I’m so thankful for Lee McDerment, he serves as the worship leader over all of the worship leaders at NewSpring Church and has been on staff since May of 2000…THIS is one of THE BEST posts he has ever written!!!
Hey everyone! My name is Lee McDerment, Worship Director at NewSpring
Church.
Worship can be a confusing word. For most people, the word “worship”
means “singing” in a church. And that would certainly be true. In the Old
Testament, the nation of Israel would gather to worship God by offering
sacrifices, singing songs of praise, hearing God’s voice, repenting of sin,
receiving his forgiveness. In our day, we follow a similar pattern when we come
together. Every sunday, we give sacrificially, sing songs of praise, hear his
voice, repent and receive.
But that’s just Sunday.
In the Old testament, we find rule after rule describing exactly how worship is
to be done in the temple of God. In the new testament, this type of detailed
prescription is notably absent.
The temple of God has changed locations. It is no longer in Jerusalem… you
can’t find it on google maps. Where can you go to see God’s new house? Go to
your bathroom and look in the mirror. There it is. (see 1 Corinthians 3:16).
God’s temple is open 24 hours a day. Worship is happening 24 hours a
day. Paul redefines true worship for us in Romans 12:1-2 (verse here). It’s more
than singing. It is a whole life devoted to God. Worship is everything. Every
thought, every word, every action. The hidden motives of your heart are making
music.
The crazy thing is, this has always been God’s desire, even in the Old
Testament. He detested external worship that was not born from an internal fear,
love and reverence. (see Isaiah 29:13).
As a worship leader, part of my job is to craft a setlist… a group of songs that will
help us worship God in church on sundays. But in this New Testament world,
where my body is God’s house, the setlist is much more than a 4 or 5 songs on a
Sunday.
After I finish singing “No Other Name” on Sunday night, I must realize that
the next song in my setlist is “Taking Out the Trash With a Joyful Attitude”
and then the next one is “Praying with Ali Before We Go to Bed” and the next
one is “Waking Up Early to Get in the Word.” Other hits include, “Tithing”
and “Forgiving _______ Again for the 490th Time” and “Taking A Sabbath.”
What’s the next song in your setlist?