A lesson in Worship

Psalm 34
¹¹ Come, children, listen closely; 
   I'll give you a lesson in God worship.

 ¹² Who out there has a lust for life? 
   Can't wait each day to come upon beauty? 

 ¹³ Guard your tongue from profanity, 
   and no more lying through your teeth. 

 ¹⁴ Turn your back on sin; do something good. 
   Embrace peace—don't let it get away! 

Discipline

What do you think of worship as a discipline?

“I want the hearts of My people back”

This phrase has been sounding over and over again in my head and heart.  It has been enough to move me to relaunching my blog as a place where we can once again grow in our theological and practical understanding of worship and all it’s related facets.  I won’t pretend to be a great writer but I will confess that my heart beats for this kind of thing ...this kind of thing being...Jesus.  

Sometimes I feel like I am with Jesus...like we’re tracking.  Most times I’m a little too far ahead of him or behind him: everyday I’m learning to trust him, not walking too far ahead with over confidence in my own ability or drifting too far behind with doubt or insecurity.

As a worship leader I am always thinking about how I can help lead others effectively.  The  phrase above struck me because it oozes with God’s relentless desire to have our hearts.  He wants us and so He’s on board when we get up to lead others in worship...that very desire in us is actually His.  In the same way that we want to know, to feel and to experience the resurrected Christ in our gathered community, He wants to be with us.  It was His plan all along.  He initiated it.  He stepped down and “His gracious actions are not only etched into ancient history, but are engraved into our personal histories.” Richard Foster ‘A Celebration of Discipline’.  

And so worship is: human response to the divine initiative.