I received an email recently asking if I would like to schedule Esterlyn for a concert in my church. Although I'm unfamiliar with this Christian contemporary music duo, they are billed as a music ministry that is "passionate about worshiping the Lord and helping to bring others into His presence." The picture below was supposedly taken at one of their concerts.

In Exodus 20:24-26, God commands His people not to build extravagant or exalted altars. God knew that such altars would not be an aid to worship, but would become the object of worship, distracting the attention of worshippers from the God they worshipped to the altar they worshipped at. Furthermore, it would foster competition among His people as to who could build the highest and most extravagant altar.

When you look at the picture below, ask yourself how the pyrotechnics and special affects of an Esterlyn concert would not grab the attention of attendees and lead them to comparing an Esterlyn concert to others as to which is the best show in town. Such, I'm afraid, is the sad state of contemporary worship in today's church.

The true worship of God is not a show, but requires a sacrifice, which explains the presence of an altar at all worship sites in the Old Testament. It is not about what you get out of it, but about what you put into it. You're not to leave with goosebumps and the warm fuzzies, but as the old hymn says, "With your all on the altar of sacrifice laid!"