Jimbo's Jots

We’re continuing our song stories this week. The song this week is The Heart of Worship by Matt Redman.

In the late 1990’s, Matt Redman wrote the song The Heart of Worship with his home church, Soul Survivor (Watford, England), in mind. Sensing a period of apathy in approaching worship, the senior pastor did something rather unusual.

“There was a dynamic missing, so the pastor did a pretty brave thing,” [Redman] recalls. “He decided to get rid of the sound system and band for a season, and we gathered together with just our voices. His point was that we’d lost our way in worship, and the way to get back to the heart would be to strip everything away.”

The goal for the pastor was to instill a thought of being a contributor to worship and not just a consumer of worship. For Redman, what came from this period of acappella worship in his home church was a reflection of what true worship is. In his bedroom, he penned these words,

When the music fades, all is stripped away, and I simply come / Longing just to bring something that’s of worth that will bless your heart… / I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about You, Jesus

He readily admits it almost didn’t make it out of his room. For us and for many Christians world wide, this song has become an anthem of authentic praise.

Matt Redman continues to write and produce some wonderful worship music.

When all is stripped away in your life, what is that you worship? What distractions keep you from focusing on Jesus in times of worship? Jesus just asks us to come and worship. In those moments when we bring what we can bring, He will turn it into something that’s of worth and will bless His heart.

Be blessed and be a blessing!