7 Vital Signs of Spiritual Growth – Worship

Acts 2:47a – “praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.”

Worship.  There’s another polarizing word in the church today.  For most, it starts a conversation about whether we should sing hymns with a choir, piano, and organ or sing new worship songs with a band, praise team, and (gasp) drums & electric guitars.

First, I’ll challenge you that worship is far more than songs we sing at a church service.  Worship is an attitude.  Worship is personal.  It is also corporate, and I’ll address that in a moment, but let’s start with your personal approach to worship.  Addressing this is the only way you can ever come to corporate worship in the right frame of mind.

Why should we worship God?  Have you ever asked that question?  The simple answer is because He’s worthy of our worship.  Sounds like a Sunday School answer to me.  Why is He worthy?  Go read the creation story.  Then read about Noah and the Ark.  Read about Moses and the Exodus.  Read about a Savior being born to a virgin.  Read about a horrible, sacrificial death on the cross, and resurrection 3 days later.  Read in Revelation about His second coming as shown to John while in exile.  Our God is absolutely indescribable!  Grasp that, and then read on.

I mentioned reading the Bible in my introductory post.  Did you know that David danced before God in worship?  Boy, that would get all of us Southern Baptists up in arms!  I also mentioned “The Hour that Changes the World” in my prayer post earlier.  There is a whole section of that book dedicated to worship in your hour of prayer.  This doesn’t have to be a song.  So first, let me encourage you to find ways to worship our God without a song.  It’s going to be hard at first.  Tell Him just how amazing He is.  Don’t even say a word, just think on the ways He’s blessed you.  Think about all the things I listed above.  Give him praise for who He is, and what He’s done.

Now, take that attitude and bring it with you to corporate worship.  I’d be willing to bet that if everyone did this, we’d never hear another discussion from Christians about the style of music being played in a worship service.  Here’s my official position on corporate worship within a church.  It is NOT about the style or type of music.  It is NOT about what you or I want to hear or like.  It IS about putting into a common voice our adoration and praise to our God.  We must, as Christians, understand that our time of corporate worship is NOT about our preferences or predispositions.  Let me also say that I have truly experienced genuine worship with hymns, with loud bands, and with an acoustic guitar in someone’s living room.  It is the heart with which it is presented to God that is important.  I’ve also seen in-genuine music being led or sung, and I very much believe that God doesn’t receive this as praise to His name.

I’ll be honest.  I have preferences in the area of worship music.  I can even justify those preferences in the context of how we reach out to the lost in our community.  However, that is a topic for a different post, and ultimately irrelevant to real, true worship as believers.

When was the last time you really, truly opened up your heart and worshipped the God of the universe?