Worship in the Melting Pot

Ya know - it's too bad he hasn't experienced true, modern worship - and not just contemporary Christian music. I can safely say that those 4 pillars ARE involved in the modern worship that we are in.

My husband and daughters went to a Chris Tomlin/Matt Redman worship "concert" (for those who have ever been there, it's truly not a concert - about the artists but about God), and Louie Giglio spoke. Here's what one of them wrote about that night - right after it was over:

From somewhere deep down in the bowels of Continental Airlines Arena…

I’m really just sitting here speechless. This night….crazy.

They say New York City (tonight we are all one happy New Jersey/New York family…and I’m sure people were here from all over the place) is the melting pot of the world, and maybe that’s why I love it so much. Maybe that’s why worship here always seems to take on a different tone…because the worship of Jesus Christ is, no doubt, a worldwide endeavor.

Sure, there were 8000+ voices cranking, but it was the faces that made it special, so much of the world reflected in the many races and people that filled this place. And as the night was winding down, and we were totally losing it on “Glory In The Highest,” a line we have sung every night came roaring to life like never before:

And no one else could ever compare
To You, Lord
All the earth together declares...
Glory in the highest ... to You, Lord.

Tonight was a little, tiny peak into what that’s all about. And as it unfolded, heaven got a bigger. That’s been a theme of my life for the past few years, as glimpses of gatherings on earth declare that heaven blows away anything we have ever dreamed, and the church that is headed there is doing quite well as His anthem spreads around the globe. Of course we have a massive mission before us, but at the front lines God's way is to have the singers of heaven’s song lead into the fray. That song is the down payment on a party that is going to leave us grasping for words and in utter awe. May we never become so enthralled with the puny glimmer of earth and lose sight of forever’s anthem…and heaven’s great and glorious King.

For tonight, heaven is still open, and those who grab onto the Savior with all they are can find a home.

Thank you New York/New Jersey. Thank You glorious Son. I am amazingly Yours.

Spirituality is so there
Truth is absolutely there
Holiness - God's is recognized and ours is encouraged
Reverence - oh my gosh, the awe - the reverence - the utter amazement of God is evident.

It is pretty narrow minded to think that all of the great spiritual songs have been written. Old hymns are wonderful - and so many of them tell the gospel in their words. But there are not that many that are like the songs that we'll sing in heaven - songs of honor and praise to the Glorious Lamb of God - the Uncreated One - the Master of the Universe. When I worship, I want to focus on God - on His glory, power and majesty and not on me. It's not about me, it's about Him.

 

LOL - So you seem to know so much about me - have we met? Have you seen my heart? Hmmm - interesting!

You know, my husband is a worship pastor and I WILL get him this book. It will be interesting reading but honestly, a book will not change what the Scriptures say. Yes, there is very shallow worship - believe me - I've seen it too. But there is also comtemporary worship that IS true worship that is what God honors. There is also pretty shallow hymns that do nothing for God at all. Just a song written in a certain time period doesn't make true worship. I see nothing in Scripture about that and a book or one man's ideas doesn't make something true.

Have YOU studied worship in the Scriptures?? Have YOU experienced true worship - the kind where you KNOW God is in your midst and nothing else matters? Have you felt that awe? I have and I have seen glimpses of what heaven is going to be like. Have you?

edited for grammar. Sorry!

BTW - Thanks, Tim.

 

No worries, Joshua. I know my relationship with the Lord and I know true worship and experience it regularly. God is so beyond awesome and I know that He honors my worship that is done in spirit and in truth. Some cranky guy will never stop my standing in awe of the Creator and instead stop to stand with my hands folded singing a hymn with words that don't mean anything to my heart!

Aaron - have you ever been in the Father's presence? If so, I hope you were awed and struck with His sovereignty, power and might! I don't think too many of us are going to stand before God and sing 4 verses of an old hymn. God is amazing, wonderful and more than I can ever imagine and worthy of so much more.

Oh - and my words reveal what's in my heart - an overwhelming love for my Savior, Father and Creator God. It reveals a knowledge of who God is and that He is worthy of ALL of my praises.

 

I'd also recommend for YOU, Aaron, "The Air I Breathe" by Louie Giglio

Also a short study by Matt Redman called Facedown Worship

http://regalbooks.com/facedown_study.pdf

 

Oh, I LOVE many of the old hymns - and we do them often at church. I love the history behind many of them too - I'm a geek that way. I find so many of the old hymns have the Gospel clearly spelled out in them too. There are times we have done a few of the old hymns with some new music or, as Chris Tomlin did with Amazing Grace (it's the theme song for the movie Amazing Grace), add in a chorus where there is none.

But what I'm saying is that hymns are not the end all and do all of worship and God didn't place a special blessing on those old songs and never do that again with any songs. I also love so many of the new worship songs because they totally reflect my own heart to the Lord - Uncreated One is one -

Holy Uncreated One
Your beauty fills the skies
But the glory of Your majesty
Is the mercy in Your eyes

Worthy Uncreated One
From heaven to earth come down
You laid aside Your royalty
To wear the sinner's crown

O Great God, be glorified
Our lives laid down
Yours magnified
O Great God, be lifted high
There is none like You

Jesus, Savior, God's own son
Risen, reigning Lord
Sustainer of the Universe
By the power of Your word

And when we see Your matchless face
In speechless awe we'll stand
And there we'll bow with grateful hearts
Unto the Great I am


You know what bugs me in songs - old AND new?? The "me" centered ones. The ones that are weak theologically. The ones that are just so hoppy-boppy (the term my DH and I use) with no meat to them. I agree with you totally - worship songs should be theologically sound, musically interesting and definately have educational and worship value.

One that KILLS us is one that says:

Jesus, you are my best friend, you will always be, and nothing will ever change that.

LOL - Bleck!! I don't know if you've ever heard that song but it's a VERY upbeat and boppy kind of song. Bleck!! WAY to thin and "me" centered for us. I guess some people like it but not us. LOL!

 

Oh, so the fact that I feel the same way in prayer, in my study of Scripture, in just my own singing in the car acapella doesn't make a difference? The fact that there were 8,000 people with one heart praising our Lord God doesn't mean anything? Have you ever gone to a large baptism? I have - where more than 2 or 3 are getting baptized and I just cry. How wonderful to see people declaring their lives for the Lord! Heck - I do that when just ONE person is baptized! My heart is filled with joy when I see a group of teens meet every Wednesday morning at 6:30 at our high school to pray for their fellow students - yeah - that's the same feeling I get in worship. I see the awesomeness of God in each of those situations.

So you've never read the passages where people fell on their faces in God's presence, huh? Where people were overwhelmed by Him?

I'm sorry that you seem to have put God in such a box that you have to tell others that their experience with God is wrong. I know what true spiritual worship is - and I've done it not just with music. Even the stars sing His praises - does that fit your description of worship? What about when the trees clap their hands? Everything in this world is made to worship God - and it's just that people have had the ability to replace that object of worship with something else.

I'm going to follow Scripture in my worship. Psalm 150 is a wonderful worship Psalm and certainly sounds like the kind of worship I want to be involved in - and what God honors!:

1Praise the LORD!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens![a]
2Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent greatness!
3Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
4Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
5Praise him with sounding cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD!

 

I can answer "yes" to most of those things. Personally, I just love the music too. But without the music, there are many hymns that still lack. There are many MODERN songs that lack (I already said that - I really have a problem with a lot of the modern worship songs - they're just so ...... ummmm...... surfacy and "me" oriented rather than praising God for who He is, they talk about "me"). But, without the music, there are hymns that I could use as a prayer to God - and modern songs that I could too. Worship is not just music and songs - it's much more than that to me and that's why this whole idea of a certain genre of songs being bad is wrong to me. The Sermon on the Mount might be a stretch because it's more teaching than worship but I praise God for Jesus' teaching!! It's not the feeling but the fact that I am able to turn my heart to God and praise Him for who He is - for the greatness and awesomeness that is God. I can look at the sunset at night and raise my hands and say "Wow, God - you are amazing!! You made this sunset and all it's colors! You are so good!". You know what else? When my husband fell off the roof and was laying in the hospital bed in the ER with a severely broken and dislocated foot (that has proven to end up being his "thorn in the side" so to speak - he's never recovered from that), we were still able to say the words of a worship song that he was JUST going to teach the congregation - "Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be Your name - You give and take away - My heart will CHOOSE to say, Lord, blessed be Your name" We were able to praise God despite what was going on - and it had nothing to do with a 'style' of music but a condition of the heart.

So, it's not about the music but God created music and He honors hearts - not a 'style'. You can be doing the most wonderful hymns and have a wrong heart condition before the Lord - do you think He honors that? I see nothing in Scripture that defines "proper" worship as hymns only. But I see a lot more about God's concern for our hearts and souls. THAT is what I focus on. Where is my heart? Is it focused on God or me and what I'm doing?? That makes all the difference.

BTW - I'm not charasmatic - I don't run and shout - I'm not uncontrolled and flailing around. Raising hands is Biblical. Closing my eyes shuts out the world just like closing my eyes during prayer does the same thing.