What do you think is our job as a worship team? Is it merely to lead our church in the time of Praise and Worship that we do on sundays? Or is it more? I want everyone to honestly consider what is in our lives and takes the place of God at times. I want to hear some of your answers. And then, I want us to spend some time talking to each other, encouraging each other, praying for each other and holding each other accountable for the things that we reveal. Because make no mistake, we will be judged for the life that we live. And if we call ourselves worshipers, and leaders of worship, we will be expected to live a life that reflects it. I'll go first. For me, I put my work and my family before God sometimes. Though I do ministry for a living, it's just that. Ministry. It is not through my job that I worship God. When I take time away from Him and focus on my family (whom He blessed me with) and my job (which He so graciously allows me to have), I deny Him the worship that He deserves. There are other things in my life, I'm sure, that keep me from focusing on Him more. I'm really going to challenge myself to pray about those things and ask God to forgive me, and guide me, so that I'll put Him first in everything I say and do. Where are you on this?
Love you all.
What is Worship and how to worship are questions I have been exploring since I was around 12. I wanted to be a part of a church worship team and they had try-outs once a year. It included a spiritual evaluation as well as a vocal evaluation.
ReplyDeleteI was told I didn't have the chops yet. But they told me they admired my heart and to try again next year. That year was trying. I felt that God began a process of breaking my heart and putting it back together. I had no idea what Worship was. I just wanted to sing in front of people and have them look up to me. Not good. I guess through that I learned you can worship in the shadows. You can worship by serving others and God. You can worship by obediance to what God is saying.
Those uncomfortable times are what inspired true intimacy in my relationship with Jesus. This is still a lesson I am continually learning and re-learning.
Appearance has been making an impression on me lately. What we "preach" on Sundays should be "practiced" and carried on throughout the week. We shouldn't do anything for show or to make people think we are holy. We are leading these people in worship...how else are they looking at us that we don't realize?
ReplyDeleteI love Romans. Romans 1 verse 20 is my favorite passage. God made his existance very plain in this verse. Man claims to be wise yet worships the created not the creator. Evil ways prevent the truth from being known. God put things in place no doubt for very good reasons. Marriage, man to woman and family to make a healthy society. The ten commandments and all of Gods word so we would have instructions. I believe Gods laws are being dismantled and man goes forward with his desires. Our attemps to fix human problems without recognizing sin have got to be worthless. I believe America is the best country in the world and I love it so please don't take me wrong. Sometimes I think maybe God has began to give it over because of corrupted minds. Without godliness man will lose true humanity. The effects of turning our backs on the creator are all around. Humanity must repent.
ReplyDeleteWith this comment I apologize for the first comment. After reading the scripture I got totally away from the question at hand. I do believe in order to worship in truth we must make our best effort too live in truth according to God's word.
ReplyDeleteThere is a fine line between worship and participation, as it relates to oour lives. What I mean is that the more we participate in something, even if we don't feel as if we are worshipping, it continues to get more and more comfortable, and we allow ourselves to let it into oour hearts more and more.
ReplyDeleteTV is like that for me. I always have it on when I am at home, just for the noise, or so I think. What it does is take my attention away from my family, or things I need to do for them or others. I wouldn't say I "worship" it, but if God wanted me to get rid of all the TV's I had, I would have a difficult time. What does that say about me?
Just like all sin, once you turn away, even if it may have bothered your conscience the first time, becomes easier and easier, as evidenced by this passage and the horrible things that were described that these people did to disobey God.
Consider the things you spend the most time on in your life, could you give them up for God?
Worship is meant to be consistent and should not start when we walk into church each Sunday morning but should be continued from day to day. Paul gives us an example of people who are practicing sin and are blind to who God really is. In their minds, they have falsified God and made Him into a product of their own "foolish ideas." We fall away from God when we forget who He is or do not understand the true essence of God and we stray from worship when we invest more time in our sinful behavior than we do in keeping our eyes focused on Christ.
ReplyDeleteI'm a little late in posting... Anyways, it took me awhile to figure out what I put before God. I realized that for me, it was money. I'm so concerned about how much money I can make and what I can do to make more, that I forget where all riches really come from. I think if I have money, then I'll have all the things that will make me happy. But I forget that true Joy comes from God and nothing can replace that! This passage just helps me to re-evaluate myself and realize where I fall short. This is a very important thing, because time and time again in the Bible, money got in the way of peoples' relationship with God. I don't want that to happen to me, so I'm thankful that through this passage I was able to see that so I can correct that problem. I desire to be close to God, but it's things like money that take my focus off Him.
ReplyDeleteI guess I forgot to get to the part of worship, but pretty much money is a distraction. It distracts me from God sometimes, which then of course keeps me from worshipping Him with all I am.
ReplyDelete