MAY 24, 2025 ~ FROM A PASTOR'S HEART

MAY 24 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READING:  2 CORINTHIANS 3:12-18

Who is the "Worship Leader" in the church? I hope you would say that the Holy Spirit is the leader of all things in the church, including worship. What should our worship look like? I hope you would say it should look like whatever the Holy Spirit is leading us to do, say, and sing. My experience through the years in church worship has been that worship and worship style are determined either by the majority or by the latest trend in ecclesiastical worship. Preference, too often, becomes the determining factor as to what our worship looks and sounds like. Churches even label what kind of worship they offer, or they have special designated services to offer a number of different styles of worship, in order to meet every preference. The church has turned into Burger King, "You can have it YOUR way!" This should really concern us, because the church is supposed to have one Head, and it should be His way. Much prayer and seeking the will of God should go into our worship.

What should our worship look like? That is really not the primary question. Our first question should be, "Lord, what do you want?" It should never be, “what will draw the most people and the big crowds.” We are not here marketing the Lord. The Scripture gives us several different examples of worship from Psalm 150 that seems like a lively time of praise with loud instrumental accompaniment, to a call to be quiet before the Lord. You might say, “Well, that is way too much variation, I need consistency of style to be comfortable.” Might I say, with all due respect, that our "comfort" is not the purpose of biblical worship. I believe the Scripture intentionally gives such a wide variation in worship styles, because the Lord wants us to seek Him in worship, and not seek a method or style of worship. Biblical worship requires a relationship with the living Lord...it demands that He is in control of what happens in our worship.

Please share your thoughts.