Recently I read the book of Isaiah, and I noticed how God had become tired of all the sacrifices and offerings that were being offered up to Him. He had become burdened by the worship of the Jews after years and years of worship led by the Levites because they were offering sacrifices for their sins without truly repenting of them. They did not love God. And so God said these words, recorded in Isaiah 29:

• Have you ever walked into a church building and thought, “Now that’s a church!” or “This is what a church should look like!” Church buildings that might cause you to react this way have a certain authority about them. But is this authority from God or is it simply authority as an æsthetic? In other words, the building defines the ultimate æsthetic of its kind.

• Have you ever sat in a church pew during the prelude, listening as a cellist masterfully plays a movement from one of Bach’s Cello Suites, or hearing a prelude played on a beautiful pipe organ, and found yourself thinking, “Ah, this is how worship is meant to be,” without your heart meditating on who God is, confessing your sin, and giving Him thanks? As a musician, I am guilty, guilty, guilty. So often music, when performed well, has puffed up my pride rather than humbled me before a holy God.

• Have you ever sat under the preaching of an eloquent, well-educated preacher, (maybe a Scottish preacher, at least for me) who is able to deliver a flawless sermon, and you get a sense of pride thinking to yourself, “Oh yeah! That’s preaching,” and your chest puffs up? But was it preaching? Did it cut to the heart through the Gospel?

• What about liturgy? Have you ever been a part of a liturgy that was flawlessly put together and extremely well-executed? Too often, in churches that follow a strict liturgy we find ourselves going through the choreography of the service. This is not necessarily the fault of the liturgy but of our double-mindedness. We worship with our lips but not with our hearts. What if there was a mistake in the execution of the liturgy or piece of music? Do you find yourself becoming bitter because of your egotistical pride, as I so often have done in the past because my heart was not right before the Lord?