Take away from me the noise of your songs;
to the melody of your harps I will not listen.
But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. (Amos 5:23-24)
There
is a kind of worship that God hates. Regardless of the style of music,
regardless of the presentation or production, regardless of the
excellence of its execution... He will not listen. You can have the the
most reverent traditional services with suits and ties, organists,
choirs, and sing only hymns, only from actual hymnals. You can have the
most exciting, professional sound and lighting designed to engage the
audience. You can sing all the best new contemporary worship songs with
the best musicians and singers available, and everyone in the building
can be singing along enthusiastically at the top of their voices with
all the sincerity they can muster. He will not listen or regard it....
IF your heart is not right before Him.
When
we get caught up in the trappings of worship -- no matter which side of
the debate you find yourself on -- and disregard the things that are
important to the heart of God, then we would be better unplugging the
amps and putting away the hymnals. Burn the drums AND the choir robes.
God is not interested in what style of worship you prefer; He is
interested in what kind of person you have become at the heart level.
I
often wonder what the underground church in China would think about our
hang-ups about worship styles, about sound systems, and whether the
lighting is right. I wonder if the persecuted believers in Sudan, Iraq,
Iran, or Syria would shake their heads in disbelief at the time and
energy we waste arguing about the form our worship takes rather than
serving the God we are supposed to be worshiping no matter the style of expression!
Here
are the songs we will be singing together in our gathering this week.
Listen to the lyrics and the truths expressed in each song, even if you
don't like the music. Ask God to give you a heart of worship that
transcends the material and taps into the eternal. You'd be amazed at
what might happen if we came together around a common confession of
faith and ignored the differences of opinion.
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