The landscape of Christian worship music has changed a lot over the last several decades. While many prefer contemporary music, some still enjoy the traditional hymns. No matter the form, there are rich elements and unique contributions in both approaches to worship music. While style is not of ultimate importance, the themes present in lyrics are worth examining, as the object of our worship is God himself, and our worship must be pleasing to him. Christian worship should seek to bring us into a formative encounter with the Holy Trinity, and to ensure that this happens, we ought to occasionally reflect on the faithfulness of our worship to biblical revelation.
In this Seven Minute Seminary, Dr. Lester Ruth offers some provocative advice for the church as we reflect on the nature of worship.
5 Responses
While I appreciate Dr. Ruth’s concern that the whole Godhead be worshipped and honored, I actually believe that Father God is pleased and thrilled with the exaltation, through the unction of the Holy Spirit, of his son Jesus Christ in the church today. St. Paul says that God has given Jesus the name that is greater than any other name and that he (God) has raised Jesus to the highest place and that in honor of the name of Jesus that all beings in heaven, earth, and under the earth will fall on their knees and proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of Father God! When Philip asked Jesus for a greater revelation of who the Father was, Jesus simply replied, “If you have seen me – you have seen the Father”. He also said that no one can come to the Father except through me. He stated that when you know me, you should/will know my Father also. Again, Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would glorify him (Jesus). So when we lift up Jesus and exalt HIM, I believe according to scripture that we are doing exactly what excites the Father and the Holy Spirit – and that we are truly giving worship and praise to the full Godhead – since the fullness of the Godhead bodily is in the Lord Jesus Christ! (see Col. 2: 9,10) Concerning worship songs, some of the favorites in churches and groups I’ve been associated with over the years have been choruses like “Heavenly Father We Appreciate You”, “Welcome Holy Spirit”, “Spirit of the Living God”, “Father God I Give All Thanks & Praise To You”, etc., so I feel like there has been a good balance in the songs that we’ve been singing concerning the Godhead. We just need to remember that the Gospel is centered in the Lord Jesus Christ.