Thoughts on Worship

Last Sunday, worship was kind of a mess. The pianist wasn't there this week, so the regular hymns during the service were replaced with hymns done by the youth praise team. As usual, we practiced before the service and got everything all set up. Well, everything except for the lyrics for the congregation. I assumed that someone had already done that, and I completely forgot about it until we were about to begin. As we scrambled to sort out several technical difficulties, we started worship without the words and no one was really able to sing along. For most of the time, it seemed like a poorly coordinated concert rather than a worship service.

After the confusion was done and out of the way, I still felt stressed. Ever since I've been in the praise team, I've felt like I need to sound good first to please the congregation, and I can focus on the lyrics and on God later. Wherever I make mistakes, or when there is any confusion, I get lost and distracted from the real reason I'm playing. Last Sunday, I realized that I'm not supposed to be putting on a show for the congregation. I should be giving praise to God with the congregation. Sure, it might take a lot of work, there might be mistakes, but God isn't looking for perfection. He's not going to focus on how well I played or sang.

Worship is such an important part of my life. When I actually focus on the words I'm singing and on God, I can really feel his presence. One of the greatest parts of the mission trip to Bathurst was coming together as a group at the end of the day to share our thoughts and experiences and have a time of worship together. In those moments, I knew that God was there with us. Having worship as a group helped bring us closer to Him.

I've also gotten back into listening to worship songs. I made a playlist of the songs that I really like, and I've been listening to them on my iPod when I walk to and from school. Here are a few of them:

• Bones - Hillsong United
• New Again - Life Support
• Awake My Soul - Chris Tomlin
• I Am Set Free - All Sons and Daughters
• The Wonderful Cross - Matthew West