A Summary of Truths about Worship

God is worthy of our worship and deserves our praise as Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer, Deliverer and Sovereign over all.

We are called to worship by virtue of our dependence upon Him, by His goodness and glory, and by His redeeming grace and love.

Christian worship should be approached as a living moment, anticipating God's presence through holy expectation rather than as a duty or an academic observance.

Worship is God's gift to us for discovering His intended purpose and fulfillment in our own lives.

Worship is not just about our relational dependence, submission and obedience before God; but it is also the way to redeem man's partnership with God in ruling the earth, which will be complete at His return.

For those who are redeemed, worship is an essential to our welcoming the rule of the kingdom of God into our daily experience in our homes, congregations, businesses, cities and nations.

The main means for creating an atmosphere for the transforming presence of God, entry of God's Word into our lives and God's works of power in us is worship.

Worship leaders including worship-leading choirs and worship teams should approach worship with the conviction that we are not providing an optional moment, but being used of God to determine a pivotal moment in the lives of people and God's kingdom.

Biblically we must confront the fact that worship will always demand the humbling of human pride in and through worship, be conducted according to divine principles and patterns, and on a regular basis manifest a transforming joy and humility coming from a sense of God's presence among us. mjm

Honoring the Fallen by Challenging the Living

I just want to share some personal thoughts about what Memorial Day could have to do with worship.  One of the best ways to honor the fallen is by challenging the living.  May we be challenged by these thoughts.

We know the beginning of worship is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, and soul and that the living out of our worship is to love our neighbor as ourself.  To go with that, John 15:13 says, "Greater love has no one than this that someone lay down his life for his friends."  

We have thousands buried across the United States and in some twenty different cemeteries on foreign soil who gave their all so that we would have liberty and freedom, including the freedom to worship. Jesus gave us ultimate freedom and liberty from sin and Satan, and our fallen heroes over the years have fought to secure freedom for us to worship Him as we see fit.

When serving as a missionary to Zimbabwe, I remember preaching one Sunday morning in a church on the outskirts of the capital city.  I could see out a window where thousands had gathered nearby for a political rally in a one-party marxist state.  As I was preaching, party loyalists entered the church and took men out of the church one by one, but I kept preaching.  After church I discovered that these men had been beaten because they were at church rather than at the political rally, and then they were dragged to the rally.  

Have we taken for granted our freedom to gather as the body of Christ and worship as we please?  There are people all over the world who don't have the freedoms we have; and we have them because so many gave the ultimate sacrifice to secure our way of life and freedom to worship.  

This Memorial Day weekend may we celebrate our freedom, liberty, and security in Christ. May we  also honor the fallen with a challenge to the living:  to continue to stand for truth and to keep completing our worship over and over by "loving our neighbors as we love ourselves".   mjm

Majesty and Glory

Someone has said that the definition of worship is simply man's response to God's revelation; a dialogue, if you please.  Psalm 8 is a picture of that.  In this Psalm the congregation of God's people celebrates the awesome power, majesty and glory of God the creator, and only in this context do we as humans find true human dignity.  We live in a society that creates all kinds of ideas of how man is fulfilled and finds his worth.  But it is clear here in this Psalm that it is found in recognizing and celebrating the majesty and glory of God, the creator and redeemer.

There is a very balanced arrangement of thought and dialogue in this Psalm.  (I would encourage you to read the short Psalm with this blog.)  It moves from earth to heaven (v.1), and from the heavens (v.3) back to the earth (vv.4-8).  Also it moves from the Lord (v.1) to the human race (v.2); and from the human race (vv.4-8) back to the Lord (v.9). The Psalm ends where it begins - with the people confessing the sovereignty of the Lord over all of life and bowing down before God whose name and nature is majestic and powerful.  

We also see indicated in verse 2 that in worshipping Him in this way our teaching of children to tell of His strength silences His enemies and all who oppose Him!  Also we are challenged in verses 3 and 4 not to lose our sense of awe and wonder, which comes so much easier to children.

In verses 5-8 we are reminded that to look at ourselves today in light of the vastness of the universe reminds us of our insignificance.  We are tiny specks living on one of the smallest planets.  And yet, it is this frail, insignificant human race that God "remembers" and "visits".  We are given special status, crowned with "glory" and "honor".  That should blow our minds.  

We also see that the author of Hebrews takes the Greek translation of verse 5 and applies it to Jesus, the one perfect representative of the human race.  In I Cor. 15:27-29 Paul takes the last words of verse 6,  "...you have put all things under his feet," as we look forward to the time when everything,  even death -the last enemy- will come under the rule of Christ.  The glory and honor of human life comes truly into focus in Jesus.  In this Psalm we see in Biblical thought where all true understanding of life begins, continues, and ends.  Praise to the Lord!  Hallelujah!  Amen! mjm

Living the Song

It is clear in Scripture that God's people are to sing unto Him.  We know that, as God's word indicates  when we sing praise it glorifies His name.  But in more than one place in scripture we see that it is not enough to just sing the song.  There is something more.

  

After the Psalmist asks for God's steadfast love and faithfulness in Psalm 61,  in verse 8 he says, "I will ever sing praises to your name as I perform my vows day after day." The Psalmist is actually saying I'll be the singer who sings your glory - and then I will live out what I sing every day.  How convicting is that?  

First of all - we obey by singing to the Lord.  Second of all - we sing, not for ourselves, but for Him. Third - we live the song we sing.  Our worship song is not complete until we live it.  

This passage touched me and convicted me that I don't always live the song.  I pray that my worship will become more complete by my not just singing the song, but by living the song.  How about you? mjm

Worship Leading Choirs

If you study Scripture carefully, it is beyond doubt that the worship leading choir was established by God Himself.  It was God's idea, giving an assumption of permanence.  The familiar passages addressing worship leading choirs are found in 2 Chronicles 5 and 2 Chronicles 20.  Also mention is made in Ezra 2:65 and in Ecclesiastes 2.  Now some are quick to say, there is no mention in the New Testament.  First, it was already established and for obvious reasons would have been quieted for a time in the early church because of circumstances.  Second, the last book of the Bible certainly mentions the choirs of heaven.  It is evident that God valued and intended the choir to be used in more than the settings that are obvious.  Nowhere is the choir shown to be taken out of existence.  

In Scripture we see that the choir is used by God in a pre-planned and purposed way to usher in His presence and go before the armies in battle.  What glorious principles for us today.  Some have tried to say that the choir is dead in churches.  But, why? Has it been because of an over reaction to a few years where too much emphasis was put on "performance choirs" in the church, as opposed to worship-leading choirs?  Or in some instances, is it because of personal taste?  Or has it just been more convenient for some?  We need to remember it was God-planned and purposed.  

If you think it is dead, take a look at the way God uses our worship-leading choir in worship.  And, if you think it is dead, come to our church this Friday night and experience 140 college students singing and playing, ushering in the presence of God in worship. Those young people will be graduating from that university and going out into churches across the land and starting . . . Biblical Worship-Leading Choirs.  mjm

Worship . . . as it is in Heaven

This is my wife's Mom's first Mother's Day in heaven.  Besides being a mom, grandmom and great grandmom, she was also a church musician who loved to give praise to the Lord both by playing her praise on the piano and also singing for His glory.  Where once her praise, as ours, was not all it could be, she is now worshipping perfectly.

Can you imagine how John's worship was never the same again after he heard the great multitude in heaven singing God's praises with glorious enthusiasm?  Can you imagine Isaiah returning to his local synagogue and worshipping the same as before after seeing the Lord seated on His heavenly throne?  When we consider worship in heaven as described somewhat in Scripture, how can we settle for business as usual in the way we worship?

If we even begin to comprehend the transcendent glory, the risen Lord Jesus in all His glory, or imagine the heavenly choirs that surround the throne we can not possibly be satisfied with worship as usual.  We should be seeking to make our worship fit for glory in every possible way we can.  We need to learn to worship God with a passion and pureness of heart, with a mighty voice as if we were already where my wife's Mom is this Mother's Day.  Blessings on you Moms as you lead, guide and encourage your children and grandchildren in worship -  to the glory of God! mjm

Gathering for Worship

It's a beautiful picture when you think about it as the church of the living Lord Jesus begins to gather world-wide every Lord's day for the sole purpose of worshipping Him.  But, why do we gather?  Let's look at some of God's Word to answer that question.

Hebrews 10:24-25 tells us to consider how to stir one another to love and good works by meeting together and encouraging one another.  By specifically setting aside and honoring a time for the gathered body of Christ we are creating opportunity for the saints to gather and build one another up in the Lord.  We don't come to perform but to perfect one another in Him.  We as worship leaders must never come to worship to perform and worshippers must not come to be entertained as the world entertains.

Another reason we gather is to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ in worship.  Philippians 2:9-11 says we are to exalt Him and give Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, with every tongue confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the GLORY of God the Father!  Our purpose and goal as we gather should always be to create an environment where the Holy God who created the universe will be worshipped.  

Finally, we gather for worship because we are promised that God will be among us . . . present with us . . . working out His will and way among us.  And, not only we as believers.  Because we find in I Corinthians 14: 25 . . . that when unbelievers enter, secrets of His heart are disclosed, and  they will fall on their faces worshipping God and declaring that God is among us.  Unfortunately, people many times enter worship without any thought to God's presence.  If God's people don't seek Him and His presence among us, how will the unbeliever who comes into a worship service ever know that God is among us?  mjm

Wonder in Worship

We know that worship is a rational choice of loving the Lord with all our heart, mind, and soul.  We are challenged in I Cor. to "sing and pray with the spirit and with understanding".  I would not take anything away from that principle.  However, we need to balance it with a sense of wonder and awe.

From Genesis to Revelation there is a thread of a sense of awe and wonder throughout scripture.  Wonder is the open door to worship.  Our capacity to wonder is built into us for encountering God Himself.  We see that sense of awe at creation.  We see awe throughout the Psalms.  We see a sense of awe in Isaiah 6.  We see that sense of awe culminating in the book of Revelation.  We need to always approach Him with a sense of child-like awe and wonder.  

We need to be passionate about living our lives every moment in the wonder of worship.  Do we have the desire of Paul  to know and experience God intimately?  Will we take the time every day to spend time in intimate relationship with Him?  If so, the passion, awe, and wonder will show up in our corporate worship, also.

We need to desire to know God rather than just knowing about Him.  We could memorize every word of Scripture and still not "know" Him or have an experience of the presence of God.  At some point, we have to lay the Book down and approach the throne.

As we seek to know Him, we must serve Him rather than only identify with Him.  If we seek Him, we will come to know His agenda of reclaiming His creation through redemption which will lead us to have more experience in serving people.  Serving also reestablishes the wonder in our worship.  

Worshipping God must be a daily act which requires adjustments and even sacrifices in our lives.  If we practice the presence of God in our lives every day and every moment in wonder, it will change the way we live.  It will change our thinking, our priorities, and our basic approach to life.  At times it will be painful and not easy, but in the end we'll count it all as loss for the joy of knowing Him!  mjm

Glorifying God with Instruments

I grew up playing piano and soon learned to worship at the keyboard.  I did that as a young man and have throughout my adult life.  I have always believed that God's Word supports the use of instruments for His glory!

In I Chronicles 23 we see David gathering the people for temple service.  Of the 38,000 Levite males, 4000 were designated musicians.  David said they were to "offer praise to the Lord with instruments". In chapter 25 we then see that 228 of those 4,000 were especially trained and skilled "in singing to the Lord".  Some were assigned specific instruments - harp, lyre, cymbals, and trumpets.  The trumpets and cymbals were also used to announce or call the assembly together and we find other instruments were used for "sacred song" (I Chronicles 16:42).  

Even though we can not make a direct jump from temple service to the New Testament Church, we still find Psalms being sung in the New Testament period and still should be today.  To disconnect between Old Testament and New and say that the praise of God is somehow stifled is dangerous.  Would it not be that we would praise God in even grander ways just by virtue of what has been revealed to us since the days of David?  We have experienced the glorious, completed work of Christ Jesus and even gotten a view of heaven's worship from Revelation.  A huge amount of teaching on worship is found in the Old Testament - should this be abandoned?  There is no logical reason to believe that the worship instruments mentioned in the O.T. and Psalms, and used in the temple, would suddenly vanish from use. There is no scripture to be found that silences these instruments.  The Psalms are full of calls to worship with instruments.  

It is possible that instruments were not used as much during the time of the Roman persecution of Christians.  But we find Paul referring to instruments in I Corinthians 14:6-8, and some theologians believe that the Greek words translated "sing" in some of the references in the New Testament indicate "accompanied by instruments".  

Instruments make an invaluable contribution to congregational singing - leadership, melodic support, energy and interpretative meaning.  I am so grateful for all of our instrumentalists--band and orchestra-- who faithfully enhance our worship in glory to God! mjm