Ep 99: Toscanini, Beethoven, and Jesus (w/ Bryan Dill)

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What can we learn from Arturo 
Tuscanini about the preeminence 

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of Jesus? 
Well, our guest is going to tell

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us all about it in just a SEC. 
Welcome to the show. 

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I'm Daniel Dalp and this is for 
your Sunday morning drive where 

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the short podcast with the goal 
of providing some motivation, 

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Dr. and encouragement on your 
way to worship and helping you 

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recenter your mind on those 
spiritual things on hectic 

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Sunday mornings. 
Our guest today is my friend 

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Brian Dill. 
Brian preaches at the Church of 

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Christ in Indian Land, South 
Carolina, just across the border

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from Charlotte. 
Brian is a baseball enthusiast 

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as well as a fellow partaker in 
the world of tabletop games. 

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He's also the Co host of the 
Fully Equipped Podcast alongside

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Keaton Pierce, who's also been 
on the show before. 

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I do encourage you to follow 
their show, give it a listen and

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I'll be sure to include a link 
in the show notes. 

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I'm so thankful that Brian 
agreed to be on the show. 

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And let me tell you, the 
thoughts that he prepared for 

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you this morning are fantastic. 
I urge you to slow down, listen 

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to them, take them to heart and 
apply them to your life. 

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Brian, thank you so much for 
being on the show this morning. 

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So let's go ahead and get it on 
the road. 

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This is episode 99. 
Toscanini, Beethoven, and Jesus,

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let's go to church. 
Are we there? 

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Yet. 
I grew up listening to a lot of 

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classical music, everything from
Mozart to Beethoven and 

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Tchaikovsky and all the others. 
I've always loved the power and 

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the passion that comes through 
in that kind of music. 

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But I came across a story a few 
years ago that really stuck with

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me. 
It's about Arturo Toscanini, the

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Italian conductor. 
He was one of the most acclaimed

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musicians of the late 19th and 
early 20th centuries. 

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At different times in his life, 
he was the music director of 

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Metropolitan Opera in New York 
City. 

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He was the conductor for the New
York Philharmonic Orchestra. 

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But in 1937, Toscanini was named
the very first music director of

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the NBC Symphony Orchestra. 
And this led to him being more 

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of a household name in America. 
And even though I would say most

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are not very familiar with that 
name today, he was a giant in 

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the industry. 
There's a story of a time when 

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he directed an orchestra that 
performed Beethoven's Ninth 

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Symphony, and this is a Symphony
that is widely considered one of

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the greatest symphonies ever 
composed, if not one of the 

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greatest pieces of music ever 
written. 

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In fact, a portion of it is the 
tune to the song that we sing 

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Joyful, joyful. 
We adore thee. 

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It is a challenging piece of 
music, but Toscanini and his 

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orchestra performed masterfully,
and afterwards, the audience 

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erupted in a standing ovation, 
and the applause just kept going

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and going, and cheers could be 
heard from the audience again 

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and again after Toscanini had 
bowed and the orchestra had 

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bowed. 
In the midst of all this 

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resounding praise being given 
them, Toscanini turned to the 

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orchestra. 
And he says I am nothing, you 

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are nothing. 
Beethoven is everything. 

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Now, this is not meant to deny 
the incredible talent of the 

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musicians. 
They were professionals. 

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They were some of the very best 
in the world at what they do. 

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However, Toscanini was reminding
them that they were merely the 

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vessels through which the 
incredible talent of Beethoven 

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was expressed. 
Without the genius of Beethoven,

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they would have been left 
without something incredible to 

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play, and Toscanini would have 
been left without something so 

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spectacular to conduct. 
I'm often reminded of this 

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moment in Toscanini's life on 
Sunday mornings specifically 

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because we live in a culture 
that encourages us to think of 

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ourselves as the center of the 
universe. 

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What you want is what matters 
most, and if you don't get it 

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your way, or if there's 
something that that doesn't meet

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your standards, it's time to 
talk to the manager, right? 

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And since that's such an easy 
and common approach to many 

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other parts of life, it's really
hard not to let that mindset 

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slip into the way we approach 
Sunday mornings. 

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If the songs aren't my 
favorites, or if the preacher's 

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too long, or the preacher's too 
short or too dry, or I don't 

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think the lesson applies to me, 
or if the temperature in the 

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room isn't just right, then I'm 
going to complain. 

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And maybe at first, I only 
complain to my immediate family.

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Or maybe if it happens enough, 
I'll complain to other church 

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members or the elders. 
Or if it isn't fixed, I might 

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just go somewhere else. 
This is a very unhealthy way of 

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thinking about Sunday mornings 
or any other time we're with our

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church family. 
We would do well to remember the

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word that Paul wrote in 
Colossians one about Jesus. 

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By him all things were created 
in heaven and on earth, visible 

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and invisible, whether Thrones 
or dominions or rulers or 

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authorities. 
All things were created through 

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Him and for Him, and He is 
before all things, and in Him 

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all things hold together, and He
is the head of the body, the 

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Church. 
He is the beginning, the first 

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born from the dead, that in 
everything He might be 

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preeminent. 
Do you hear what Paul's saying 

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there? 
That last word preeminent really

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sums it up well, I think, 
because it means Jesus is the 

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foremost, the greatest, the most
important. 

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And while that is true every day
of the week, it is especially 

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true when we come together for 
worship on Sunday mornings. 

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The encouragement that I get, 
the fellowship that I get to 

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enjoy, these kinds of things are
a distant second to the main 

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reason we are here. 
Jesus is the reason we even have

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these opportunities. 
So to borrow from and I think 

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improve on what Arturo Toscanini
said, I am nothing. 

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You are nothing. 
Jesus is everything. 

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Not that you are without value. 
Not that we have nothing to 

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contribute to this world. 
But like those musicians, we are

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merely the vessels through which
God's glory and power is 

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expressed. 
Without Jesus Christ, this life 

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would be severely lacking in 
significance. 

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So remember why you're here on 
Sunday morning. 

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It's about our loving, 
compassionate God who has 

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blessed us beyond our 
comprehension. 

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Let's focus on that today. 
Brian has shared some great 

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thoughts with us this morning. 
Now it's time to hear yours. 

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And don't forget you can always 
share your responses to the 

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discussion questions each week 
right on our website at for your

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Sunday morning dr.com. 
Our discussion questions for 

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this week are in what ways have 
we maybe misplaced the focus of 

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our worship? 
How can we better recognize the 

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preeminence of Christ? 
And in what ways do we spend 

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more time complaining than 
worshipping our God? 

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How can we be better? 
Hey, thanks for listening and a 

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big thanks to Brian for sharing 
his thoughts with us today. 

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Be sure to follow the Fully 
Equipped podcast. 

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I hope you have a wonderful 
week. 

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Focus on Jesus and I'll see you 
Sunday.