As the North Carolina Conference of the Global Methodist Church, our mission is to make the life of discipleship normative through worship, word, and witness, so that we make disciples of Jesus Christ and spread scriptural holiness across the globe.
At the heart of that mission is worship.
David gives us a simple and powerful invitation:
“O magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together.” ~Psalm 34:3, NASB 1995
Notice the word David chooses: “magnify.”
A magnifying glass does not make something larger than it really is. It brings into focus what was already there. It helps us see more clearly what our eyes might otherwise overlook.
That is a beautiful picture of worship.
We don’t worship God to make Him greater. He can’t become greater than He already is. We don’t add to His holiness, increase His power, improve His goodness, or expand His glory.
Worship does not make God greater. Worship helps us see His greatness more clearly.
I loved playing with a magnifying glass when I was young. Ordinary things suddenly looked extraordinary. A tiny insect looked enormous. Even the freckles on a friend’s face became a source of fascination.
The magnifying glass did not change what I was looking at. It changed what I was able to see. Then I discovered the microscope, and an entirely different world opened before my eyes. Things that had always been present but invisible suddenly came into view. They had been there all along. I simply needed something that helped me see them. That is what worship does for the disciple of Jesus Christ.
God has been faithful all along.
God has been good all along.
God has been powerful all along.
God has been gracious all along.
Worship brings our hearts and minds back into focus so that we see more clearly the God who has been there all along.
“O magnify the Lord with me.”
When we gather to worship, we turn our attention toward the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We proclaim the goodness of God. We remember His faithfulness. We celebrate His holiness. We receive His grace. We declare together that Jesus Christ is Lord.
And something begins to happen within us. Our circumstances may not immediately change, but our perspective does. What consumed our vision begins to lose its dominance because the greatness of God fills our sight.
We begin to see:
His possibilities beyond our problems.
His promises beyond our pain.
His provision beyond our lack.
His future beyond our past.
His holiness beyond our failures.
The problems are still real. The pain still deserves our attention. The needs don’t disappear simply because we sing a song or pray a prayer. But worship reminds us that none of them are greater than God.
That is why David does not say, “Magnify your problems with me.” He says, “Magnify the Lord with me.”
Whatever we continually magnify will eventually dominate our vision. Spend enough time staring at the problem, and the problem can begin to look bigger than everything else. Magnify the disappointment, and disappointment can fill the whole frame. Magnify the uncertainty, and uncertainty can become all we see. Worship turns the lens. Worship reminds us to look again.
Look again at His faithfulness.
Look again at His grace.
Look again at His promises.
Look again at the cross.
Look again at the empty tomb.
Look again at Jesus.
And the more clearly we see Him, the more confidently we can follow Him. This is why worship is essential to discipleship.
Every disciple lives in relationship with Jesus Christ, and worship keeps that relationship centered on who He is. We worship God because He is worthy. We praise Him for His holiness, goodness, power, mercy, grace, forgiveness, healing, and redemption.
Through worship, we learn the heart of our heavenly Father. We become more familiar with His ways. We remember what is true about Him when everything around us competes for our attention.
Worship becomes part of the rhythm of discipleship. And discipleship is far more than a program or a method. Even for Methodists, discipleship was never intended to remain merely a method.
Discipleship is a way of life with Jesus.
The Word forms us.
The Spirit leads us.
Witness sends us.
Worship keeps our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ.
That means worship can’t be confined to a sanctuary or limited to Sunday morning. Worship goes with us into Monday. It becomes a part of our homes, our work, our conversations, our decisions, our celebrations, and our struggles.
We become people who live with the magnifying glass pointed toward the goodness and greatness of God. And when the church does that together, something powerful happens. We help each other see. When my vision becomes clouded, your worship reminds me who God is. When you are discouraged, my praise can point you again toward His faithfulness. Together, we magnify the Lord. Together, we exalt His name. Together, we help one another keep Jesus at the center of our vision.
And as His church sees Him more clearly, the world has the opportunity to see Him through us.
So let us be worshipers. Let us lift high the name of Jesus Christ. Let us make much of His goodness, proclaim His grace, trust His promises, and celebrate His faithfulness. Let us keep turning the lens toward Him.
“O magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together.”
Because this is the heart of worship and the rhythm of discipleship: Worship does not make God greater. Worship helps us see His greatness more clearly. And when we see God more clearly, we follow Jesus more faithfully.
Worship the Lord.
Study the word.
Be a witness of the gospel.
Make Disciples.
Spread scriptural holiness.
This is our calling. This is our mission.
In Christ,
Rev. Kari Howard
Conference Superintendent