I'm not the only one with worship issues. Lots of people have them.
People complain about the music in church declaring how it makes it impossible for them to worship. It isn't comfortable for
them. It messes with their rhythm. And do NOT change the words or inflection
because it makes it hard to follow and they can't sing it mindlessly like
usual, and plus, they sound dumb when they get the notes wrong, and how one
worship when they are afraid of getting it wrong?
I'm not exaggerating when I say at some point every statement in that paragraph has come out of my mouth, and the saddest part is I thought I was right in being indignant about such things because worship is important after all, and I need to worship. Worship is where I connect with God. It's the soul-melding of the spiritual life.
And it really has nothing to do with music.
Let me explain. I love music. I love to sing. I love the whole expressive experience of music, but it isn't worship.
Worship is declaring the worth of something.
When I worship God, I'm responding to Him and the goodness He has poured out on me.
My response may be joyful excitement because He has heard my prayer, and I may express that with boisterous clapping or dancing.
My heart may be broken, and I may feel crushed, but I know He is till good, so I respond to that with my presence, even though I have no words.
I may respond in awe at how amazing He is. I may respond with humility because He is so good and I deserve nothing from His hand.
Maybe I am simply overwhelmed by the bigness and wonder of Him, so I raise my hands to acknowledge that He alone is worthy of my praise.
That is worship.
Music offers an avenue for expressing those responses, but it isn't worship. If I stand in a church service and find fault that the worship doesn't cater to me, that's says a lot more about my heart than the music.
And instead of making demands for how the music needs to be done right, it's a good time to stop and ask God how to get my heart right.
Drop by tomorrow, and I'll tell you How to Fix Bad Worship.
Copyright 2014 Jerri Kelley Phillips
All rights reserved
I'm not exaggerating when I say at some point every statement in that paragraph has come out of my mouth, and the saddest part is I thought I was right in being indignant about such things because worship is important after all, and I need to worship. Worship is where I connect with God. It's the soul-melding of the spiritual life.
And it really has nothing to do with music.
Let me explain. I love music. I love to sing. I love the whole expressive experience of music, but it isn't worship.
Worship is declaring the worth of something.
When I worship God, I'm responding to Him and the goodness He has poured out on me.
My response may be joyful excitement because He has heard my prayer, and I may express that with boisterous clapping or dancing.
My heart may be broken, and I may feel crushed, but I know He is till good, so I respond to that with my presence, even though I have no words.
I may respond in awe at how amazing He is. I may respond with humility because He is so good and I deserve nothing from His hand.
Maybe I am simply overwhelmed by the bigness and wonder of Him, so I raise my hands to acknowledge that He alone is worthy of my praise.
That is worship.
Music offers an avenue for expressing those responses, but it isn't worship. If I stand in a church service and find fault that the worship doesn't cater to me, that's says a lot more about my heart than the music.
And instead of making demands for how the music needs to be done right, it's a good time to stop and ask God how to get my heart right.
Drop by tomorrow, and I'll tell you How to Fix Bad Worship.
Copyright 2014 Jerri Kelley Phillips
All rights reserved
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