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The myth of a “painless” offering of worship

February 16, 2010 at 11:45 am, by Rich Kirkpatrick

Worship Mythbusters

Worship Mythbusters is a series of posts or conversations and this is a reworked post from a couple years ago. I thought some new readers would love to engage in this conversation:

The myth of a painless offering of worship

If pain is also defined not just as punishment but “trouble, care, or effort taken to accomplish something” then how is our liturgy or worship to provide no effort, care, etc.?

Worship or my expression of worship is NOT…

  • in three easy payments
  • something I take but something I give
  • about feeling good or pleasant all the time
  • without cost in time, resources or skill
  • all my favorite songs or music
  • without using my brain or thoughts
  • always convenient
  • usually about my preferences
  • something for me but from me

Anything else we can add to the list?

Categories Christian Life, Worship Myths | Tags:

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=567985826 Matt Anderson

    I don’t have any thing to add, but I do think, that sometimes as worship leaders we assume that our congregations know what it means to worship. Then when they complain about the songs or style, we get confused. Sometimes as worship leaders I think we need to encourage the Church to sit back and actually meditate on the words and how they help us lift up God’s name in praise.

  • http://twitter.com/PuyMan Allen Puy

    Look to the story of David and the threshing floor (2 Samuel 24:24)… But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them. (NIV)

    WORSHIP SHOULD BE COSTLY TO US!

    • http://richkirkpatrick.com Rich Kirkpatrick

      bulls eye Allen!

  • http://iworshipyahweh.wordpress.com Cory Zipperle

    Sacrifice is still apart of our worship offering (Romans 12). Sometimes (perhaps most of the time) the sacrifices that we are asked to make for our worship offering to God are painless. Sometimes (perhaps most of the time) the sacrifices that we are asked to make for our worship offering to God are painful.

    If you aren’t sacrificing something in your worship offering to God then you are doing something wrong. If it is never painful, then you are defiantly doing something wrong.

    • http://www.ccnm.org Mike Ferguson

      A few months back I was trying to understand (in my role as a worship leader) how the worshipper should be affected by the process of worshipping. I came to the same conclusion as you Cory – thank you for expressing it so well.

      My epiphany moment came when I was Googling ‘worship’ and came across something written by Ghandi in 1925 – ‘The seven social sins’ In it Ghandi’s seventh social sin is ‘Worship without sacrifice’. I guess the danger is empty worship – worship which doesn’t affect our lifestyles and our behaviours. I think Amos 5:21-27 is God giving His opinion on the matter!

      The challenge that I’m still grappling with, is how to we help our fellow worshippers understand that sacrifice is a response to worship; & that true worship takes us outside the sanctuary of our churches and into the world to make a difference. Any ideas on how to do that, when you are a guy with a guitar?

      • http://richkirkpatrick.com Rich Kirkpatrick

        First, you are more than a guy with a guitar! Read my post “Artists as Leaders” –in short I believe your guitar is your pulpit and your life is your stage.

  • http://www.joshhunt.com Josh Hunt

    The Bible speaks of a sacrifice of praise. When there is a sacrifice, something has to die.

    Josh Hunt
    Good Questions Have Groups Talking
    http://www.joshhunt.com

    • http://richkirkpatrick.com Rich Kirkpatrick

      Hmm. Unless that sacrifice was final. In Hebrews, where that passage comes from, there is also the delineation of Jesus being the final sacrifice, tearing the veil between us and God in two. Jesus becomes the “new and living way” to the very presences of God.

      In this version of “pain” it is the kind of sacrifice “fruit of your lips” regardless of circumstance. This is what the writer of Hebrews meant, I think, with sacrifice of praise. Sometimes we just have to praise regardless.

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