This past Sunday, I had the privilege of sharing a message about one of my favorite topics: worship. Now, if you know me, you might’ve heard me joke about my complicated relationship with karaoke. As a worship pastor and a professional singer (kidding), I’ll admit it—I’m not always the biggest fan. Karaoke’s this weird space where being good at singing can feel like a social liability. You belt out a tune, and suddenly everyone’s staring like, “Dude, you’re killing the vibe.” Apparently, karaoke isn’t about sounding polished—it’s about hacking away at a song with a butter knife and a grin. And I’m over here like, “Nobody told me!”
But here’s the thing: someone once asked me, years ago when I first started leading worship, “Why do we karaoke at church?” It’s a great question, and it stuck with me. Because worship? It’s so much more than karaoke. It’s not just singing songs—it’s tuning our entire beings—mind, spirit, and body—to the presence of God. And that’s what I want to unpack with you today.
Worship: A Whole-Body Experience
The Bible calls us to love and worship God with everything we’ve got—heart, soul, mind, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:5). Yet, especially here in the Pacific Northwest, we’ve got this thing I call the “Northwest Freeze.” We’re not exactly the most expressive bunch. I was at a French disco show recently, and the singer kept shouting, “Hello, Seattle, we hear you like to party!” I wanted to yell back, “You’ve been misinformed! We mentally party, but physically freeze!!”
Worship is different. It’s this beautiful practice that invites our whole selves—yes, even our bodies—into the mix. Science backs this up in wild ways. Did you know our bodies pick up on danger before our brains do? Or that trauma lingers in our muscles, not just our minds? There’s even research showing organ transplant recipients sometimes inherit memories from their donors. Crazy, right? (Side note: I’m ADHD, so tangents like this are my jam—bear with me!) The point is, worship isn’t just a mental or spiritual exercise. It’s physical. It’s holistic. It’s us showing up fully human to meet a fully present God.
Beyond Entertainment
So, why do we “karaoke” at church? Well, worship isn’t like a concert where we’re here to be entertained, nor is it karaoke where we’re just performing for fun. It’s something deeper, a collective act. Picture this: I grabbed my guitar on Sunday and walked us through a song called “Goodness.” It’s simple, repetitive, and honestly, I didn’t love it at first. But over time, it’s become a lifeline. Singing it with my grandpa on his 80th birthday—him in his old Toyota Corolla vibes still echoing in my memory—I was a mess of tears.
The Three-Sip Rule
Here’s a little trick I love from the food and coffee world: the three-sip rule. The first sip? Your tongue’s just figuring out what’s happening. Second sip? It’s acclimating. By the third, you’re tasting blueberries, hazelnuts, the whole deal. Worship’s like that. Repetition—those “goodness, goodness” loops—slows us down. It gives us space to taste and see God’s goodness (Psalm 34:8). It’s a practice, like training your palate or tuning an instrument. And the more we do it, the more we hear God’s music through life’s noise.
Recalibrating Together
Life’s noisy, right? Anxiety, chaos, Instagram doom-scrolling (thanks, algorithm, for all the death stories after I mentioned mortality once). I had a rough couple of weeks recently—unfamiliar anxiety creeping in, chest tight, sleep gone. Worship pulled me through. Not because I felt it at first—I was up front singing songs I’d picked, feeling nothing—but because I saw you. People who’ve walked through fire, praising anyway. That recalibrated me. Think of an orchestra: musicians don’t just show up in tune. They adjust—violins to cellos, flutes to oboes—until they’re one sound. That’s corporate worship. We roll in out of sync, burdened by the week, and together we realign. Our burdens shrink, our spirits harmonize, and we leave carrying God’s peace into Monday.
Encountering the God Who’s Already Here
Jesus told the Samaritan woman that true worshipers worship “in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24). It’s not about where we worship—it’s about waking up to God’s presence. He’s not suddenly showing up when we sing; we’re just finally noticing He’s been here all along. Worship doesn’t change God’s location; it changes us. It’s why we raise our hands, repeat phrases, stand together—not to force God’s hand, but to open ours.
So, let’s not just go through the motions. Let’s worship with expectation, knowing we’ll encounter Him. Let’s sing with confidence that He’s near, with joy that He delights in us. When we do, we become a living symphony—each of us playing our part, blending into something that echoes beyond Sunday. We’re not just karaoke-ing at church. We’re tuning our souls to carry God’s song into a world that needs it.
What’s your “goodness” moment lately? I’d love to hear it—drop it in the comments. Let’s keep this conversation going as we tune our lives to Him, together.
See you Sunday, Pastor Michael