We worship God because God created us to worship him. Worship is at the center of our existence, at the heart of our reason for being. God created us to be his image—an image that would reflect his glory. In fact, the whole creation was brought into existence to reflect the divine glory...
...When the Westminster Shorter Catechism teaches us, "Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever," it gives witness to this same basic principle; God created us to worship him. . . . Worship must above all serve the glory of God.
Some people today justify worship for any number of other reasons. We are told that we should worship because it brings us happiness. Sometimes worship does make us happy, but not always. We are told that we should worship because it will give us a sense of self-fulfillment. Surely worship does fulfill the purpose of our existence, but we do not worship BECAUSE it brings us self-fulfillment. We are often told that we should worship in order to build family solidarity: "The family that prays together stays together." The priests of the Canaanite fertility religions said much the same thing. All kinds of politicians have insisted on participation in various religious rites in order to develop national unity or ethnic identity. Queen Elizabeth I was not the first or the last who tried to consolidate her realm by insisting that the worship be in some way English. One can always find medicine men and gurus who advocate religious rites for the sake of good health, financial success, or peace of mind. True worship, however, is distinguished from all of these in that it serves, above all, the praise of God's glory.
— Hughes Oliphant Old, WORSHIP: REFORMED ACCORDING TO SCRIPTURE, Revised and Expanded Edition, Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002, pp. 1-2. ISBN 0-664-22579-9.
This short film by Jason van Genderen was shot on a mobile phone with a $57 budget. The movie has just won both the 'People's Choice' and 'Best Film' category at the New York Tropfest short film festival.
Art, as this video demonstrates, can challenge and inspire us in a way where spoken words sometimes fail. It has the ability to winnow its way deep into our souls and whisper into places in our heart that may have become numb due to time and familiarity. We have all experienced a time when art challenged our worldview and made us question our desires and motives.
At the same time, I don't think it's the role of art to always provide concrete answers to the questions that it raises. If so, it runs the risk of becoming overly didactic, thereby losing its artistic value and veering dangerously close to the realm of kitsch. However, images, words and music woven together into a rich tapestry can encourage us to think more, feel more and maybe even act differently in response to difficult issues. That's what good art can do.
I could go on...but I think I'll leave it at that.
Sunday afternoon, I was reading through Bob Kauflin's blog Worship Matters. Bob has been a tremendous influence on my thoughts regarding worship and has had a hand in many of the songs we sing at The Crossing (O Great God, The Lord Is, Out of the Depths). He posted some thoughts on the pros and cons of church Christmas productions which, led to the subject of the role of artistic/technical excellence within the church. This is a subject I want to explore a little bit more in the future but, for now, here is a brief excerpt from Bob's post that was an excellent reminder as to what I should be relying on (after faithful preparation) when making music during corporate worship.
...Our talent and expertise are not what we rely on to draw people to Christ. It’s the gospel, proclaimed and demonstrated through a group of ordinary believers who have an extraordinary Savior. It’s our humility, joy, servanthood, power, integrity, and love, all produced by our relationship with a risen Savior.
As Paul put it, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (1 Cor. 2:2-51 Corinthians 2:2-5 [2]For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. [3]And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, [4]and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, [5]that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (ESV))
The Truth of God, of Jesus the Christ, of the Spirit, is transcendent in its Beauty. This Truth requires deep feeling expressed through poetry, music and singing and not mere mental assent. We are, as Ralph Martin said, “born in song.”
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