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What do you think of when you think of worship?
The sounds of a pipe organ accompanying you as you sing one of the great
hymns of the faith; or perhaps a group singing together with their eyes closed
and hands raised as they sing their praise to God; or perhaps somewhere in
between these descriptions. Much of
this has to do with our church background and what we’re accustomed to.
Unfortunately, this area of music in worship has become a dividing point
in many churches. In his book,
“Into the Future”, Elmer Towns writes: “Probably the most emotional
discussions concern musical style used in worship.
For example, in discussing some of the newer music used in churches, one
prominent American pastor remarked: ‘There are several reasons for opposing it.
One, it’s too new. Two,
it’s often worldly, even blasphemous. The
new Christian music is not as pleasant as the more established style because
there are so many new songs, you can’t learn them all.
It also puts too much emphasis on instrumental music rather than on Godly
lyrics. This new music creates disturbances, making people act indecently and
disorderly. The preceding
generation got along without it.’” Some may think that this was written recently, as a
critique of “contemporary” worship choruses, that may not include older
hymns. Actually, as Towns points
out, “Those words were voiced in
1723. They were a critique of Isaac
Watts, who produced the first hymnbook in the English language, and wrote such
traditional favorites as “Jesus Shall Reign” (based on Psalm 72), “O God,
Our Help in Ages Past” (based on Psalm 90), and “When I Survey the Wondrous
Cross”.” How sad that something that is so important to God, like
worship, is the source of so much conflict in the church. But while music is an important expression of worship,
worship is more than singing. What is worship? 1.
Worship is attributing ultimate worth to something, whether an
object, person, or idea. It literally means “worth-ship” “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their
being.” In a loud voice they sang: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to
receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and
praise!” 2.
Worship is actively desiring & seeking after that which
we consider Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with
all your mind and with all your strength.’ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man
found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and
bought that field. Is it possible to worship someone or something other than God?
Of course!! Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give
him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. The
result was that their minds became dark and confused. In our secular society not many have little Buddhas or idols of
Zeus on the mantelpiece.
But our culture tends to worship other things –money, success, physical
beauty, sex, health and fitness, entertainment (after living in Texas for three
years, I feel like adding football to this category). Whatever we organize our lives around; whatever we put first;
whatever we seek above all else – that’s what we worship. How do we worship? Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will
worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the
Father seeks. A long time ago,
a man named Jonathan Edwards taught that worship begins in our affections:
that core part of our being that orients our mind, will, and emotions
towards an object. Worship must
involve our mind, our emotions, and our will.
For instance, it
is important to know intellectually that God is good, but that does not do us
much good if it only mental assent. We
may still worry silly about something coming up.
I haven’t worshipped until that truth descends from my mind and touches
my emotions and will. Emotionally, it may
bring a tear, or may not, depending on personality. My will is affected
when I decide to change the way I handle that threat next week. Worship is grasping a truth about God and then letting that truth strike you in the center of your being. The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor
me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is
made up only of rules taught by men. Unfortunately, too often we come together each week to
meet, but we’re just going through the motions. A sportswriter for the Dallas Morning News wrote an article a few years ago about visiting the Dallas Cowboy team at Valley Ranch after the 4th regular game of that football season. He wrote: "I have never
seen so many long faces on millionaires in all my life. Here are all these guys
making millions of dollars, & the parking lot is filled with very expensive
automobiles. Yet, these guys are all walking around with long faces. I don’t
understand why. They are making lots of money. They are young. They are
successful. The Cowboys are 4 & 0 for this season. They ought to be
rejoicing. I just don’t understand it. This same thing happens in our worship. If we’re
not preparing our hearts for worship, we can get caught up in external things
and lose the joy and excitement of praising God. Consider the
Book of Psalms. You need to realize, of course, that in the Old Testament
they didn’t have nearly as much to celebrate as we do because of Jesus. But
listen to some of the expressions of celebration that are there. Some have focused solely on the emotional part of worship, and the focus is taken off God and can become very distracting. However, in our attempt to shy away from this over-expression in worship, we can sometimes become too restrictive in the ways people worship. I have never been
one to raise my hands in worship. It simply has not been part of my tradition.
But recently, I have stopped allowing myself to be distracted by those
who do so (I’ve even found myself raising my hands [half-way – but it
counts!]. Certainly, things need to
be done decently and in order, but I would much rather see people involved in
worship than stone-faced and unresponsive.
I like Billy Sunday’s statement: "I’d rather restrain a fanatic
than resurrect a corpse any day!" Simply stated, true worship transforms our lives. As we recognize God worth, we can do nothing else but praise Him and offer Him our lives. In Romans, Paul
says, As we begin to
worship God and offer Him our praises and our lives, we are becoming more like
Him. And we, who with unveiled faces all contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18 Having
trouble worshiping lately? Try this checklist... ___ Is there anyone whom I have hard feelings against-- unresolved issues? ___ Have I done all I can to prepare my heart for worship? ___ Is there anything or anyone who has central place in my heart
other than God?
A Vision for Christ-honoring worship There is no doubt that music is a powerful force in worship. It is clear from the Old Testament that music played an important part in worship as God designed it. Music is a powerful force in worship because it not only engages the mind, it also engages the heart - the emotional part of our being. Because music touches our emotions so deeply, discussions about music styles can very quickly become emotional. There is no doubt that our culture is saturated with musical options. Quickly turning the radio dial will result in a smorgasbord of music appealing to a wide variety of people of all ages. Some were raised on big-band, others on classical, still others on country-western, adult contemporary, or rock and roll. Today our youth might list hip-hop, dance, or alternative as their musical tastes. Add to this the church background of individuals, and you have an even larger mix. Some prefer worship music that is predictable and dignified, others prefer worship that is spontaneous and emotional. Some are used to being accompanied by simply a piano, while others enjoy a whole band. Strongly held musical tastes run deep. Unfortunately, what is deep is not necessarily wide. One person’s musical appreciation is often exclusive (and sometimes even hostile). Such unmoving opinions limit both the effectiveness of music and power of God. We must not allow our personal preferences to divide us and distract us from our mission (see Rom 14-15) One thing we cannot deny, the music that was used in the temple was definitely influenced by the Jewish culture. Many of the psalms are introduced with instructions for musical instruments. Psalm 150 describes many of the instruments that were used in temple worship. Worship included celebration before the Lord, which must have been upbeat since several times dance is mentioned as part of worship. "But that was their culture," some might say. Have you looked around at the culture in which we live today? Each generation finds expressions in the cultural forms of its day. Today’s classical music and traditional hymns were yesterday’s contemporary music. Even Calvin and Luther were criticized in their day for communicating their message using both the language and the musical style of their culture. I envision a place where someone who enjoys hymns will be able to worship with those who enjoy contemporary praise music; where those enjoying praise choruses will appreciate and rediscover the rich heritage found in hymns; and where all will keep those who we are trying to reach in mind. I envision a music ministry that reaches all types of people, both inside and outside the church. Rather than let worship styles be a source of division among us, I dream of a place where God’s design for worship becomes a source of unity among us. The God of Creation isn’t dull. Consistent? Always. Monotonous? Never! Then we must not be content to stay on one worship track, unintentionally forming a musical rut. We serve a God of creativity and variety (just look at His creation!). Let’s be honest, stretching beyond our personal musical and worship bias can be risky. Stretching usually hurts at first. But regular stretching causes muscles, even musical ones, to limber up and eventually get stronger. A fan of contemporary music, for example may have to stretch to enjoy a hymn written by Wesley. The person who prefers the Wesley hymn may have to stretch to worship with a praise band. But the exercise can bring spiritual conditioning that is healthy for all. Since corporate worship is at the core of our life as a church, we will plan worship that will:
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