“…at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).

An enduring praise song from the 1990’s is Matt Redman’s “The Heart of Worship.”

The song emerged after a difficult time in their church in Watford, England.

Redman explains: “There was a dynamic missing, so the pastor did a pretty brave thing. He decided to get rid of the sound system and band for a season, and we gathered together with just our voices. His point was that we’d lost our way in worship, and the way to get back to the heart would be to strip everything away.”

The pastor, Mike Pilavachi, asked: “When you come through the doors on a Sunday, what are you bringing as your offering to God?”

After a little while, the instruments and musicians returned. So did a focus on what it was all about—or, rather, Who it was all about—and a renewed desire to bring the best of ourselves to worship.

When we hear it explained like that, the lyrics have all the more force:

When the music fades,
All is stripped away,
And I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that’s of worth
That will bless your heart… 
I’m coming back to the heart of worship,
And it’s all about You, Jesus.*

Mike Pilavachi’s question is a good one for all of us: When you come through the doors on a Sunday, what are you bringing as your offering to God?

A yawn? Spiritual sloth? Apathy? A please-me attitude? A me-first disposition? Chronic distraction?

None of us are perfect. Hopefully, none of us pretend that we are.

But let’s do our best to bring our best on Sunday morning as we remember what (and Who) it’s all about.

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Notes:

–The Up Devotional is published 5 days a week (Monday-Friday) and returns on February 27, 2023.

–“The Heart of Worship” was written by Matt Redman and is copyright by Thankyou Music, 1997.

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.