I have been reading "The Deliberate Church" by Mark Dever, whom I got to appreciate more these days on his idea of local church and a strong membership. I encountered the following paragraph in a chapter called "Music" in that book.

Now why would we have a whole chapter titled "Music"? Isn't that a little whimsical? Why not be more sanctified an call it "Worship"? After all, its common today to speak of music, singing, and worship as interchangeable terms. First we worship, then we listen to the sermon.

We want to challenge this assumption. Music in the context of the corporate gathering is only a subset of corporate worship. Listening to the preached Word of God is one of the most important ways we worship God together; in fact, it is the only way was can learn how to worship Him acceptably. Praying the Word, reading it publically, and seeing it in the ordinances are also important aspects of worship. yet more terms that He proposes and in the way that He provides. Our reasonable service of New Testament worship is to present our whole selves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. So music is a subset of our corporate worship, and corporate worship is subset of our total-life worship

I had to read this seriously. I understand a broad view of worship in which music should be included. Can music alone can be worship? How am I worshiping God? Has my definition of worship been narrow down in a certain act that I prefer to exercise? I had to question myself. There is so much emphasis on music in our worship these days for sure. How about responding the word of God being proclaimed on Sundays, daily devotional and prayer? Shouldn't that be ever more central in our spiritual walk with God? I pray that it would be for my walk with God. Yet I am not so sure that my worship to God consumes my entirety. Lord, have mercy on me.