Sing to the Lord

"Whew, glad the worship is over. Now we can get to the important part of the service."

"I wish we could just worship all the time and not have to listen to a sermon."

I have had both of those comments actually said to me or in my presence. Of course, in these contexts, "worship" for both speakers meant the music or, more specifically, the singing part of the worship service. I even had, on more than one occasion, a worship leader suggest we do the offering, baptisms and communion first thing in the service so we could "get those out of the way" before we start worshipping.

Sigh.

All of those attitudes and comments completely miss the point. But it goes along with a mindset and, in some ways, a verbal challenge. Do you go to church? Or do you go to worship?

If you "go to church" on Sunday mornings, it's likely you find it easier to subdivide the "church service" into smaller parts. We worship when we sing. Then we give. Then we learn. Each part has a purpose, to be sure, but none of it really works together. I believe many of our "orders of worship," handed down to us from the 1950's, aid us in thinking this way. "Church," becomes something we do, or a building we go to, rather than something we are.

But if we "go to worship" on Sunday mornings, then the whole service becomes an act of worship. The music is an act of worship where we offer God our voices. The offering is an act of worship where we offer our resources. And the sermon is an act of worship where we offer God our hearts and minds. But no one part is more important than the others. It all flows and works together to honor God.

Because that's the point of worship: honoring God. When we "go to church," it easily becomes about us (more about this later this week). When we "go to worship," it's all about God. 

We're commanded in Scripture to sing to the Lord. Psalm 96 puts it this way: "Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples" (96:1-3). Not "sing to each other." Not "sing so you can impress someone near you." Not "sing for the worship leader or the pastor." Sing to the Lord. Cry out with your heart to the Lord. Sing for an audience of one, and use your music to proclaim his name, to declare his glory, to let others know what he has done. Sing not to draw attention to yourself, but to give honor to God. (Therefore, any music considered "worship" ought to be sung to God, not about God. It also ought to not be about "me." For instance, I love the song "Made to Worship" by Chris Tomlin, but it's not a worship song. It's a song about worship.)

Singing is only one part of our worship, but it is an important (and commanded) part: "Sing to the Lord a new song." That little word "new" is important here as well. Any time there is a movement of God, there are new songs. Not necessarily new in style (though maybe), but songs that express the longings of the current generation. Those are the songs we are commanded to sing, to sing with all our heart, so that God may be honored. He is our audience. He is our proclamation. He is the reason we worship.