“O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.” - Psalm 95:6
The late Adrian Rogers once posed a question to his audience: “Have you ever been in a boring worship service?” That's a great question, isn't it? The right answer, of course, is no. You may have been in a boring church service, but you've never been in a boring worship service. When worship occurs, the worshiper is never bored. Instead, he or she is fixated on the object of worship, our Lord Jesus Christ.
One reason why people find church boring is because they have fallen into a consumer mindset. They attend church to be encouraged, educated and entertained. Many treat church like a movie theater. They get a seat and expect to be captivated by an experience that originates on the stage. They want an active experience in spite of a passive attitude. They don't to get involved or participate in any way. It is the choir's job to inspire them. They think the soloist should encourage them. They believe it is the preacher's job to motivate them.
The fact is that worship is not passive. You can't just sit idly in a seat and worship. You will never be an apathetic worshiper. You can't just go through the motions and expect worship to arise. Worship is a deliberate activity that engages your mind, heart and soul.
I am writing about seven pillars of a healthy church. Last week, I wrote about the need for Biblical leadership. Today, we are looking at meaningful worship. For a church to be healthy and strong, there needs to be meaningful worship offered on a regular basis.
Many American Christians make the mistake of thinking that worship is all about a particular branch of music. In fact, most refer to the music portion of a service as, “a time of worship.” Yet a person can sing Christian songs and never worship. It is possible to worship without singing songs. Worship is often expressed through music, but it goes deeper than that. Worship is the adoration of God. Worship is the holy reverence of God. Worship may consist of different components such as prayer, praise, contemplation and silence. A person may worship as he listens to a sermon.
Worship is a matter of the heart. While we use our thoughts, words and actions to express our worship, the real epicenter of worship is the heart of a believer. There is no such thing as heartless worship.
Let me be clear about something. Some have been guilty of pretending to be spiritual or faking worship just to impress others. God is not impressed at all. He looks beyond the superficial activity and sees the essence of the person's motives. The Lord looks on the heart.
Worship may occur in numerous places. Every believer should be a private, personal worshiper. Yet the local church has been dedicated for the purpose of expressing public worship. Private and public worship are meant to go hand in hand. It is wrong to neglect either.
Genuine worship requires:
FAITH
FOCUS
FERVENCY
We see examples of worldly worship every day. Many young people worship musicians. They will purchase their recordings. They will travel hundreds of miles, pay a lot of money and sit in a crowded, loud auditorium so they can hear their favorite musician perform. The same can be said of those who worship sports teams and actors. Yet shouldn't our worship exceed all these examples? We have a greater Person to worship. We have greater reasons to worship.
Be assured of this. Worship is one thing we can do on earth that we will do in heaven.
Worship the Lord. He is worthy.
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