Let me encourage you, if you haven't done so already, to take four minutes to watch the short video that is on the front page of our website entitled "How to Build a God". The truth is that we all need to think carefully about the way we approach worship. In fact, we all need to think even more carefully about the way in which we approach worship at church on Sunday mornings.

In his book, The Deliberate Church, pastor Mark Dever offers the following thoughts about what authentic worship is supposed to look like at church:

It is public, not privatized.

- Many musical worship leaders encourage member (by either word or deed) to close their eyes in pursuit of private emotional intimacy with God in the context of the corporate gathering. Now, no one in their right mind would argue that closing one’s eyes in corporate worship is categorically wrong. And many close their eyes in the corporate gathering simply to take in the sound of the singing more fully. But we would be wrong to encourage people to think of corporate worship in terms of shutting out the rest of the congregation to have a privatized emotional experience with God.

- Congregational singing is an expression of the unity and harmony of the gathered congregation. Privatizing corporate worship, then, defeats the purpose of corporate worship and often confuses true worship with privatized emotion. The corporate worship gathering is a public meeting; we are intended to experience it aware of our togetherness. Much of the edifying power of congregational singing actually comes from experiencing the presence of our fellow worshipers. Why else would we come together in song if this weren’t the case? It is best, then, not to privatize what God has decreed should be public.

It should be theologically rich.

-God has given us so much to be encouraged about in His Word! We should use the rich storehouse of Scripture to give us good things to say in our praise of Him, to remind us of the perfections of God’s character and the sufficiency of Christ’s work. We want to sing songs that raise our view of God, that present Him in all His glory and grace. We want to sing songs that put the details of Christ’s person and work front and center. We want to sing theologically textured songs that make us think about the depths of God’s character, the contours of His grace, had the implication of His Gospel; that teach us about the biblical doctrine that saves and transforms. Negatively, we want to avoid songs that encourage us to reflect on our own subjective emotional experience more than on the objective truths of God’s character and implication of the cross. We also want to avoid needless repetition of phrases in almost mantra-like fashion, as if seeking an emotional high were the purest form of worship.

- These are the hallmarks of good worship songs, whether they’re hymns or choruses: biblical accuracy, God-centeredness, theological and/or historical progression, absence of first-person singular pronouns, and music that complements the tone of the lyrics.

It should be spiritually encouraging.

- The result of theological richness will always be increasing accuracy in worshiping God as He really is, which will in turn result in increasing spiritual encouragement for us. Our hope is in the character of God and the truth of His Gospel! In corporate musical worship, we are calling out to each other to praise God for His glorious character and works. We are giving audible expression to the unity and harmony of the church, and to the corporate nature of confessional Christian life. We are encouraging each other, by the strength of our voices, that we are not alone in our confession, but that everyone else who is singing is affirming the truth and significance of the words being sung.