Worship Doesn't End There

We have reduced worship to a medium of "feeling good." That's a statement I would dare say to every Christian willing to listen. We have allowed ourselves to be mediocre in our worship. We preach about living a lifestyle of worship and it is equated to righteousness... this is good but worship doesn't end there... we hear sermons about singing to the Lord, making a joyful noise to Him... again this is good... but worship is not limited by songs or any expression of art there is. We have allowed worship to be all about us... about what encourages us and keeps our faith alive... this will help me in my growth... I need to increase my faith... I need money... I need all of these things... we have reduced worship as an avenue to be selfish.

Let's look at the words of Isaiah, when he first encountered the Lord in the temple.

"I am undone! I am a man of unclean lips... and I live among a people of unclean lips... for my eyes has seen the King, the LORD of Hosts."

A great fear gripped Isaiah's heart. A fear so great that it made him say I'm done for! Finished! Dead man walking here! I AM A SINNER AND I HAVE SEEN GOD!!! Isaiah knows his history... he knows God is holy and He doesn't tolerate sin. The seraphims didn't calm his fears when he heard them sing "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, is the LORD Almighty."

Worship ushers us to the presence of God and once we come into contact with Him it is impossible not to recognize His holiness. Holiness is not placed on Him... He is holiness... no one granted Him the priviledge of being called holy because He is the essence of holiness. And when the corruptible comes into contact with the Incorruptible, the unholy sees the Holy, the weak and powerless experience the Omnipotent... an amount of reverential fear starts to creep in and we begin to see ourselves according to what we really are and then we begin to tell ourselves "nothing can be compared to God." Does this show any hint of a "feel good" kind of worship experience?

It didn't end there though... In verse 6 upon Isaiah's realization of this truth a seraphim used a tong to pick up live coal from the altar and touched Isaiah's lips with it. It is interesting to read that the seraphim, a spiritual being, used a tong to pick up a piece of LIVE COAL and used it to touch Isaiah's lips that is made of flesh... human flesh... I could just imagine the heat emanating from the coal, it could have stung Isaiah... and yet because of God's grace it didn't hurt Isaiah... it didn't damage him. God's presence consumes our sinful, wretched, selfish selves... and that is no walk in the park my friend. When we encounter God in worship we die to ourselves. We die to our selfish desires and we begin to live according to how He wants us to live. Now that will sting... it will hurt a lot... a whole lot sometimes... but God is not yet done, through that pain we are being refined. Like a goldsmith God is purifying us, making us more like Him. Though this process is painful it will never damage us, in fact it will build us up in righteousness. Again I dare ask.... you think this is the "feel good" kind of worship we got used to?

But worship doesn't end there... in verse 8... God Himself asked "Whom shall I send? and who will go for Us?" Isaiah responded with "Here am I... send me." I'm going to propose a radical idea to anyone reading this article... the ultimate purpose of worship is to declare God to the lost. God is not an egotist. He doesn't need to be reminded He is great, that He is magnificent, that He is powerful, that He is wonderful, and all the great adjectives that we can attach to His name... but we do. We forget He is the One True loving God, and to some people they dont know that He is. We Christians are a bunch of egotistical, needy, selfish beings that are saved by grace and are continually being saved. Being the egotistical, selfish beings we are we tend to forget to think of others who are still locked in the cages of religion, trying to find or to some degree create a god that will be their source of faith and inspiration. Worship is for Christians to realize the need to go and make disciples... and it is also a testimony of God's goodness to the lost. People need the Lord... many die without even a hint of Jesus Christ... and these people are going to a spend eternity separated from the Lord. People are living here now like empty shells. They are looking for something to fill the void in their hearts... some of them in despair... some are dying a slow and painful death while some might consider suicide. These people need a testimony of God's goodness and it will not come from people who has a theoritical framework of God, but from people who stood in the presence and was able to experience first hand the power, love, and grace of God. Again does this seem as if worship is all about a "feel good" experience of God?

When we worship, we exalt a mighty God, our faith is built up and it pleases the Lord and because of that faith, it draws us closer to Him that makes us so blessed. But at the end of the day worship is all about God being glorified... not just through songs, not just through our lifestyle but in the nations. Worship exist to declare God to the world and we should not neglect that call. Worship changes our perpective from "Me" to "Him"... from "I love" to "His love"... from "My cause" to "His cause"... it leads us to change...

Worship invites the Presence that leads to Change...

Raising Up The Next Generation

Hey guys. I've just finished reading this article worshiptogether.com and it is so timely for us and our present undertaking.

I hope that this article will help to inspire the teachers who will mentor the future worship team and also to make the students understand what really is going on and to encourage hem to keep pressing toward our ultimate goal - to worship and serve our God in the best that we can.

Sobra na english ko..basahin niyo nalang..hehe.. Sana ma-bless kayo the way i've been blessed by it..

indulge :)


Raising Up The Next Generation
Date Posted: 3/11/2008
Author: Jimi WIlliams


In all the worship teachings, ponderings, and musings that I read, I don't hear much about worship mentoring. I have never been a part of a church that does this intentionally. The reason for this may be that in the Nashville area there is such an abundance of good musicians that there is not a need to recruit young people to help. While it's great to have good players, I believe we are missing the blessing and a mandate of raising up the next generation of lead worshipers.

I think there are several reasons why worship leaders avoid working with young people:

1. There's not an immediate payoff.

Most worship leaders I know are more concerned with this Sunday than 5 years from now. It's easy to fall into this way of thinking. We want instant results and Lord knows, working with teenagers is 2 steps forward and 1
step back! Many times in ministry leadership we have the mindset of "What can this person do to help me and my ministry?" We must change this to "What I can do to develop this person?"

2. We fall for flash instead of fulfillment.

When selecting players, everyone wants the guitar player who can mimic all the tasty licks from the recording, versus the teen who plays everything with hi-gain distortion :). At the end of the day, nobody's going to remember the great guitar riff in "Let God Arise", but a you may direct a young person's destiny by giving them the opportunity to serve along side you.

3. Nobody wants extra baggage.

Beware! Integrating young people into your band will cost you. There is a certain amount of hand-holding that must happen, especially at first. My son Christian, who plays guitar and is 12, has started helping me when I lead. The first few times he helped out I had to double check that he packed all his gear, set up his guitar rig, and help calm his nerves. Now that he's been doing it awhile, he knows what gear to bring, sets up his own rig, and is getting more confident with the band.

4. We believe the lie that teens don't want to be involved with adults.

This is so bogus. I hear this argument against older youth pastors or adults who work with students. I turned 40 this year and my wife and I both have incredible relationships with a bunch of teens. Nobody cares
that we are old enough to be their parents or that we are not cool. All they care about is that we care about them enough to invest into their lives.

5. We feel pressure from the pastor and/or congregation to have a professional sounding band.

Okay, I'm going to try and stay off my soap box, but... I sometimes think that the church has forgotten why it exists. In visiting some churches, I get the feeling that the most important thing is how good their music is. We relegate our young people's service to the youth service or the once a year "youth Sunday". That sends the message "this is a big church and there's no place for you to help here". If we want more young people in our church services, how about giving them a place to serve?

The seed we sow now will yield an abundant harvest in time if we are faithful to plant and water. So get that spiky haired kid with the Flying V involved in your ministry. You will change his life and he
will change yours.