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Most people probably know who Taylor Swift is, and most people also probably know that she is currently on The Eras Tour \u2014 a concert experience taking fans through her first 10 albums (or eras). With a 44-song setlist and a runtime of over three hours, it is a spectacle. I know firsthand. I saw her on the first night in Atlanta.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Many people are spending hundreds, even thousands, of dollars to see her show. People are camping out to have early access to the merchandise trucks. Concert-goers are putting together elaborate costumes. Some people have even spent hours handcrafting their outfits or making friendship bracelets to trade with other fans at the concert. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s an exaggeration to say that The Eras Tour will be one of the pop culture icons of the decade \u2014 if not the century.<\/p>\n
The amount of devotion and passion exhibited by Taylor Swift\u2019s fanbase (called Swifties), is a study in the act of worship. For three hours, her fans will scream-sing along with her and even shed some tears from the joy of her presence and the experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n
How many people in those sold-out stadiums go to church every Sunday and give their sovereign Creator and Savior but a fraction of the passion they had for Taylor Swift?<\/p>\n
How many of us go to concerts, sporting events, movies, musicals, and plays where we are all in for the team or performance we are witnessing, but lackluster in our worship of God?<\/p>\n
The God without Who there would be no voices to sing, no feet to run, no arms to throw, no eyes to see, no ears to hear. Our God is the only one worthy of worship. Our God is deserving of all of our affection, our pride, and our passion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One day, God will call His people home and we\u2019ll stand before His almighty throne. We\u2019ll worship Him with the angels. Everything on this earth will pale in comparison to the glory and honor due to our King.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not saying that we shouldn\u2019t go to concerts or sporting events. But I am encouraging you to check your heart. Are you as passionate about our holy, eternal God as you are about your favorite team? Are you as excited to join the chorus of praise in heaven as you are to sing along at that concert? What (or who) are you worshiping on earth in place of God?<\/p>\n
\n\u201c<\/em><\/strong>And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.<\/em>\u00a0And they sang a new song, saying,<\/em><\/p>\n
\u2018Worthy are you to take the scroll<\/em>
<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 and to open its seals,<\/em>
<\/em>for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God<\/em>
<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 from every tribe and language and people and nation,<\/em><\/p>\nand you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,<\/em>
<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 and they shall reign on the earth.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\nThen I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,<\/em><\/p>\n
\u2018Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,<\/em>
<\/em>to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might<\/em>
<\/em>and honor and glory and blessing!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\nAnd I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,<\/em><\/p>\n
\u2018To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb<\/em>
<\/em>be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\nAnd the four living creatures said, \u201cAmen!\u201d and the elders fell down and worshiped (Revelation 5:8\u201314<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n
This post was orignally published here: https:\/\/the-scroll.com\/current-events\/a-study-of-worship\/<\/a><\/strong><\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n