Worship- Is it a lost art?

 bob-maclafferty  No Responses »
Nov 232019
 

worship, singing https://stream.org/misheard-hymns-seriously-silly-catalog/Worship, smership. What is it anyway? I attended worship. I was part of the worship service. I worshiped. Noun, adjective, verb.  Google’s first definition for worship is “the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity.” A feeling or expression. Reverence and adoration.

Her lips parted as he strode into the room. The look in her eyes was one of pure adoration…. Not a completely unfamiliar scene in a romance novel or movie, right? But Google’s definition finishes by directing these feelings or expressions to God! 

As a member of a somewhat conservative faith fellowship, my expressions are often muted. I slip into the pew silently, soon bowing my head for a quick prayer of focus on my Father. Often my verbal utterances or expressions are limited to a somber “amen” in support of the pastor and a particularly moving sermon passage. 

Stephen Altrogge, a Pennsylvania pastor, writes about our unwillingness to praise, especially out loud.  We use our conservatism or introversion to justify our controlled and subdued responses. If you’ve done such a thing, as I have on occasion, remember with me that our response to something glorious should supersede our personality traits or preferences. 

Several stories in the New Testament refer to paid mourners, those hired to wail and cry at the funeral of a loved one. This tradition has always disgusted me just a bit. However, when I think of my worshipful utterances, how often am I guilty of relying on others to make them for me? I allow a talented and energetic praise band to sing and play, with my singalong lyrics all but inaudible. In fact, I have observed this phenomena several times, seeing the dominating performance of talented musicians, whether praise bands or pipe organs, make congregants feel as if their melodic contributions are unnecessary at best and contraindicated at worst.

I have also attended services where the singing from the pews, regardless of the music genre, was the dominant source of volume in the sanctuary. And, again, by observing my fellow “worshipers”, I can tell you that the expression of reverence and adoration was far more powerful when we were participants rather than spectators.

I challenge you to re-evaluate how you contribute to the musical part of your next church experience. Unless your voice is so unsuitable for singing that you bring great pain to all around you and window glass shatters, I encourage you to sing, not under your breath, but LOUDLY! BTW, if you are a glass shatterer, please still sing, but maybe at lower decibels. Your outpouring of adoration is still important to your experience and to your Heavenly Father. Let’s sing out loud!

Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. –Isaiah 12:5, NIV.

Also check out Let’s Make a Little Noise!

Let’s Make a Little Noise!

 bob-maclafferty  1 Response »
Oct 292011
 

One week ago today, I enjoyed spending a beautiful, fall day hiking with family and friends. Talking and laughing, we reveled in the fresh air and sunshine. The air began to cool as we reached the end of our hike. Rounding a bend, we came upon an abandoned ammunition storage bunker. Wisely, the door had been left open to reduce unsatisfied curiosity.

We entered the bunker, a large, round, concrete room, it’s domed ceiling completely buried in the surrounding hill. The first word spoken echo-bounced around the room. We all joined in hollering and making all sorts of strange and wild noises, enjoying the booming sound. Someone suddenly said, “Guys, we have to sing in here!”

And so we did. With our two dogs watching with rapt attention, four couples, three young and one more seasoned, lifted our voices in praise and worship to our Father! We let our voices lift without restraint. Strong male voices leading and lifting, clear female tones echoing. Joining in melody, completing with harmony, we let it all out. No audience but Him. No critic or censor, no restraint of convention or tradition.

The sound lifted higher and higher, filling the room, the sound flowing out of the open door and down the trail. We sang hallelujahs to the Lord. We sang about the sweet sound of amazing grace. We sang our plea for Him to abide with us, even as the day faded into night.

Then some … stood up and praised the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. 2 Chronicles 20:19 NIV.

Praise our God, all peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard;  Psalm 66:8 NIV

The last time you sang your praise, did you do it with your chin buried in a hymnbook, hoping that your voice would be drowned out by those around you? Did I mumble the words out of habit, letting the meaning slip through my ears, not stopping in my mind to register?

If someone heard my voice, would they believe that the sweet sound of grace is truly amazing? Would they really trust that my heart knew one thing, that Jesus loves me? Or does my lack of enthusiasm and passion tell a different story, one that contradicts my words?

Whether a dark and dusty bunker or a soaring cathedral shot with sunlight,

Whether eight voices or eight hundred,

Whether voices perfectly modulated and pitched or throats straining to reach unfamiliar notes,

Whether the simple melody of a praise song or the swirling melody of a traditional hymn,

Stand up,

Lift your face heavenward,

Lift your voice,

Lift it long and loud,

Pour your heart as a living offering,

Through the sound of your voice.

God’s antidepressant

 Uncategorized  No Responses »
Apr 192010
 

Sometimes we wonder where God is and how to get His attention. We wonder why we are sad or depressed or discouraged. People who know we are Christians wonder why we are upset and why our faith doesn’t seem to affect our lives.  David felt the same way!

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?

My tears have been my food
day and night,
while men say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”

These things I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go with the multitude,
leading the procession to the house of God,
with shouts of joy and thanksgiving
among the festive throng.

Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and  my God.
My soul is downcast within me;
therefore I will remember you…

Psalm 42

David had plenty of opportunity for depression and discouragement. He knew a secret, however. He knew that no matter the circumstances, the secret was praising God. When we praise Him, it connects us to Him in a way that allows His power to flow into us. It will change our whole day! Our Father knows that when we focus on our troubles, that is all we can see. Our attitude and the direction of our life will be dictated by that focus. He made us. He knows how we tick! He knows that if we turn our attention to Him, if we put our energy into praising Him, it will lift us up in a way that nothing else can. We become billboards for Him when we have peace and joy in our lives that is baffling to those around us.

Father, I praise you for being a living God that wants a daily connection with me! I trust you to keep it a two way connection that will allow others to see joy in me. I want others to see that being a Christian makes a daily difference in my life!  Amen.