Sam Branchaw. Na 07.
Last year I was incredibly affected by the worship...but not in the way you might think. During the first couple of sessions I was feeling incredibly dry, utterly unaffected by the truths I was singing. Then I realized that I was so concentrated on my own singing, how I sounded, and the quality of the music that I was completely missing the point of the lyrics. The lyrics were not anything to me, just a channel of the music. So during the second or third session I made a decision: I would not sing anymore. I would merely listen and meditate on the words and truths that we were singing. During that session, 1 Peter 1:3-9 was read on stage, and the phrase “the salvation of your souls” struck me to the heart. So I sat there in my seat and meditated on that phrase and on its applicability to the songs we were singing, and God opened my heart up to the joy that comes from embracing his gospel wholeheartedly. I was moved to tears contemplating what Christ had done to give me salvation. The rest of the conference, I did not sing at all, lest I become distracted by my own singing and lose sight of the gospel. I merely stood and let the truth of the gospel soak into me, and that gospel filled me with great joy.
Comments
HI! I BELIEVE ALL OF US SHOULD MEDITATE IN THIS....IM LEADER FROM THE DANCE TEAM OF MY CHURCH IN ECUADOR, AND SOMETIMES WE HAVE TO TAKE A TIME FOR MADITATE IN GOD´S PURPOSE WITH EVERY SONG WE SING OR DANCE FOR HIM.... GOD DOES NOT NEED OUR PROFESSIONALISM, BECAUSE ANGELS ARE INCREDIBLE SINGERS AND DANCERS.... BUT HE NEED OUR HEARTS!.... BECAUSE WE ARE HIS CHILDREN!! AND THAT´S THE REAL WORSHIP!
NATTY
To God be the Glory! yeah right! sometimes we as a CHRISTIAN we forget the real essence of singing christian song ... we focus on ourselves and not by God ... He doesn’t need the quality of our voice or how beautiful the performance! HE NEED OUR WHOLE HEART and the sincerity to Him!! Continue serving and Loving Him ... God bless you!!!
Genevieve Gloria on Mon Jan 12, 2009 at 11:27 pm
Sam,
I love your story because it captures what I’ve always wanted the conference to be about: the objective truth of who God is and what he’s done for us in Jesus Christ. I know exactly what you mean when you say you were distracted by your own singing. I think we’d all benefit from a more purposeful focus on the truth of the words we sing. That being said, I hope that not everyone tries this at the same time! I’d feel bad for the worship leader!
Hope school is going well, Sam. God bless you.
Joshua
Josh Harris on Fri Dec 12, 2008 at 9:16 am