Monday, March 22

Our discussion this week is a unique one, because there are some who absolutely love this, others who don’t mind, but are confused, and others that don’t want to really have anything to do with it.

Think about it. Where else do you experience corporate singing? Singing together in public places?

Sure birthdays? We sing Happy birthday.

Some say karaoke, but I don’t think so because you have a choice.

I think the other obvious place there is corporate singing is at sporting events. Think about it, baseball has “Take me out to the ball game.” Brewers and the Packers have adopted the strange, “Roll out the barrel.”

We see it in those settings, it’s fun, it’s goofy, it’s memorable. But then when we get to church, then it is a little different.

Depending on your background it can be a challenge, because is it more hymns, or is it more repetitive, do you follow the priest, or is there an organ? Then you get to a church like ours or other even more charismatic churches and there are people closing their eyes, being moved to tears, raising one hand, raising two hands, kneeling, dancing.

Which means for some, because it is so foreign and we don’t connect with it in the same way, we may sit there with arms crossed and mouths silent, waiting for the time to pass.
Sure, maybe enjoying the melody or the instrumentation, but to say that worship is essential. You may not go that far, at least not for you.

Whereas others absolutely love worship through song and wish we did it more and had more members on the team. It’s always on in their car or in their home. Worship for them is one of the best ways they connect with God. But even in that, do we keep our worship to just singing?

My desire this week is to share with you more of why worship is essential, but ultimately to reframe how we see worship, so we can shift away from a consumer mindset or an arm’s length mindset and see the presence and the power of worship, not just singing, but in all of life.

The first passage to begin to reframe our worship is Romans 12:1-Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

Yes, when we talk about worship, there is the corporate spoken word of worship, but Paul is also saying, worship is with our entire bodies, which means worship is with all of life.

Yes, with song, with word, with hands, as well as with our occupation, our relationships, our coming and our going. What are we talking about when it comes to worship then

Simply, it is giving worth to God. But I would like to give a greater definition and show you with this image, because the definition of worship is cyclical.

Worship is connecting, surrendering and responding to the revelation of who God is and what He wants to do in us and through us.

Yes, we can hear about adoration, giving praise, singing to God’s marvelous character and ways. But worship is also about doing something in us and through us, which we will see more clearly as our time goes on today.

Before you listen to the song for today. I want you to reflect around your own understanding of worship. How have you limited it? How have you consumed it? How do you wrestle with the definition I shared with you? How can you see all of life as worship?
Then take some time with this song, Same God