What is our worship???

I was reading a post by my friend Dean Lusk at his site here. He was talking about the complaints of folks too often in churches. They range many different categories and schools of thought, but I was reminded of this video I saw a couple months ago. I wanted to share it with you.



I've been reading For the Tough Times by Max Lucado and last night in Chapter 3 it talked about magnifying the Lord. Do you know what that means? I'd never really thought about it much in depth before that, but according to Merriam-Webster, magnify means...1 to cause to be held in greater esteem or respect 2 a: to increase in significance : intensify b: exaggerate 3: to enlarge in fact or in appearance...Based on that definition, do we truly magnify God in our times of worship? Think on the verse from Psalms 34:3 today..."O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together."

What thoughts, ideas, or emotions did the video stir in your heart and mind? Are we more consumed with selfish fulfillment than we are in worshiping the Lord? Leave your thoughts...

Please let me know if there is a special prayer request I can word on your behalf today!!!

The Heart of Our Worship

Okay, bear with me for a few moments...the last couple months, there has been something bothering me. Now, please don't think I am coming down on worship leaders everywhere, or even questioning their motives. I just personally think we need to watch how we portray what we are doing in our worship services and how it comes across to others. One of my favorite blogs has a thing every week called Sunday Setlists...Like I said, I am not taking aim at them. It is a great way of seeing how other ministers are arranging services and worshipping corporately. My beef is that it "sounds" more like a performance of man than a worship of God. I don't want my worship to be a "setlist" of music to entertain. I guess the whole "setlist" problem mainly comes from my DJ days. My prayer is that we will come back to the heart of true worship...where it's not about us at all! There, I got that off my chest, whew! Now, I feel better...

Okay, so for today's passage, we look to Psalm 5:7-9..."But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple. (8) Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face. (9) For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue."

Here, David is asking for God's overall guidance in his life. We should look at verse 7 when we come to His house to worship Him. We should come in lowness of spirit...humbly...praising His great mercy upon us!!! Let's corporately ask the Lord to lead our steps today. I am challenging you to come with me on this journey...

Lord, lead us in your righteousness, because our enemies in this world are looking to trip us daily. Light our paths before us...show us where you want us to go...Let us see the folly of the words they speak that don't ring true...Let us see the heart of them, that we may not be fooled by their smooth talk...Keep us strong, even though they tell us what our flesh longs to hear...Thank you, Lord for your faithfulness and mercy...We deserve none of it!!!

Thank you for letting me share my heart with you today. I pray that we can all think about what worship is meant to be. Like I've quoted "The Heart of Worship" before..."It's all about you...Jesus"...

Please let me know if there is a special prayer I can word on your behalf today...

And Keep Thy Word...

This morning as I have been doing some reading around the blogosphere, I am troubled by a few things. I realize as "worship leaders", we are to be working to produce the best possible product to lead, but are we putting the focus on the right things? I have read how several are worried about keeping guitarists, pianists, drummers, and vocalists happy. That is not what worship is about, though...it's about giving our best to Him, regardless if we hear our voice loud enough, there's feedback, etc. Don't get me wrong, I am as picky as the next guy, but we can't allow technical issues to take the focus off who we are singing, playing, or drumming to.

My scripture passage today comes from Psalm 119:17-22..."Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word. (18) Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. (19) I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me. (20) My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times. (21) Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments. (22) Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies."

Here, David is praying for God to provide abundantly for him, that he may abide while keeping the Word of God in his life. He is also asking that God open his eyes, that he would see the great things of the law. We no longer are under the law in the same respect as the Old Testament, but should still glory in the statutes set before us for Christian life.

One of our deacons here is always reminding me about the next verse's words...we are not of this earth...don't let things here get to you! I will next skip over a bit to verse 21 where the proud are rebuked and cursed for getting their own selves in the way of the commandments. This is a hard one to keep our minds upon. When a person is put on a pedestal, after a while they seem to think they deserve it, if they don't have the right perspective. I speak from being there personally. My prayer each day is that I am mindful that I must decrease and He must increase (John 3:30).

Finally, in verse 22, if we keep our eyes focused can ask God to remove the trials and contempt we face for we have kept His testimonies. This is not to say that everything will be great all the time and trials will never come, but that God will remove those feelings from our hearts.

Let's pray that we may focus our eyes upon the Lord in our times of praise and worship. Like the words from "The Heart of Worship" state so eloquently..."it's all about You...it's all about You, Jesus..."

Let me know if I can word a special prayer on your behalf today...

A joyful noise...

This morning, our men's group had a great time of prayer and devotional reading. We read from Ezra 3:10-13 about the rebuilding of the temple and the foundation that was laid. In verse 11, they gave thanks to the Lord for He is good and His mercy endureth forever toward Israel. I also found it interesting that when the foundation was laid that the elders wept, while many shouted for joy. People afar couldn't tell the difference in sorrow or joy, just that they heard noise afar off.

Since then, I've been reading in Psalms 100. I am reminded that when we come into His presence, we are not to be silent and sit quietly in our seats. We are to make a joyful noise and come singing, it says. It doesn't say for the trained only to sing, but we should make a joyful noise one and all.

Too often, we worry about what others are thinking when we worship...what if I don't wear the right clothes, sing off-key, what if I raise my hand, etc. Yes, even in Baptist congregations, people raise their hands. It's not about the appearance...it's about the heart. God is about the heart!

In Matthew 6, Jesus said not to pray as the hypocrites, for they love to pray when in the synagogues and other places where they may be seen of men. We need to worship, serve, pray, sing, as if we were in a closet and only God Himself could hear us. That's what true worship is.

May you have a great day, and may you truly worship the Lord with all your soul, mind and strength...not because people are watching, but because the Lord is.