Hello Friends,
When I used to think about worship, the first thing that
came to mind was music; maybe many of you can relate. I knew in my brain that
you could worship in different ways, but I just figured that God wanted us to
worship by singing because that’s what we always did in church. So in order to
check off my worship box for the week, I would sing on Sunday mornings and
possibly (if the Spirit REALLY led) clap my hands. I was misled.
Growing up, my family sat together during church. I don’t
mean just my mom and my dad, but my uncles, aunts, cousins, and grandparents. As you are
well aware, everyone has an assigned seat in church and my church or 2,500 was
no exception. But one Sunday I was thrown off. My uncle Mike had sat where I
was supposed to sit. I quickly gathered myself and quietly sat beside him,
subtly letting him know that I did not approve of his musical chairs game.
Little did I know, God would use that encounter to change my perspective on
what worship really was.
I sat through 20 minutes of a tone deaf 45 year old yelling
in my ear. To say the least, I didn’t sing much that morning. My first thought
was how is that worship? And then God
stopped me cold. I realized that God didn’t want music. He could care less
about the way the guitar sounded or how high the energy level was in the room,
He just wanted to be praised. And that was exactly what my uncle was doing. He
was worshiping.
Friends, let’s not get caught in the lie that worship is
music. Yes, you can worship through music, but music is not worship in and of
itself. God wants so much more than
that. He wants our whole life. He wants our hearts to be attuned to His. He
wants us to humble ourselves before His throne and say thank you, thank you,
thank you.
“Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” Romans 12:1
And that is why we are starting this blog. We want to encourage you to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice all week, not just on Sunday mornings. Every week, we post a blog that includes various ways you and your family can worship throughout the week, new songs we are planning on introducing, and thoughts and questions to help us think deeper about worship. Subscribe and follow along as we seek to figure out what it means to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice all week long.
In Christ,
Zach Santmier
When does worship occur?
ReplyDeleteWhen we gather together in His name Jesus says he will be in our midst. When we pray to start our service at UBC, a transformation is taking place: Jesus has entered in an assembly. But wait, didn't we also pray for His guidance in our Sunday School class? And what about those folks gathering in groups throughout the week who pray before they start their meeting. Carry it down to the place where you live. Did I leave Jesus at the assembly/study or did He continue to live in my heart past the last amen of the gathering. He stays and never leaves us. And thus our worship of Him never ends.
It happens before we get out of bed in morning and we thank Him for the day. Before we leave our house, when we pray for His guidance and presence. It happens when he shows us our shortcomings and in the trembling response to the light of His judgement.
When I am asked by a frail older person to pray, He is there. No music. No preaching. No teaching. Just a simple request to come to Jesus for a need or for a praise.I am amazed at the number of praises that come from our residents in the care facilities. This is worship: To pray and praise in every situation. To enjoy His presence and abide as a branch in His vine. JR Skelton
A great thought JR. Prayer is one of easiest ways we can worship, but often one of the hardest to cultivate. I often feel that praying without ceasing was just for Paul because I have a hard time focusing for 15 minutes some mornings. Though it isn't easy, it is a discipline and a joy that we need to continually cultivate. Thanks for those thoughts.
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