Why Emotion Can’t Be the Foundation of Authentic Worship
Many Christians chase emotional highs in worship, but Jesus began with the Word. Discover why authentic worship must be rooted in Scripture, not experience.
True Worship Centers on the Word of Christ
I’ve seen many people cry in worship, or close their eyes and sing with abandon— and leave unchanged. Why?
Many Christians in our culture chase emotional highs—moments that feel powerful, moving, or even supernatural, but then quickly fade. While emotion and subjective feeling has its place, emotion can’t be the foundation of authentic worship. Worship that’s rooted in experience rather than truth will always leave us dry and searching for more.
This is a trend that seems to be accelerating over the past thirty years with no sign of slowing down. I wrote an article about it some time back. You can find it here. https://www.authenticworship.org/future-of-contemporary-worship/
Authentic worship begins not with us, but with Christ—and specifically, with His Word. True worship is a response—one shaped by the Word He speaks. Through His Word, He forms our hearts and draws us in.
If we want worship that is deep, transformative, and Christ-centered, we must return to the foundation Jesus Himself laid: worship grounded in the Word of God.
Why Worship Rooted in Christ’s Word Is More Important Than Miracles
Jesus launched His public ministry with Scripture, not spectacle. In the synagogue and streets, He proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God. In Mark 1:27, the crowd was shocked not only by what He taught but by how He taught. They exclaimed, “What is this? A new teaching with authority!” The transformative power of Jesus’ ministry rested not in miracles or experiences but in His message.
This tells us something crucial about true worship: it begins where Jesus began—with the Word. Jesus taught with original authority. While other rabbis taught in the name of their teachers, Jesus boldly proclaimed, “You have heard it said… but I say to you” (Matthew 5:38). He spoke not just as a messenger but as the Author Himself.
Experience Confirms the Message, It Does Not Replace It
We shouldn’t completely discount the role of miracles and experience in Jesus’ ministry. They did play an important role in confirming both His identity and His message. However, Jesus did not focus primarily on the experience. God the Father did not send the Son merely to give moving experiences or to heal the sick. He sent Him to preach.
Jesus emphasized that His mission went beyond the wonders He performed. On one occasion, after healing many in Galilee, crowds tried to keep Jesus from leaving. But He pulled away and said, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.”
That’s a profound summation for Jesus to make. Jesus is the most compassionate person to ever walk the face of the earth. And yet, the purpose of His ministry was not to heal the sick, feed the hungry, alleviate the suffering or educate the ignorant. Jesus summarizes His own earthly ministry by stating without qualification that the Father sent Him to preach.
I wonder how many people would argue this point or add some qualification. “Yes, preaching was important, but—” Jesus gives no qualification. His miracles serve as an accreditation of His identity and His message. When it comes to Jesus, practical ministry exists in support and as an extension of His Gospel message. Emotion can’t be the foundation of authentic worship—only Christ’s Word has the authority to form and sustain our faith.
Why Jesus Avoided Hype and Spectacle in His Ministry
How did Jesus respond to the crowd’s tendency to focus on the experience? He silenced it.
Jesus often silenced people after healing them to keep them from speaking. In Luke 4:40–41, demons tried to “out” him as the Son of God. But Jesus rebuked them because they knew his identity.
“And demons also came out of many, crying, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.”
By limiting the attention on His physical ministry, Jesus kept focus on His message. Of course, His deeds mattered—as He would soon pay for the sins of the world on Calvary. But even that great act followed His Word. His Word formed the very center of His earthly ministry—much to His followers’ misunderstanding and frustration. Therefore, our response in worship must focus on His Word.
Avoiding Emotionalism: How to Keep Worship Focused on Jesus
Focusing on the worship experience instead of the object of worship is, by definition, idolatry. God created emotion and made us emotional beings. Emotion is good—but emotionalism is misguided and even sinful.
Emotionalism pulls worshipers away from the Gospel and farther from Christ. It leads to the pursuit of something other than him, and trains us to seek spiritual satisfaction from an experience rather than the person of Christ. This emotional focus is part of a broader trend of deconstructing worship, a topic I explore more deeply in this article on deconstructionism in worship.
It is very easy to misdirect our attentions. Recently, my wife told me that I was spending too much attention on my phone, and too little on her. While no husband wants to hear such a criticism, it was nevertheless warranted. As I prayerfully considered her words, I realized that the level of attention I showed my device, along with the expectation of satisfaction I received from “doom-scrolling” social media or reading a blog post, was misplaced. I had pursued an “experience” with my device—a pursuit and affection that rightly belonged to her.
We often do the same when we pursue the experience of worship rather than the person of Christ Himself.
Christ’s model shows us that His Word leads to experience, not vice versa. Authentic worship starts with Christ’s Word, then follows with our response. Our worship is a natural response to His revelation.
A True Story: Searching for Fire in Worship
Years ago, I led worship at a church where a lady told me something was missing in our worship time. When I asked what it was that was missing, she couldn’t explain. “We just need more hand raising and people giving their all!” she said. “There used to be more fire. I want that back.” As time went on, her dissatisfaction grew. “Why are people not going to the alter!” She lamented in frustration.
What she sought was an outward expression of something she didn’t fully understand. This drive for more “secret sauce” came from focusing on feelings that a worship experience might bring—not on Christ Himself. Authentic worship centers on a person, not a passion.
Chasing outward manifestations of worship always leads to a unsettled and dissatisfied never-ending quest for moments. If you always compare worship experiences, your heart will keep moving, never deeply satisfied. Like soda on a parched tongue, emotional highs promise sweetness but rob you of deep satisfaction. Emotion can’t be the foundation of authentic worship, because experience fades—but Christ remains.
Take a spiritual inventory of your worship life and ask, “Is my flesh craving something more than Jesus?”
Is Jesus Enough For You?
In his 2010 bestseller Radical, David Platt challenges:
“Do we really believe [Jesus] is worth abandoning everything for? Do you and I really believe that Jesus is so good, so satisfying, and so rewarding that we will leave all we have and all we own and all we are in order to find our fullness in him?”1
Is worshiping Jesus Himself truly enough? Or does your flesh still crave an experience, like the crowd who followed Him? When you strip away the lights and smoke of contemporary worship, or the nostalgia of traditional gospel songs, can you simply stand and sing to Jesus alone? When you release the emotional expectations of a “worship experience,” you’ll find Jesus revealed to you in His Word.
Rooting your worship in that Word makes it stable, deep, transformative, and satisfying.
The hymn “I’d Rather Have Jesus” reminds us where our true desire must lie:
I’d Rather Have Jesus2
I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold;
I’d rather be His than have riches untold;
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands;
I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand.Chorus:
Than to be the king of a vast domain
Or be held in sin’s dread sway,
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.
Daniel, As always I appreciate your focus on the main thing – Jesus. Thanks for sharing these words. I miss our fellowship, but know you are content in God’s assignment for you and your family. Blessings to you, my brother.