Worship Restored: How it should be

This is a discussion about a subject close to my heart... and a shameless excuse to post some of the songs I like.

Worship music should be deep, truthful, glorifying to God, joyful, wide ranging in the themes and emotions it covers, corporate in its arrangement and language, easy to sing, centred on God and the Lord Jesus, memorable, understandable, deep.

Those who participate should know that they have been in the presence of God, have their faith increased, be cleansed of sin and be strengthened by the truth. Music is a huge part of our culture and it should be a huge part of our Christian culture. All revivals have featured many new songs being written and sung.

Why should the Devil have all the good music? It wasn't Larry Norman who first said that. It wasn't Cliff Richard. It wasn't William Booth. It was probably Martin Luther.

I like old hymns. I like contemporary worship. As long as it is doctrinally accurate, truthful and glorifying to God.

I believe that worship should be:-

• About participation, not entertainment
• Scriptural, not cliched
• About how good God is, not how devoted we are
• More "We' and 'us' than 'me' and 'I'
• Strong, not soppy
• To our Lord, not our best mate

Here's something to listen to to begin with - an oldie. Jesus the Very Thought of Thee, by Bernard of Clairvaux

1. Jesus, the very thought of thee with sweetness fills the breast; but sweeter far thy face to see, and in thy presence rest.

2. O hope of every contrite heart, O joy of all the meek, to those who fall, how kind thou art!  How good to those who seek!

3. But what to those who find? Ah, this nor tongue nor pen can show; the love of Jesus, what it is, none but his loved ones know.

4. Jesus, our only joy be thou, as thou our prize wilt be; Jesus, be thou our glory now, and through eternity.