I have been thinking the last few days on the music we use to worship, and what its purpose is. Surely we don't believe music should simply be some pleasant melodies we sing along to but no further than the occasional hand raise or closed eye. Do we?
The music we use to worship should do several things.
1) First of all, it should focus on God. I don't mean we shouldn't sing songs like "How He Loves" or songs that revolve around mankind's redemption, but each song should ultimately point towards God. This one is pretty obvious; I don't know too many worship leaders who will kick off worship time with an acoustic version of 'Gangsta's Paradise'.
2) It should teach. Well, let me rephrase that. They all teach- but they should teach good theology. The songs should be centered around the teachings of Scripture, not some catchy line that everyone will like.
And the musical side of worship is a great way to help emphasize the teaching side of the worship service/ Gathering of believers. It creates a flow- the people hear it through Scripture and teaching, they sing about it/ proclaim it themselves, and then they can take it to the streets.
Sometimes it can be a theme throughout all the songs. Sometimes it is just one song that the congregation sings, sometimes it is just a song that you sing over or to the people while they reflect and pray.
3) It should leave us humbled. This goes along with point number 1. The song 'Above All' really irks me on this. It is a beautiful song, but the problem is the main message of the song is that "when Christ died on the cross- he though of me!" I can honestly say- I have no idea what Christ was thinking when he was dying. And while yes, He laid down the ultimate sacrifice for me- I don't want to focus on the 'me' part. The 'me' who we sing as a wretched sinner in Amazing Grace. And maybe I'm focusing on the wrong parts of the songs, that's why I didn't say that song was a horrible worship song, it just... irks me. I'm sure there are worship leaders who can really lead that song effectively. I am just not one of them. [End of rant]
But the music should leave us humbled.
There are many more things that worship should do. But these are the ones that really have stuck on me all day. Because the music time in worship is not about the leaders being rock stars, or 'chilled out acoustic guys', or great piano/ organ players. It is about Christ. And the moment we forget that, the moment we use worship time for anything other than giving praise and glory to Christ is the moment we missed it.
[2:38 PM
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