Delta Lake 2012 Series ~ Part 1:The Importance of Worship through Music

Oh Happy Day, I am home from a wonderful 2-day writers’ conference. The Upstate New York Writers’ Gathering was once again a success. Although attendance was down a bit, the fellowship and instruction were plenty.

I arrived early Thursday morning in order to participate in the morning worship seminar with Pastor Charles Jones of the Kenmore Alliance Church. His heart for worship is an encouragement. He shared one analogy to emphasis his mental state when he is preparing for each week’s worship. This is a paraphrase, my apologies to Pastor Jones if I don’t get this just right. “As I prepare the worship order I want songs to touch the heart. I look at it as if I am opening the chest cavity of the worshippers and inserting lyrics into their hearts. What message does God have for their heart?”

Can you imagine if all our worship leaders felt the impact of their gift to put together a worship order and bring it to fruition? Worship is about you and God, not you and the worship leader. Pastor Jones understands and exercises this.

“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord.”  Ephesians 5:19

In addition to the title of church worship pastor and leader, Pastor Jones travels to share his thoughts and methodology of transformational worship.   

To play music or determine what songs to play and how to arrange them so it flows is NOT my gifting yet to listen and learn from Pastor Jones taught me to appreciate our worship leaders at church even more. Before learning from Pastor Jones this week during the morning worship seminar I appreciated our worship leaders and others with the gift to put together music but after this week, my APPRECIATION is in all caps and bold.

Will you join me in prayer for the men and women God has called to organize our music? Their heart to draw us closer to God through the worship in music can only heighten our own experiences with God.

A challenge: After Sunday’s service this week thank your worship leaders for their hard work and dedication to draw us all closer to our Heavenly Father. They spend all week in prayer and preparation so we can have a holy experience.

May we all use our gifts to serve God and draw others close to Him ~ I write and speak and others touch our hearts through song and music.

How has God gifted you to serve Him? Will you share in a comment below?

“Therefore I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God---this is your spiritual act of worship.”  Romans 12:1-2