Stuff That Matters In Life

I was given this book from my church (chosen by Aaron Lee) to align ourselves in proper worship of God. The beginning few chapters are foundations which were necessary but a bit redundant for me. But my interested peaked at Chapter 6 on. Here are a few points I found insightful.

Some Christians have been taught to repress their emotions as they sing. They have been told to fear feeling anything too strongly, and that maturity means holding back. But what we want to avoid is emotionalism, not emotions. Emotionalism pursues feelings as an end in themselves. It’s wanting to feel something with no regard for how that feeling is produced or its ultimate purpose. In contrast, the emotions that singing is meant to express are a response to who God is and what he’s done. Vibrant singing enables us to combine truth about God seamlessly with passion for God. Doctrine and devotion. Mind and heart. Suppressing or ignoring your feelings when you sing contradicts what singing is designed to do. Passionless singing is an oxymoron. (p.108)

The story on Page 114-115. Sorry it’s too long to type it all out. The bottom line is –

I tell you that story to knowledge that congregational singing isn’t always easy. If it were, I wouldn’t need to spend two chapters on it. We’d just do it. But the reality is, many Christians have a less-than-stellar experience every Sunday. The reasons are many. It could be poor leadership, weak doctrine, inexperienced musicians, emotionalism, and more. But in every circumstance, a true worshiper worships God. That’s the priority. (p.115)

This quote reminds me that worship is every moment of our lives in how we choose to live –

If we fully understand what’s at stake when we talk about worship, we’ll have a hard time treating it casually. We are given only two choices in life – to worship God or idols. There are no other options. And to worship anything but God is rebellion against his rule and a rejection of his sovereign love. Life on earth is not meaningless. Our decisions reflect our worship. Every person is constantly making choices for God or against him. (p.152)

This is a small book that can be read through fair quickly. But I am a slow reader because I like to think through each concept. I wish I can read faster because there are so many books I want to read.