Worship Expression of Love

“So imitate God. Follow Him like adored children and live in love as the Anointed One loved you- so much that He gave Himself as a fragrant sacrifice, pleasing God.” -Ephesians 5:1,2

We know that a church is not a building. As lovers and followers of Jesus, we should know that wherever we gather together, the “church” is the representative, empowered body of Jesus Christ to the world (Mathew 28:19,20/Acts 1:8). As the body of Christ we should be the first and only force to show the world around us what it truly means to be in fellowship with the creator of the universe, knitted together by His love. When we come together corporately to worship, we are God’s people, who are gathered together to properly attribute worth to the Holy One who desires to dwell in our midst (God among us). Jesus said that, “Everyone will know you as My followers if you demonstrate your love to others” (John 13:35). As a lead worshiper of your fellowship, take a moment to meditate on those commands and that image. Do your times of corporate worship as the gathered “church” reflect love to the outside world?

It is unfortunate that the term “Christian” brings with it a ton of baggage and sad stereotypes in our society today. Especially when it comes to the area of worship. If the enemy has a list of things he hates, worship of and to the One true God has to be No.1 on that list. The enemy of our souls will not rest until he has silenced our worship.  It seems difficult, almost impossible to overcome the deficit of wounded hearts and petty quarreling among most churches, to come to a place where we can gather together and appropriately reflect the unified body of Christ, as God  intended us to be. Difficult, but not impossible with God. Paul expresses the urgency to mend the rifts that divide us in his letter to the Corinthian church (1 Cor 1:10), “My brothers and sisters, I urge you by the name of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed, to come together in agreement. Do not allow anything or anyone to create division among you. Instead be restored, completely fastened together with one mind and shared judgement.”

We all have had our feelings hurt especially on the worship team. Everyone has different idea’s about how worship should look. What songs to sing. Contemporary versus traditional. Real drums or digital, electric guitar or acoustic, hymnals or projected words, let people sing “song specials” or not, etc etc, on and on. These are petty divisions in the grand scope of the much larger purpose of the gathered Saints. The enemy would have you believe that God is unable to repair burned bridges between believers who have been wounded by these kinds of divisions. Listen to what God says through James 4:1 “Where do you think your fighting and endless conflict come from? Don’t you think that they originate in the constant pursuit of gratification that rages inside each of you like an uncontrolled militia?” It is often pride and religion, pure and simple at the root of our conflict. Further into Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church, he lays out the roadmap to overcome these kinds of divisions and wounds. Through love; “Love is patient, love is kind. Love isn’t envious, doesn’t boast, brag, or strut about. There’s no arrogance in love; it’s never rude, crude, or indecent- it’s not self-absorbed. Love ins’t easily upset. Love doesn’t tally wrongs or celebrate injustice; but truth- yes, truth- is love’s delight! Love puts up with anything and everything that comes along; it trusts, hopes and endures no matter what. Love will never become obsolete.” (1 Cor 13:4-8).

For the lead worshiper of a gathered body of God’s imperfect image bearers, love should be central in all you do. When coming together for any form of gathered worship, friendship should come before function. It is all bound together in love and that’s what should be communicated when leading the church in worship of the God of Heaven (Eph 5:1,2). So, what doe’s that look like, practically- rubber meats the road? To share my experience; you should start by pursuing life together with the people you are leading in worship. Get to know what kind of songs cause their hearts to sing. What do they listen to and what songs would they like to hear during a worship service. What song of worship would stir the God of Heaven dwelling in their chest? There is a holy balance to this- let me be clear to both the lead worshiper and the gathered saints; a worship leader should not be the congregations personal iPod, to be their personal playlist every Sunday morning to simply repeat their favorite Top 20 Christian radio hits. As worship leaders we look to Christ who leads us all in worship of our Heavenly Father (Heb 2:12). We dont want to lead from a place of “religion” but from a place of “spirit and truth” bound together in love. Love for God , for His word and for His church! So as lead worshipers who follow Christ, we imitate His love for His brothers and sisters, never forgetting that we are all uniquely and wonderfully made to reflect the glory of our God differently. It is good for a worship leader to respect and honor the beautifully crafted songs of writers and lead worshipers who have gone before us. Their praises sung to God should echo throughout the years; from now until Heaven where we will all be joined together in perfect harmony. So learn hymns, explore the songs that speak to others in your fellowship- not just what moves you to worship. Consider what other gifts God’s people have to offer the gathered Saints. Consider others as more highly than yourself (Rom 12). Be willing to lay your agenda and program on the altar to allow parts of the body to be used for edification of His church (1 Cor 12:7).

We must remember the power of love and allow it to permeate our corporate expression of worship to our Heavenly Father. To express not only our love for God but His people (Eph 5:19), so that when the world looks at us they see a rehearsal for the day when we are gathered together around the throne of the Most High God (Rev 4:4) worshiping in love for eternity. 

Worship Expression in 2013

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” -John 13:34-35

What does the church look like to unbelievers? More importantly what do we want unbelievers to say about the church going forward? It’s the new year and a time for new beginnings. An opportunity to shrug off regrets, pull yourself up out the miry pit of self condemnation and declare to the masses- “this year will be different and better than the last!” Many of us have a bitter after-taste in our mouth from the over heated discussions with family and friends during the past election year. Lines have been drawn in the sand and things were said and done that I am sure many wish could have been said and done differently. If you are a Christian it was a crucial time to express the truth of God’s Word and love.  So much of the events of last year were tragic; hurricane Sandy, CT school shooting, presidential election, gas prices, political spin, economy  etc. It left many with a sense of hopelessness. If any of those lost sinners or lonely saints decided to give “church” a chance in the midst of the 2012 tragedy, hopefully they got the impression of a Church that is loving, united and full of hope. But what’s done is done and what’s been said can’t be taken back. So regardless of how the Church came out of 2012 let’s all agree that we could have done more regardless, to impact this world with the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven; and 2013 is full of new morning mercies to be the real church, the body of Christ to a hopeless world.

How does that translate into our worship? How does that new morning mercy and commitment to love deeper translate in our everyday worship? Well God’s word says we should, “speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.” (Ephesians 5:19-21) Our personal and corporate worship should convey the love, unity and hope of the gospel. Over the next few weeks I want to look deeper into those three points and see how each one can impact our expression of worship in 2013. How can we covey the love of God through our spiritual songs? How can we communicate the unity of the body of Christ through our music on a Sunday morning? How can we express our joy over a living hope in our hymns? These are the things I want to explore over the next few blogs with the intent of creating an atmosphere for these three things to flourish through our worship in the church. As you prepare to gather together and minister to others this weekend, meditate on these things. Lets put away pride and pull on a garment of humility; laying down our most heart felt good intentioned idea’s from 2012 and simply join the work that God is already doing now in 2013 by getting to the basis of Christ’s commandment- to share the gospel of His love, unity and hope.

May God bless and strengthen you in this new year!