Apr
21
The worship leader in your pew
Filed Under Uncategorized
Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.
What a privilege it is to lead public, gathered worship! From where I stand, I can see everyone’s faces as we sing or as I preach. Some are joyful and engaged; others bored and drowsy. Some sing heartily; others stand silently with hands in pockets. Some respond readily and tenderly to the Word; others strike an almost defiant pose. In one very important sense, every worshiper is a worship leader. I don’t mean that in the “every member is a minister” sense that obliterates all distinctions between ordained and non-ordained leadership in the church. At FPC Kosciusko the ministers, the elders, or those in training for such officiate in the worship services.
Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory.
What do I mean by “every worshiper is a worship leader”? I mean that together we are building a particular culture of worship in our congregation. Every worshiper contributes to it, either positively or negatively. Joyful, engaged worshipers influence others, demonstrating that the Triune God is worthy of our attention and affections. When people who love God because he first loved them come together to lift their hearts, minds, voices, wallets, etc. to the Lord, there is nothing like it in this world.
Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!
On the other hand, bored and drowsy worshipers influence others, demonstrating that there are plenty of other things in this world more worthy than Almighty God–namely, self, pleasure, and possessions. Fathers and grandfathers who show themselves utterly disengaged from the worship of God are sending such a message to their families and those sitting around them.
Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.
Of course I’m not pleading for phony, contrived emotions. I’m not saying that worship is to be done to impress others. I understand that sometimes you come into a worship service ill-tuned and poorly prepared: bad sleep the night before, those antihistamines you took so you wouldn’t sneeze through the service (imagine preaching with “medicine head”!), an argument with your wife that isn’t as resolved as you think it is, the frustration of searching for your daughter’s missing dress shoe that morning, rushing in so you’re not late, not much sense of the presence and peace of God in your life the week prior (and I haven’t the time to go into the matter of confession of sin and repentance in this blog post). All these factors militate against reverent, joyful worship. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Having said all that, I want to ask some important questions about worship:
- Does the Gospel of God’s free grace in Christ move you to respond to God? Why or why not?
- Does the work of Christ change you from the inside out? How?
- Do you believe he’s worthy of all the praise and glory you can give him? How is that expressed in your life?
- What conclusions about God and his ways can others draw from sitting next to you in worship on the Lord’s Day?
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!
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