How "Routine" Is Your Worship Routine?

Hi Worship Blog readers,

How many of you would raise your hands if asked whether or not you like routine?   I know that most people are comfortable when life is predictable and follows a pattern (routine).  I too like predictability and a sense of stability that comes from routine.   I would propose that there are a number of activities in our lives that need to be Routine…or as it were, habitual:  loving God with all our hearts and minds and souls, spending time daily in His Word, exercising our physical bodies, worshiping the Lord along with fellow believers and being active in the Church.  

  

One problem that exists with things that are “routine” is that they can easily become activities that lose their significance.   In fact, common English synonyms for the word “Routine” are BORING, or STALE.    Have you found yourself in a situation where your routine in life has grown boring or stale ??  I’m sure we can all think of activities we do that we have allowed to become just plain old routine and they seem to have lost their zest, their appeal.  We do those activities “just because” so many times.  

Sadly to say, Worshipping God might sometimes become just another routine (boring or unexciting) event in which we participate.   And yes, this can even happen at MPBC.   Sometimes there is evidence of this  as I look around at some of the faces of the audience when I am playing the bass guitar for the praise team, and it can even be seen on a few of the faces of the praise team from time to time…myself included.    How can it be that the act of worshipping the Creator God becomes something that we do just out of habit and that we end up losing the joy and excitement of this celebration ?  I think it comes down to a matter of focus.  When I am focused on my life then I am too distracted to experience the joy and wonder of focusing on the Lord God.    Those two words, JOY and WONDER, describe what I think are essential ingredients for keeping Worship from becoming routine and boring. 

A few Sundays ago as I played with the band I watched a young boy in the front row of the church who was putting his whole heart into the singing.  This young boy was loudly singing every word, at times both hands raised to God.   I had to smile at his enthusiasm and I teared up at this demonstration of exuberant worship.   Joy and Wonder were written all over this boy’s face.  Thank you, Ty, for encouraging me through your worship!

My challenge to all of us is to remember the importance of JOY and WONDER in our worship so that we may experience the real excitement of Worship and that the routine of having a Worship Service at MPBC will be anything BUT “routine”.

Written from Iceland,  

   

Keith Anderson (bass guitar)