Biblical Worship

This week I had the opportunity to share with the traveling teams of LifeAction Ministries in Buchanan, MI.  These teams are in training preparing to travel for 9 months sharing the Gospel in churches across the country.   In thinking about these young men and women on these teams, I thought about I Timothy 4: 6-16 and Paul’s instruction to Timothy concering Timothy’s life and ministry.   Here are several principles gleaned from this passage concerning the life and ministry of the minister and more specifically, the worship leader:

1. Private Worship- vs. 6 and 7 discuss the priority of being constantly nourished by the word of faith and doctrine.  Our private worship (time in the Word, prayer and meditation) should be a regular part of our day preferably in the morning as you begin your day.  We minister to others from the overflow of our time alone with the Lord.  We can not lead a person to a place we have not been.  Before we lead others in corporate worship, we must be spending time in private worship.  I like the example set for us by the great missionary to China, Hudson Taylor.  He was so rarely alone during the day, he would often do his prayer and Bible study time from 2-4am in the morning while his team was sleeping.  I am not advocating this necessarily, but I think this does show the importance of finding time in our day to spend with the Lord in His Word and in Prayer.

2. Personal Holiness – vs. 7 tells us to discipline ourselves for Godliness.  Our effectiveness as worship leaders is wrapped up in our character.  The well known Scottish preacher of the 1800′s, Robert Murray M’Cheyne stated: “It is not great talents God blesses so much as likeness to Jesus.  A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God.”  M’Cheyne says “what his people need most is my personal holiness.”

The English preacher Charles Haden Spurgeon said “true and genuine piety is necessary as the first indispensible requisite; whatever ‘call’ a man may pretend to have, if he has not been called to holiness, he has certainly not been called to ministry.”

Are you guarding your life?  Do you have someone to keep you accountable? Our character speaks louder than our preaching.

3. Perseverence – vs. 10 says that we toil and strive setting our hope our hope on God.  Ministry can be very difficult sometimes for long periods of time.  It is not for the weak of heart.  Hebrews 12 reminds us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and run the race with endurance.  As a ministry leader you will give up your personal preferences and find yourself tired and at times emotionally drained.  Remember that our battle may appear to be against flesh and blood, but in reality it is a spiritual battle needing spiritual weapons to fight.  Put on the spiritual armor listed in Ephesians 6. 

4.  Priority of the Word – in your ministry place the Word of God at the forefront.  In vs. 13 Paul exhorts Timothy to devote himself to the public reading of the Scripture.  This includes exhortation and teaching of the Word.  In our corporate gatherings we must allow the Word to have a prominent place.  We should be reading the Word, singing the Word, praying the Word, and preaching the Word.  Hebrews 4:12 tells  us the importance of allowing the Word of God to convict our hearts and minds.  The Holy Spirit uses the Word to change our lives.

5.  People are our ministry – In vs. 12 Paul tells Timothy to set the example of an effective minister in our conduct, love, faith and purity.  Young ministers must demonstrate to their church members how God is working in their lives.  Gain the trust of your elders in the church by setting the example of a Christ like life.  Remember that as ministers what we do is all about reaching and investing in the lives of the Body of Christ.

6.  Passion for the Gospel – Paul instructs Timothy in vs. 16 to work hard to make the Word known because it would result in the salvation of those who hear his instruction.  We bring the good news of the Gospel to those who have not heard of Christ and to those who have been walking with Christ for many years.  The Gospel must be central to our lives and central to our message.  Strive to keep the Gospel in the center of your worship ministry.  Jerry Bridges tell us that we must preach the Gospel to ourselves everyday.  It has been said that we never move on from the Cross, only to a more profound understanding of the Cross.

I recently heard a worship pastor who was bemoaning the fact that he had been asked (and practically forced) to use a Justin Bieber song (Baby, Baby, Baby) in corporate worship with of course a different set of more appropriate words.  The person asking to use the song said that if the lyrics were OK, then it would not matter about the tune.  Really? . . .  Does the tune matter when it is a tune from a very familiar pop song?  One justification often used in this situation points back to the borrowed tunes used by hymn writers of past years.  It was not uncommon in Martin Luther’s day to borrow a folk tune to use for a new hymn text. 

I remember when I was high school (which will date me) a popular way to sing “Amazing Grace” was to set it to the tune of “The House of the Rising Sun.”  My youth group thought it was cool and relevant.  As I remember though the novelty of it was not about the “Amazing Grace” text but about the secular rock tune we were using.  As I look back on this today, I would say that the noteriety of the tune greatly overshadowed the text of God’s amazing grace. 

Why I would not use a Justin Bieber song or any secular pop tune set to new Christian lyrics in corporate worship:

1. When a song like that is popular in secular culture it takes on a life of its own that sends a different message even when the lyrics are changed.  If the song was used in worship it would always have a Justin Bieber association among those who know the tune.  This type song carries with it baggage that is distracting in worship.
2. There are thousands of possible tunes to use for a worship song that would work much better than a familiar pop tune.  Why even go there with the many options worship leaders have today for song tunes? 
3. Martin Luther’s use of folk tunes were mostly only known in his immediate culture.  After a hundred years only hymnologists would know that the tune was a folk tune.  It is a different day than Luther’s.  Today with our global technology there is an instant connection to pop songs across the USA and the world.  If we wait a hundred years, it might also be OK to use this Bieber tune. 
4. Although one could argue that all our tunes are profane before a Holy God, do we really want to use a tune with this pop association in the culture as a worship song presented to the Lord?
5. Lastly, while this may not matter much to some, it  really is illegal to take a copyrighted tune and change the lyrics without the permission of the tune owner.

I think we can do a lot better with our worship music than using song tunes that are so tainted in the pop culture.  We have so much else from which to choose.  Better yet, let’s write a new tune and a sing a new song to the Lord.

As the year 2010 draws to a quick close it is helpful to remind ourselves about what we are about as worship leaders in the church.  In our hurriedness in worship preparation and leading it is easy to lose sight of some of driving principles of worship leading.  This year I want to remind myself that:

1.  God alone deserves the glory.  He does not share His glory with anyone. As a worship leader I want to make sure that it is God that is receiving the praise.  How I conduct myself in front of the people and how the worship team leads can help this to happen or detract.  Lack of preparation on my part or that of the team can take the attention off of worship and onto ourselves.  Hebrews calls for us to “offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe for our God is our consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:28-29)  I want to help the worshipers to realize the Almighty God they worship everytime we gather and offer Him the Glory He alone deserves.

2.  Jesus and His Cross must constantly be before the people.  Our whole lives are based on the Gospel.  “We never move on from the cross, only to a  more profound understanding of the cross.”  Our first call to worship was the call of Jesus to come follow Him.  Everytime I come before the people to lead them in the musical portion of the worship time, I want the Gospel to be clear.  In our worship services christians need to hear the Gospel story and unbelievers need to hear the Gospel story in our songs, prayers, and testimonies. Our whole worship service can be a picture of the Gospel by the way we shape our songs, prayers and proclamation.

3.  People are more important that rehearsals, musicals, meetings, and programs.  As a worship leader I have the responsibility to point people to the Lord and to edify, encourage, and exhort the Body of Christ.  Worship ministry is about relationships.  Caring for those who are on your music teams and for those in your congregation.  Christ died for the church.  Do I care for Christ’s church like He does? I want to be a better discipler this year.

4.  When selecting songs for worship, I want to select nourishing songs of the faith.  We are told in Colossians that with all wisdom we are to teach and admonish one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. (Colossians 3:16)  Am I nourishing the Body of Christ with the songs I am selecting?  This year Lord, help me to find worship songs that speak of you in a way that you are Glorified and that the Cross of Christ is lifted high.

5.  My daily personal walk with the Lord feeds my effectiveness as a worship leader in the Lord’s church.  My prayer – Let not the busyness of life crowd out my time alone withyou Lord in your Word and in prayer each day.   Lord, give me living water so that I can share it with Your people.  Keep me from temptations that can destroy my ministry.  Let my walk before You Lord be one of integrity and purity.

In this new year of 2011, Lord teach me to number my days, that I may present to You a heart of wisdom.  (Psalm 90:12)

In our Foundations in Worship class at Southern Seminary we were discussing worship practice in the Old Testament.   Because there is so much to learn about Old Testament worship practice, there could easily be a whole course dedicated to the topic.  One of the obvious themes that came out of last week’s lesson was the importance of the worshiper’s heart condition - not his physical heart condition but his attitude and lifestyle of obedience before the Lord. 

We studied instances of Old Testament worship where the Lord was not pleased with the worshiper.  One of those in particular was the Genesis 4 account of Cain and Abel.  The brothers both brought offerings before the Lord in an act of worship.  The Lord had regard for Abel’s offering but did not regard Cain’s offering.  It is often explained that Cain’s offering was not received because it was an offering of the produce of the field while Abel’s offering was a animal sacrifice. 

Hebrews 11:4 states that Abel offered a better sacrifice than Cain and attests to his righteousness.  In I John 3:11-12 we see a desciption of Cain that says he was of the evil one and his deeds were evil.  The Scripture commentary on the Cain and Abel offerings tells us that Cain’s relationship to the Lord and attitude in worship was not acceptable to the Lord. His offering was not regarded because of the condition of his heart.   In Genesis 4, the Lord later instructs Cain to do well, to change his attitude.  Instead Cain’s sinful attitude leads him to murder his brother Abel. 

In his book “A Taste of Heaven” R.C. Sproul comments on whether Abel’s offering was better because it  was an animal sacrifice. Sproul states:

“The difference had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the variance of God’s response to the two sacrifices.  Margin Luther remarked that Abel could have sacrificed the shell of a nut and it would have been more pleasing to God than the sacrifice offered by Cain.  That was because it wasn’t what Abel offered to God, but how he offered it that made the difference.  The all encompassing-criterion for acceptable sacrifice in the Old Testament was the posture and attitude of the person making the sacrifice.”  (R.C.Sproul in his book on worship, A Taste of Heaven, p. 28).

This challenges me as a worship leader to always be mindful of my heart condition before the Lord as I attempt to lead others in worship.  What is the posture and attitude of my heart before I step up in front of others to proclaim the greatness of our God?  God rejected Old Testament worship practice that was performed in excellence but offered by people who were not walking in humility and obedience before Him.

This side of the cross I am grateful for Jesus Christ, my Great High Priest before the Throne.  He is able to cleanse me from my sins and help my worship leadership to be acceptable to God. 

“Lord help me to confess the sinful attitudes of my heart and disobedience to your commands, and wash me clean before I lead others in worship.  Give me clean hands and a pure heart.  Hide me behind the Cross of Jesus Christ.  Let me be a worship leader who is spiritually prepared to lead.”

I recently finished a book by Dr. Steve Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis.  Gaines book, When God Comes to Church: Experiencing the Fullness of His Presence offers a number of excellent insights about planning and leading worship.  I like this quote from C.H. Spurgeon (1834-1892) that Gaines uses to emphasize the need of Christ-centered worship services.  In the quote Spurgeon is addressing young preachers when he states:

“Let your sermons be full of Christ, from beginning to end crammed full of the Gospel.  As for myself, brethren, I cannot preach anything else but Christ and His cross, for I know nothing else, and long ago, like the Apostle Paul, I determined not to know anything else save Jesus Christ and Him crucified [a reference to I Cor. 2:2] . . . . Preach Jesus Christ, brethren, always and everywhere; and every time you preach be sure to have much of Jesus Christ in your sermon . . . . We preach Jesus Christ to those who want Him, and we also preach Him to those who do not want Him, and we keep on preaching Christ until we make them feel that they do want Him, and cannot do without Him.”  (Gaines, p. 42-43)

I agree with Spurgeon and Gaines.  Our services should focus on Christ.  There should be a Gospel, cross-centered theme in our corporate worship services each time we gather.  More times that I want to remember I have attended Christian worship services where Christ or His cross were not mentioned the whole service.   Our songs, our prayers, our testimonies and our sermons should point to Christ. 

When a Christian tells his pastor he does not need to hear the Gospel story any more because he has matured beyond that point, we are in dangerous territory.  Christ is our Savior and Lord, our Great High Priest before the Throne, the Lamb of God.  We must preach Christ. 

Gaines closes his chapter stating that “a worship service without the awareness of Jesus’ obvious presence is a waste of time.  He is the One who deserves the spotlight.  He is the focus for every part of geniune worship.” (44).

Worship Leader – is your service full of Christ and His cross?  As David Prior once said: “We never move on from the cross of Christ, only into a more profound understanding of the cross.”

When God Comes to Church, Steve Gaines, Broadman and Holman, 2007, ISBN: 978-0-8054-4398-1.

On several occasions I have seen advertisements for Christian concerts or worship recordings that made statements like:  “This worship music will send you into the presence of God,” or “Buy this [insert name of Christian Artist] worship CD. – it will connect you to God.”  Can music connect a Christian to God?  The answer to that is no.  Music is not a mediator between God and His people.  There is only one mediator that can ever  ‘connect’ us to God or ‘send us in the presence of God.’  His name is Jesus Christ.  I am reminded of several Bible verses that make this truth very clear:

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”  (John 14:6)

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1

“And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.” (Romans 5:11)

“For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.” (I Timothy 2:5)

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  For we do not have a priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.  Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16)

How much more will the blood Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?  For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant…” (Hebrews 9:14-15)

“For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.”  (Hebrews 9:24)

 It is clear from these Scripture passages (and many more that could be listed), that Jesus Christ is the one and only mediator for us before God, the Father.  We have no approach to the throne of God above except through our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ.  Why have we allowed people to get the idea that certain kinds of music can send us into God’s presence?  If we know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we are already in God’s presence because of Christ’s redemptive work on the cross on our behalf.  

Perhaps what we mean to say is that certain worship songs remind us of our position in Christ; therefore, we rejoice as we remember what Christ has done for us . . . or . . . Some songs cause to become emotional when we are reminded that we draw near to the Father because of the work of His Son.  Worship Leaders should strive to help those in their congregations understand that when we feel emotional with certain worship songs it should be because we are responding to the objective truth of the Gospel.  If we think that it is the music that causes us to “feel close to God,” then we as worship leaders are allowing our people to revel in subjective emotionalism without helping them to understand why they get those feelings. 

Music is not the mediator for us before the throne of God.  We do not need certain songs to magically usher us into God’s presence.  Jesus has already done that for us.  Music in worship is a sacrifice of praise to God and a great tool for teaching us Bible truths.  Let us help our congregations not to seek a subjective emotional high through music, but seek to joyfully sing because of what Christ has done for us.  Through Him let us draw near to God with a sincere heart. (Hebews 10:19-25)    

I recently finished reading a book on worship called True Worship by Vaughan Roberts (Authentic Media, 2002, ISBN 1-85078-445-0).  Roberts does a great job pointing us back to the basics of biblical worship in light of the upheavals that press in around us from our postmodern culture.  In one section he is describing the meaning of Romans 12:1-2 where the Apostle Paul discusses giving our lives as a sacrifice which is our spiritual act of worship.  Roberts states that the better translation for spiritual in this verse is reasonable or rational (Greek root: logikos). â€It implies that our worship is connected to our minds.” (21)Robert goes on to talk about the implications of this verse in our present culture.  Allow me to share an extended quote from the book: 

“In recent years, Eastern thinking has had a big impact on Western culture.  Increasingly we are elevating experience above thinking, feeling above the mind.  One writer has put it like this:  ours is ‘a culture in search of an experience, not in search of truth.'  In choosing a religion, ‘The one measurement that matters is the spiritual high they give, as if worship was something you snorted through your nose'. (Roberts is quoting Clifford Langley). 

“That tendency has affected Christianity as well.  Many people who come to church are looking for an experience.  They do not want to think; they want a direct encounter with God.  They want to feel his presence with them.  And when they do, or at least when they think they do, they call that ‘worship'.  For them, worship is primarily to do with feelings rather than with the mind.  But the Bible will not allow us to divorce the two.  True worship will certainly involve our emotions, but it does not begin with them.  Worship is rational; it involves the mind…. Worship involves thinking because it begins with what God has done for me in Christ.  It is a response to what I have understood about his mercy.  If I switch my mind off, I break the connection with the truth that prompts my worship.  So worship must be rational.  But it can never stay just in the mind.” (21-22)

Our worship should be based on the objective truths found in Scripture.  We understand what Jesus Christ has done to redeem us from sin and death.  We then respond with our emotions showing gratitude.  Our worship is a response to truth, not based on subjective experience.  I think Roberts has done a good job of describing the state of much Christian worship today.  Are we seeking an experience or are we responding to objective truths of the Word?

Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:28-29).

The larger a church grows the more difficult it is to actively involve the congregation in the worship service.  People who attend worship services where a thousand or more people are gathered for worship often find themselves more in a passive, spectator role than as an active participant.  Except for the congregational involvement in the worship songs, the people passively watch others on the platform leading the different parts of the service.

I’m not advocating that we keep our congregations small or that we not grow the church.  (Although we could discuss what is the most effective size for a congregation and when to start a new congregation.)  When we look at gatherings in the early church (Acts and the Epistles) we see a congregation very active in the worship service.  The Apostle Paul states in I Corinthians 14:26 that when the church assembles “each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation.”  This verse indicates that believers should come prepared to participate in the service.

What are some ways that worship leaders can actively involve the congregation in worship?

1.  Do more congregational worship music than “special” music.  I really don’t have a problem with solos or choir songs in the service but these should not overshadow the congregational involvement in the worship music.

2.  Plan ahead to involve more church members in congregational prayers.  Call during the week and invite members to lead particular prayers.  This gives them time to consider how they would voice a prayer for the congregation.

3.  Plan ahead on Scripture reading in the service.  Call and ask a church member to read the opening Psalm in the service.  Have a member read the passage the pastor is using in his sermon.  If you are not reading much Scripture in the service, I would encourage you to do more Scripture reading in the service.  (see Hebrews 4:12)

4.  It may be old fashion, but have a responsive reading. This includes the whole congregation as you read the Scripture.

5.  If your church can logistically do it, allow the congregation to break into small prayer groups during the service to pray for others or the church. 

6.  Have a greeting time when people can speak to each other as the service starts.

7.  Have a church member prepare a 3 minute testimony about a recent mission trip or an answer to prayer.  (I would ask them to write out the testimony and then send it to you during the week.  You could make suggestions about how to better express a thought in necessary).

Other obvious places where the congregation is actively participating is in the offering time, the Lord’s Supper, and the time of response after the sermon.

Worship leader, how actively involved is your congregation in the worship service?  Are they mostly watching others worship?  I would encourage you to find ways to get your congregation involved in the service.

C.J. Mahaney states in his book, Living the Cross-Centered Life (Multnomah, ISBN 9781590525784):

“If there’s anything in life that we should be passionate about, it’s the gospel.  And I don’t mean passionate only about sharing it with others.  I mean passionate in thinking about it, dwelling on it, rejoicing in it, allowing it to color the way we look at the world.  Only one thing can be of first importance to each of us.  And only the gospel ought to be.”  (page 15)

I had the opportunity to visit Bull Street Baptist Church (www.bullstreet.org) last Sunday for Bible study and worship - a church that for 117 years has ministered to the community on a famous downtown street in Savannah, GA called Bull Street.  Calvin Fowler, pastor and Bill Gardner, associate pastor of worship and fine arts are doing a great job planning and leading Gospel-centered worship.  (Incidentally, they are both graduates of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, www.sbts.edu).

Throughout the service – Scripture readings, prayers, songs, the Lord’s Supper, and sermon – the Gospel had center stage.  Before the congregation took the Lord’s Supper, Pastor Fowler did a wonderful job of explaining the biblical basis of the Lord’s Supper – why we do this and who should take the Lord’s Supper.   The pastor’s sermon on Philippians 3:12-16 was also a gospel-centered verse by verse walk through the passage.  Congregational songs and solos during the Lord’s Supper all pointed to the cross.  There was a clear call for us to respond to the gospel.

I have attended Christian worship services where the gospel was unclear or sometimes not even mentioned.  It is almost as if church leaders or lay people think that the gospel is something that we experienced when we confessed Christ as Lord and Savior, but then we move on.  We not only need a worship service full of the gospel for lost people in the service, but we need it for the believers. 

As believers we build our lives on the gospel.  Our worship services should be centered around the gospel – our songs, our prayers, and our sermons.  One person has said that we never move on from the cross only into a more profound understanding of the cross. 

Pastors – keep your services full of the gospel.  Look for songs that point to the cross, that tell of our forgiveness from sins, and rejoice in Christ’s triumph over death and hell.  Pray prayers that reflect the gospel.  Preach messages that help us see that the gospel impacts every aspect of our lives.  Thanks Pastor Fowler and Gardner for a gospel-centered service.   

“For the word of the cross is folly to whose who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God”  I Corinthians 1:18

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Boyce College Presents

The Heart of Worship Conference 2009

January 30-31, Friday evening – Saturday

On the campus of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY

A Conference for High School and Middle School Students who sing in choirs, play instruments in the worship band or help with sound and media.

Complete information available at:

www.boycecollege.com/heartofworship