Praise and Worship

A few thoughts on praise and worship:

I have been thinking about praise and worship and what it primarily consists of, and I have come to the conclusion that a portion of our worship services devoted to praise and the message that follows is only the preparation – an open door -- for the consistent day-to-day praise and worship of our Lord. That’s a rather long and wordy sentence, I confess, but let me explain:

Music has long been referred to, in some circles, as a means of soothing the savage beast instincts. However, not only does music supposedly quiet the potentially violent among us, it’s also an important spiritual element to prepare us for the ministry of the Word. My son, Jamie, is a successful praise and worship leader and has been for many years. It is a special gift that God has given him, and he is thankful for the opportunities to minister in his chosen field.

It is clear to me that however faithful we might be to a time of praise and worship in our services, all the music, the singing, and the raising of hands in adoration to our Lord, is rather meaningless if we limit our devotion to Him to an hour or so in our sanctuaries. What about our relationships with one another when the “rubber meets the road,” as J. Vernon McGee, that “Prophet from Pasadena” use to say? Do we practice praise and worship of our Lord in the practical day-to-day involvement with one another?

In John’s first epistle we are admonished again for the first time to love one another. He says in chapter 4, verses 7-11, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God is manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.” He goes on to say, “In this is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

And in verses 20-21, same chapter, John writes, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.”

I know my son, Jamie, and I’m sure he agrees with my assessment of praise and worship. He remembers, as I do, what Jesus said in Matthew 25, verse 40, “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”

Is not loving and encouraging one another on a daily basis the perfect way to praise and worship our Lord? It seems so to me.