Nailing the Big One First

Kirk totally nailed a point on Sunday. He said he worships best with a hammer in hand. It is his finest instrument of worship. Put his fingers on a piano keyboard and he doesn't produce worship. But wrap his hand around a hammer, and he glorifies God by what he does.

Guess what? I don't worship with a hammer. This should not surprise you. And I'm lousy with power tools. The main reason we have only 2 pictures hanging in my house is because we have plaster walls and I'm too much of a sissy to learn to use a drill the right way.

But I play and sing music. I'm really good when I use a microphone to speak to a crowd. I like most to worship God with a bunch of other people (this is my self-acknowledged bias, Ed) and my skill set/giftings are centered around getting people to do things together, uniting vision, inspiring community, implementing change.

Taking this plunge into the deep end of worship, alone and together, has been so good for me. Especially in the arena of personal daily worship. It's the big arena. I've got to nail this one first.

If I don't worship alone, I probably won't worship with other believers. If my worship doesn't include my kids at home, it probably won't feel strange to worship without them at church. If I'm not authentic,vulnerable, consistent with relationships with people, I probably won't be authentic with God. If I'm looking for 'me time', I probably won't realize God's not interested in my 'me time'.

So that's where I'm at with the Biggie. Worshiping God in the every day, the every moment.
Like here.

Where the work of God's hands in creation and the work of His hands in my son collide on the spillway of a waterfall. Worshiping God right there. Out loud, inside. Alone and with my family. Worship.

But we still have this other arena, the worshiping together arena. Should Kirk bring his hammer, and I'll bring a mic and we'll worship together? Why does the Bible reference singing to God over 500 times? Where do our emotions fit into worship? Why is there so much passion about music in general? Is there any division between secular and sacred when it comes to music?

Those, my friends, will be talked about tomorrow. But go ahead and get the first word, if you'd like.