who, who, who, who....sorry couldn't resist. The demon-possessed man then proceeded to "kick the soup out of them" as my grandad was fond of saying.
The story of this occurrence traveled quickly around Ephesus causing a fear that results in belief to come upon many. Including some of the exorcists who were done practicing magic and were so repentant that they burned 50,000 pieces of silver worth of spell books. Dr. Luke tells us here that "...the word of the Lord was growing and prevailing mightily." "...tonight's the night we'll make history, as sure as dogs can fly..."
Paul decides to go to Jerusalem before he travels to Rome at this point. He stays in the region for a time longer before beginning the journey and with him are his traveling companions Timothy and Erastus. He sent them to Macedonia during his delay. During this time, many had been turning to Jesus and away from the gods and goddesses of the area. Artemis is the goddess of many of the Ephesians and one such adherent to her worship is a man called Demetrius. Like many today, Demetrius was one who could make a profit from the worship of the Ephesian goddess. When he sees folks turning to Jesus and away from the deity, he begins to feel the effects in his pocketbook. "...Don't need no fast buck lame duck profits for fun Quick trick plans, take the money and run..." Demetrius gathers the local tradesmen to have a confab about their profitability beginning to show a decline. They saw that Paul had begun "rockin' the paradise" they had made for themselves and were not having any of it disguising their petulance as a defense of Artemis.
Their exuberance for their goddess soon became an outcry through the whole city with the roar of the crowd making its way to the theater. As they made their way, the riotous mob grabbed Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's companions. Paul was kept back by disciples as they knew that his appearance would likely make matters worse and have the potential for him to be killed. "...I ain't lookin' to fight But I know with determination We can challenge the schemers who cheat all the rules..."
The chaotic scene is interrupted by the town clerk who quickly dispatches the mob by calmly relating to them that the courts were available for them to make their complaints known, but that he saw no reason or validity to their complaint if Artemis was the goddess they claimed her to be. The clerk also knew that the continued chaos would quickly draw the attention of superior crowd control which none of them wanted.
The beginning of chapter 20 serves as a postlude to the event as the crowd subsided and the danger to Paul and the disciples was extinguished, serving as yet another miraculous event in Ephesus when a crowd in the city attempted to be "Rockin' the Paradise"...
These acts of the apostles continue to show us how lives committed to Jesus and the telling of His story look. There is great determination to tell about The Way and instruct others after they have accepted Jesus. Today's passage serves as a primer for how we are to follow Jesus and lead others and growing in wisdom "... Knowing that we can't lose Then we'll be Rockin' in Paradise..." I see your head bobbin'...
'Til Tuesday,
Loving HIM by Loving You,
randy
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