Worship Matters

I’m in Europe right now with my bride of 30 years, seeking to communicate how much I love her for the glory of God.

But here’s a great quote from a great book, Engaging with God, by David Peterson. He is describing how the worship of heaven seen in the book of Revelation should influence the songs we sing now.

Singing the praises of God and the Lamb is undoubtedly an important Christian activity. It is a way of affirming fundamental gospel truths together and of acknowledging God’s powerful but gracious rule over nature and history. Together with teaching and various forms of exhortation, it can strengthen Christians to maintain their confidence in God and in the outworking of his purposes in a world devoted to idolatry and every kind of God-rejecting activity…The hymnic material in the book of the Revelation, however, should alert us to the importance of singing God’s praise in a way that is truly honoring to him and helpful to his people. Do our hymns and songs concentrate on praising God for his character and his mighty acts in history on our behalf? Do they focus sufficiently on the great truths of the gospel? There is always a temptation to focus too much on the expression of our own immediate needs…It is not good enough to sing certain items merely because they make the congregation feel good! (p. 278)