The Worship PrioritySample

An Authentic Response to God

You don't need the Hymnal...neither do you need the contemporary.

Worship is about responding to God beyond the music and beyond the style. But how important is style to your church? We are to use style as a means to identify with people, but not as the end for only doing worship.

Music is a tool; worship is a response - they are not the same. We don’t worship music, but we worship a God who created all things, including music.

Music becomes the vehicle and expression to create worshipful grooves and sweet melodies/harmonies to ascend to God’s throne in heaven. With this in mind, we need to keep our focus and attention on God. It’s far too easy for us to get caught in the great sounds we produce or even the mechanics of music. When we do this, our focus never leaves the stage. Our aim should be heavenward toward Almighty God.

The LORD made it clear in Amos 5:23. Israel was working hard to restore the temple for worship. Unfortunately, the worship turned into something other than God intended; it turned into the praise of man.

God speaks: "Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.” (Amos 5:23)

When we come to worship with our instruments and our voices, may we be mindful of the music we are making. Are we creating sounds that are pleasing to God’s ears or to man’s?

1 Corinthians 16:14 says we are to: “Do everything in love.” This kind of love stems from Christ in our hearts, who has sprinkled us from a guilty conscience and has washed our bodies clean from sin (Hebrews 10:22). If anything, our instruments and our voices are to be used as instruments for prayers and expressions worship.

We play and sing our humble prayers to God, giving thanks to the Father through Him. This has nothing to do with style, but it has everything to do with making music from a pure heart to please Him. Worship is neither traditional, nor contemporary. It is an authentic heart’s response to God.