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It was with great excitement and a lot of gratitude that I got to go to a Taylor Swift concert with my sister. (Here is where I have to give a big shout out to my sister for managing to get affordable tickets for us!) It was one of the greatest experiences of my life, and I’m not speaking hyperbolically! Later, as I reflected on the Eras Tour, I realized it highlighted for me some beliefs I have about worship. So here is what I learned about worship from the Taylor Swift Eras Tour:

In preparation for the reading of scripture and the sermon, consider offering this prayer of illumination, asking God to speak. It is offered two different ways: for a single voice or as a responsorial prayer.

As a parent and educator I relate to Psalm 81. How often haven’t we thought or said, “if only my child or my student would listen to what I say, this would be so much easier for them.” And yet again and again you feel like your voice is little more than that of an adult in a Charlie Brown episode—noise in the background. In Psalm 81 we hear the heartwrenching cry of God about God’s people, “If only they would listen!”. The unspoken question for those hearing the psalm today is whether we will unstop our ears or treat God’s voice like annoying background noise.