[alteregowar]

Hi i was wondering if there is a problem with me. i am all on fire for my friend JC, but it has been a very long time since worship has meant anything to me, i just don't know why i do not like it. it seems to me to be repetitive, and boring, there is no meaning behind it when it is sang over and over, and many times i have gone to churches and left because i sat down during worship, because as hard as i tried, i felt nothing and just sat there and sang, i love worship, but aren't there more ways to "worship" than just singing? to get to my point shortly, are there any new methods to singing to make a person like me get out there and enjoy worship?

[psalm63adam]

Well, considering that worship isn't for you - it's for God - I would say that nothing you will do or should do will help you get more out of worship. Because it's not about you.

[Jay Tea]

Well, to respond to your last question first, I'm pretty sure a "new method of singing" isn't going to bring more meaning into your praise of God. If all you want is to enjoy singing more...trying singing while eating doughnuts. Mmmm...doughnuts make everything more enjoyable.

Originally Posted by alteregowar

Hi i was wondering if there is a problem with me. i am all on fire for my friend JC

1) How do you know you are? If, in fact, you are not, that would pretty much explain the rest, wouldn't it?
2) Do you think of Christ as anything but your friend? True, Christ's relationship with us has some attributes that could lead him to be described as friend, but to stop there is a big mistake. Hebrews calls us to "worship God acceptably in reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. (12:28)" Is referring to Jesus as "JC" indicative of reverence and awe?

but it has been a very long time since worship has meant anything to me, i just don't know why i do not like it. it seems to me to be repetitive, and boring, there is no meaning behind it when it is sang over and over,

Do you mean what you say?
Does what you say mean anything?

If you're singing "You are holy," and don't mean it, well, there's probably a deeper problem then your singing. You can't really divorce aspects of the Christian life. Are you praying? Are you reading the Word? Are you obeying God? Further, if your measure of what's good in worship is "what you like" or "what you enjoy" or what makes you feel good, I would submit for your consideration that God really isn't the one being worshipped. Maybe it would be worthwhile for you to spend time preparing yourself for worship. I wonder if perhaps too many of us (myself included) are too inclined to "come just as we are to worship." IIRC, the Israelites went through a lot of ritual purification before they approached God. Now, I'm not saying we need to do all that, but maybe this idea of preparing our hearts and minds for worship is something valuable. Maybe it would be worthwhile for you to spend time in prayer, confessing your inclination to worship yourself more than God (an inclination we all share, to some degree) and asking God to cleanse you of that.

Second, what are you singing? If your church has gone off the deep end of songs that are more consistently about you than about God, it wouldn't surprise me that you're finding it boring. Compared to God, I'm a pretty boring guy. I wouldn't want to sing about me all the time. Though, funny, most of the songs I write are about me. Anyway...

and many times i have gone to churches and left because i sat down during worship, because as hard as i tried, i felt nothing and just sat there and sang,

You just gave up on teh service? That seems pretty lame. And really, it doesn't seem that you tried very hard at all. You can't really conjure up feelings, anyway.

[alteregowar]

i work my tail off to try and understand "worship" and sometimes it just doesn't make sense, i know that when u say you are Holy, what it means, but i don't see the point of havin to repeat it dozens of times in a row, but isn't worship from the heart. thus, making it so i only have to say it once, instead of 34 times in a song. another question came to mind the other day, how does standing during worship make u any closer to God. how does raising your hands or dancing? i sometimes feel as if it is very distracting, and if i worship sitting down in the middle of a crowd standing it is distracting as well, but should we b told how to worhsip? i do not think so.

[Jay Tea]

Originally Posted by alteregowar

i work my tail off to try and understand "worship" and sometimes it just doesn't make sense, i know that when u say you are Holy, what it means, but i don't see the point of havin to repeat it dozens of times in a row, but isn't worship from the heart. thus, making it so i only have to say it once, instead of 34 times in a song.

In general, I'm not a fan of large amounts of repetition in songs, either. I think meditation on God's word, however, is valuable, and when it is set to song, repetition can be quite appropriate.

another question came to mind the other day, how does standing during worship make u any closer to God.

It really doesn't. I enjoy standing while I sing, particularly during more celebrative songs, because I get better air support from my diaphragm. It should also be noted that standing continues to be an indication of respect. A stellar performance gets a standing ovation. When a judge comes in, you stand. When an officer in the military comes in, the subordinates stand. When a lady comes to join your table at a restaurant, you stand (at least I think you're supposed to. I don't...uh...get out much).

how does raising your hands or dancing? i sometimes feel as if it is very distracting, and if i worship sitting down in the middle of a crowd standing it is distracting as well, but should we b told how to worhsip? i do not think so.

Raising your hands is, IIRC, a Biblical gesture of submission or supplication. That's one that has carried on less today than standing. Dancing is something you do to express joy.

I definitely agree that these can become distracting, and often do. There's a certain amount of give and take that needs to happen when the body of Christ comes together for worship. Everyone comes with different expectations of what worship should look like, and yet, we're called to submit to each other and to consider others better than ourselves. And our worship is called to be orderly.

As far as "should we be told how to worship?" goes...do you think it's wrong for everyone to sing the same song? That's pretty standard practice in most churches--they all sing what the worship leader tells them. If everyone's singing the same song (as they are physically able), why not have everyone adopt the same physical position (as they are able)? I come from a pretty traditional church, that isn't generally real keen on raising hands. I'm certainly not. But there have been a few times when the worship leader has called us to all raise and join our hands, and it has been very moving. I think this is a good thing--the worship leader should provide room for different physical gestures, and the congregation should do them together. I can't claim to know how this would exactly play out in "dance," but I think it's possible.

[canucks1002]

I would like to add that Worship DOES NOT just have to be singing or music. Worship is to love, adore, and honour God with devotion.

[georgeo]

my most empty feeling worship(i realize the theological problems in that phrase) was when i was:

1) singing songs that had lyrics that weren't particularly true of God, or were focussed on myself rather than God

2) i was singing songs with true lyrics, but they weren't true to me, because i was harboring sin in my heart, and was unrepentant of it.

If you are worshipping God with all of your life, when you allow God's grace to flow through you, when you experience His goodness, then you can sing about it and mean it, and it means something.

Look beyond the music.

[Insane Drummer]

Originally Posted by alteregowar

and many times i have gone to churches and left because i sat down during worship, because as hard as i tried, i felt nothing and just sat there and sang, i love worship, but aren't there more ways to "worship" than just singing? to get to my point shortly, are there any new methods to singing to make a person like me get out there and enjoy worship?

Worship is not about enjoyment, also saying you felt nothing worries me, you seem to judge worship by your feelings? Which is way off base, worship is not about how we feel.

I suggest 'if possible considering the way churchs are' you take a break from worship music entirely, if you are juding worship by a feeling, or trying to find a way to enjoy worship, or get into worship. Drop all the fluff, lose the music, and focus of God and what He has done for you.

[alteregowar]

has anyone read A Royal "Waste" of time, some of the parts state that worship songs are revolved around us and not JC and i am sorry for being the downer on this party, but i just dont feel as all worship songs are directed towards my man. Thanx again, and sorry again fer playin the bad duder

[guitarfreak217]

my suggestion is to not try to enjoy worship or anything. because when you don't enjoy it, is when you probably need it the most. and my other suggestion is to worship in your own way, if the songs being sung seem to have no meaning behind them, write some songs that have a meaning behind them. but make sure it's theologically correct.