I am all for congregational singing. I am all for the corporate role of teaching and admonishing one another in our singing, according to Colossians 3:16-17. In my opinion, that is not emphasized enough in some modern churches.
But recently I’ve been impressed with the need for us to not just sing. Yes, there is a horizontal aspect to worship, but there is also a vertical aspect. This vertical aspect is what I gather most Christians mean today when they say, “worship.”
You all (hopefully) know that I’m not pentecostal. But there’s something our pentecostal brothers and sisters seem to do that I think we could learn from: they seem to enjoy being in God’s presence when they worship.
Do we enjoy God together when we worship Him?
Please don’t hear me as saying I don’t think the Spirit is alive in our church. I know He is. I’ve seen evidence of Him in many, many ways. I’ve seen your hunger for God’s Word in preaching and teaching. I’ve seen your love for one another. I’ve seen your love for the hurting.
But I wonder if we have some room to grow when it comes to enjoying God’s presence together in worship.
We need to keep singing doctrinally rich songs that teach us and our children about God’s character and nature. But to what should that lead us? Enjoyment of His presence; glorifying Him together when He is near and felt.
If you’re a Christian, you’ve known what it’s like when He is near. I have. It’s indescribable. All our needs are met in that moment. He is there, and everything else fades away. Would the Lord be so kind as to allow us to regularly enjoy Him together in worship?
We should not seek to manufacture that experience. God’s presence isn’t ushered in by fog machines or singing the same bridge 40 times until our brains are muddled into a kind of trance. Experiencing emotion is not the same thing as enjoying God (although enjoying God often evokes emotion). So, manipulating our emotions is not what we’re after.
What are we after? Him. He is ours already in Christ. We know that. But do we enjoy that reality in His presence together?
One of my prayers is that King Jesus would bring us a pastor of music (and young adults) who be able to lead us to enjoy God’s presence together. If you’d like to join me in that prayer, I’d be grateful.
Pastor Jacob’s Blog 