W3 CHIC night!
Need some GAL TIME? Need a few laughs ….a hug from an old friend….or want to make a New friend?
Honest Worship
Last week we watched Session one from the Beth Moore Study:Stepping Up, the Psalms of Ascent. It touched on the role of music in worship. About the song our lives sing to the ones we rub elbows with day in, day out. Are we moved by the music, but does it end there? How does it become true worship?
Beth spends a good chunk of time reading an excerpt from her book “Get Out of that Pit”, relating a story about a night at the Kennedy Center, taking in a symphony. She decsribed with her characteristic humor how she became Cinderella at the ball–she dressed up, was moved by her surroundings, the music and the atmosphere and enthusiastically took on the role as a patron of the arts for an unforgettable evening. Once back in her room in her jammies, her old self returned.
Her point? To challenge us to think about our own worship experiences; If we are ONLY moved by the music to an emotional experience, but our hearts, our minds and feet are not moved to obedience in response to our encounter with God, it is NOT true worship. The Psalms, Beth says in this video, are God’s compilation CD to US.
Have you ever read through them? They run the gamut in range of human emotions expressed–from fear, to praise, to depression, to anger; just read through a few and jot down the range of emotions expressed there. All of the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Psalm 142 invites us to pour out our complaints and emotions to God. God knows our hearts. If we are not honest with Him, telling Him only the things we think He wants us to say, it keeps us from moving closer to Him. We are dressing up for the symphony, but turning back into pumpkins when back in real life.
During our discussion we touched on the question “how can expressing these emotions become avenues of worship?” Could pouring out our honest emotions to Him help us? If obedience is the desired response, how can recognizing and expressing our true feelings and emotions help move us to a response of obedience? Once we recognize and express them, what is the next step we need to take? Share your thoughts and post a comment. Deb