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God’s Presence in Worship
pastor of Chicago's Southside Alliance Church from 1928 to 1959. He never went to a Bible school, seminary or university, but his many writings have consistently and powerfully directed the reader's attention to the amazing God who desires our love, devotion and worship. GOD’S PRESENCE IN WORSHIP If you do not know the presence of God in your office, your factory, your home, then God is not in the church when you attend. I have come to believe that when we are worshipping—if the love of God is in us and the Spirit of God is breathing praise within us, all the musical instruments in heaven are suddenly playing in full support. . . . It is my experience that our total lives, our entire attitude as persons, must be toward the worship of God. — A. W. Tozer (1879-1963), in WHATEVER HAPPENED TO WORSHIP?, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania: Christian Publications, 1985, p. 123. [as quoted by Vernon M. Whaley in THE DYNAMICS OF CORPORATE WORSHIP, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2001, p. 22, ISBN 0-8010-9109-8.] [Tozer’s words find support in Isaiah 1:10-17 where God declares that he will not hear the prayer of would-be worshipers whose lives are filled with selfishness and evil. This warning is certainly an encouragement for us to throw ourselves on the mercy of God and to seek to follow him and please him with our entire hearts and minds, not just our Sunday morning ears and lips.] Have a great week, Chip Stam Director, Institute for Christian Worship School of Church Music and Worship Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, Kentucky carlstam@aol.com www.carlstam.org www.sbts.edu |