The weight of this question is unmatched and its answer is completely crucial to a life that honors God. Worship is core to the Christian experience and is ultimately what all humans are created to do. It is the supreme purpose of human life, and our hardwiring for worship is constantly seen all around us. From sports fans to newlyweds, it is clear to see the human propensity towards worship.

With that said, the word ‘worship’ is one of the most misused words in modern Christendom.Worship has come to mean something isolated and limited, commonly synonymous with the musical portion of a church service.Music in a religious building is not necessarily worship.Worship most often has nothing to do with music at all.This is an important distinction.Making worship synonymous with music is limiting and unbiblical.The truth is thatworship can and should happen frequently without music playing a role.In addition, music even music at a gathering of the church, is often not Biblical worship.

An example of this would be to say that “all cars are blue”. It is true that some cars are blue, but the blanket statement that all cars are blue is obviously false. Some cars are red, and still meet the requirements of being a car. Furthermore, the ocean, your neighbor’s house, or your jeans may be blue, but none of them require gasoline or can get you to work in the morning. Just as blue is one possibility for the color of a car, music is one possibility for the means of worship. Just because something is blue, it is not necessarily a car, nor is worship always mean a time of song.

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” – 1 Timothy 2:5

Unfortunately, many people have so strongly tied music to their understanding of worship, that they only think of God’s greatness when musical accompaniment is available! Music can not be the mediator between God and man. Jesus Christ is the only mediator, and it is common to see people worship the emotion that music can bring or even worship the music itself. These are both empty idols compared to our great God.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. - Colossians 3:16,17

From this passage we see that worship is all inclusive and not limited to one activity.Worship is the giving of our whole being for God’s glory.The mark of true worship in Scripture seems to consistently include two elements.The first, is that God’s place and priority in our lives is elevated.Secondly, the Holy Spirit gives conviction of our sins and leads us to turn away from those sins and turn towards God.The core of worship is understanding that only God is worthy of our affection, our attention, and our devotion.The worship of other things will always be an enticing but ultimately unfulfilling endeavor.God desires us to worship only Him, because He is the only worthy receiver of our worship, and it is in that relationship that we are fulfilled.

True worship is a response to what God has done and is doing with the obedient pouring out of our lives.It is key to recognize that worship is never ceasing but ongoing.It is not a time on Sunday, nor is it a specific place, but continual worship happens at all times and all places.Worship at Grace Church happens through a wide variety of means:It can take place in our lives as we interact with others and with God.It can happen while singing to God during a service or gathering.It can take place when people attend a small group or home fellowship and share their lives with others.It can take place when people serve or volunteer both within the church and in the community.Most importantly, it happens everyday in the lives of those who pursue Jesus as the center and authority of their life.Worship can happen corporately or privately, and each has its place in the Christian life.

Worship effectively changes how we do everything. It affects the way we think, watch, listen, eat, relate, and live. We love those that make our lives complicated because God loved us while we were His enemies. We look for ways to show His love to others. While living in a world that says that material things will make us happy, we cling to the Truth God has given us in Scriptures, that only He can satisfy. All of these elements tie back to the Gospel message, that Jesus has paid the price for sinners and requires a life of faith in Him.

It often occurs to me that we are a people of lists and check-boxes. Day planners, calendars, and cell phones. I won't belabor the point but we spend an asinine amount of time on productivity. That thinking creeps into our Kingdom identity as well. I see it and hear it constantly, in others and in my own chest.

It goes something like this: If i do good things, my boss likes me. If I do bad things, my boss is upset. God is the boss, so...

The problem is that while we know that this is contrary to God's economy, we hardly ever reinforce that truth in our lives. It's hard to know that our value is in "being" a child of God, when we are constantly "doing" things to please Him. They don't reconcile.

I recently heard someone say that the reason we have a Sabbath is because we spend 6 days a week "doing". That one day a week is to just "be"; to focus on "being". It's a chance to reinforce the truth that we are loved by God because of who we are in His Son. Jesus is the reason we have hope. Jesus is the reason we have God.

Keeping the rules for the sake of rules has been more destructive to human souls than disease, natural disasters, or historical atrocities.

Many of us don't give ourselves permission to rest. If God has, why can't we?

Two nights ago I was attending my dear friend Tim's birthday party. Tim is the guitarist for Anchordown. I met a woman attending the party, who told me over chips and dip that reggae music makes her "happy". As she said the word "happy", she put her hand out. Laying it flat she swept it across the space between us as if she was petting the back of an imaginary dog.

Last night, Anchordown led worship with my favorite gathering, Living Stones. After the 5pm service, a man approached me and said;

"I finally bought an Anchordown CD, and it's been in my truck for the last 2 weeks. I know you probably wonder whether what you do has any effect, but I wanted to tell you that every time I listen to your album, God brings me back down, back to where I need to be."

As he said that last phrase, he put his hand out. Laying it flat he swept it across the space between us, as if petting an imaginary dog.

His kind remarks were deeply affirming, and yes I do wonder those things. I didn't realize it at the time, but his words would stay with me the rest of the evening. It's a statement that sounds weird, and the two options are certainly not mutually exclusive, but I think I would rather have God bring me to where I need to be, than be "happy".

The deepest happiness (or joy as I prefer to use) is found in and through Him (Romans 5:1-3). Reggae or rock, merely 2 options out of millions including polka, mowing the lawn, and feeding the hungry, can only be means by which God authors that connection with Him, thus causing joy. I guess that makes sense, because human happiness, blades of grass, as well as music, were His original ideas.

Art made by Christians (music, print, digital etc...) reminds me of Trader Joes. Let me explain.

Trader Joe's essentially sells products that are healthier versions of things we all know and love. This morning I had "Trader O's", a somehow more natural version of Cheerios. They don't taste that great. It's not that they're bad, they just aren't as good as the original.

I think art in Christian circles is a lot like that. It's supposed to be better for you, but often, it doesn't taste, look or sound as good.

I know about a dozen causal reasons, but the observation still stands.

Music and our emotions are strongly tied together.

Why has God linked auditory sensory with our emotive response? Emotion rooted in truth can be life-changing. Memories are heightened, decisions are sured. And yet, the danger is always lurking that the object of our worship will lose out to the means. We love the experience of a worship set instead of enjoying Jesus.  We take pictures of our kids instead of actually playing with them.  We broadcast what we had for dinner but forget to savor the food itself.

To put it another way; we frequently fall into worshiping worship itself, instead of Jesus.

Our emotions are a part of us, like our logic, our reasoning or our conscience.  And all of these pieces of us are affected by the fall of humanity.  Yet, these things are what we use to interpret the world around us.  Emotion can reflect the perfectly emotional God we were made in the image of (delighting in justice, feeling sorrow over sin), or...we can feel that God is far away.  God can never actually be far away.  He is omnipresent.  But our feelings betray us.

This is why we need something unchanging to anchor us.  I believe that to be God's word.

Gotta be honest. Not a big fan of all the musicals that are around these days. Movies and tv shows can't seem to get enough. I am not writing off the whole genre, it's just not my first pick. Breaking out into song just doesn't happen for the average fella.

That said, I think it's interesting and a tad odd that we are commanded to sing and praise in scripture. Why are we commanded to sing and praise? What good is singing? A couple thoughts...

We forget that we are not designed to be satisfied by things but a person. Not just any person but a very specific person. Not a broken version of a perfect person, but the real deal. Think of all the love songs you know, and now think about who they are written to. Love is painful because we ourselves are broken and those we love are broken. Our souls need perfection which something a latte or boyfriend can not provide. So it makes sense that regular contact with that perfect person is wanted, needed, and disastrous when seperated. That is a big part of what worship is.

Worship is actually pretty natural. We were certainly made to do so, like a broom to sweep or a candle to illuminate. Hardwired for it. People worship all the time. Sports teams, the opposite sex, the same sex, their hobbies, their comfort, themselves. Until you start talking the worship form of music. Then things get awkward.

Still, I think singing is good for us. I think there is power in verbalizing the truths the week has worn down. Our lives can leave a dull remnant of what brightness and light we find in God when we make time for Him. An appointment at church every week should by no means be our exclusive and only time with Him, but it's a tasty treat in the regular meal of the week.

Sometimes that appointment looks like singing.