9. Does your church music promote passionate worship?
During my time in Minnesota, I have had the opportunity to help lead the music for two Sunday morning services and a Sunday evening service. (Tonight I will lead another evening service.) This morning I can honestly say that I experienced a passionate worship service. The worship team was comfortable together, the songs proclaimed truth, the congregation was fired up, the sermon was on point and we even got to hear the testimony of one of the members of the church. I could really feel the joy of the Lord permeating the room.
During my time in Minnesota, I have had the opportunity to help lead the music for two Sunday morning services and a Sunday evening service. (Tonight I will lead another evening service.) This morning I can honestly say that I experienced a passionate worship service. The worship team was comfortable together, the songs proclaimed truth, the congregation was fired up, the sermon was on point and we even got to hear the testimony of one of the members of the church. I could really feel the joy of the Lord permeating the room.
Part of this idea of passionate worship really comes out of the life of the church. Many churches can be singing gospel truth in a very stilted way, while conversely other churches are passionately singing spiritual fluff. Certain congregations will do things in different ways, but it is my opinion (and I hope I'm not alone) that one thing should always remain the same no matter how you orchestrate the surrounding minutia.
Passionate worship comes (or at least should come) from focusing on the word of God. One of the previous posts in this series talked all about our church music being biblically sound; the same is true of the life of the church! If you are not rooted in the Word throughout the week, how could you expect to be passionately worshipping God on the weekend? Moreover, how do you expect to passionately live out the Christian life? The times where I have been the most passionate in my Christian walk have either been due to various kind of trials or increased time studying the Word (and often those two intertwine). We become more passionate about the Lord and His work as we grow in the knowledge of what He has done, is doing, and will do, all of which is found in Scripture.
This sort of talk, though, can be hard for those who put any amount of influence in experiences during their walk with the Lord. Experience really gets a bad reputation around the church. The truth of the matter is that our experiences in this life serve as a confirmation for what the Lord is teaching us in His word.
This is even Paul's prayer for the church in Colossae as he wrote his epistle to them: "And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Colossians 1:9-10). Paul prays that they would grow in the knowledge of God found in Scripture, and that such knowledge would bring about obedience in wisdom and understanding, and through that obedience we will see the Lord work and understand Him even more.
Think of Job after such suffering and trials in his life, when God calls his complaint into question and puts Job's suffering in perspective. He says to God, "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ... I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes see you" (Job 42:2, 5). We understand God better, in a more practical way, when we see Him working these theological truths in our lives. This gives us even more of a passion to worship Him, because we have heard and seen His great glory and want to proclaim it.
How do we cultivate passionate worship in the church? We keep everything firmly rooted in Scripture. Not just the music, but every aspect of the service. Read passages of Scripture in between songs, remind the congregation of spiritual truths. Sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs that build up the church and keep Christ as our foundation. Share testimonies of people in the church, reminding them that the Word of God is not simply confined to the stories on the pages of our Bibles, but that He is actively working now in the lives of His children. Remind your congregation of the work of Christ on our behalf through communion and baptisms. Passionate worship will easily flow out of such a strong church life.