H.B. Charles tells a story in his book “On Worship” about a church member who complained following the worship service that they didn’t really enjoy the service. The pastor quickly and bluntly replied: “That’s okay. We weren’t worshipping you.”
Have you ever had a similar complaint when leaving a church service? Have you ever left a church because you didn’t care for the style of worship or maybe the voice of the one who leads the singing from the platform? Maybe the preacher wasn’t as engaging as you wished he had been, or the service was a little too long for your liking. Is it possible, you’ve got the wrong idea about who the worship service is for? The question should never be, “Did I enjoy worship today?” It should always be “Was the Lord pleased with the worship here today?”
As H.B. Charles said in the above-mentioned book: “The worship wars of past decades argued about whether worship should focus on seekers or the saints. Ultimately, both sides were wrong. God is the target audience of worship.” He is the One we are there for. He is the One we should be fixing our eyes and attention upon.
This is why you should sing in worship. It’s why you should pray along with the person praying from the stage. It’s why you should give your undivided attention to the sermon (and every aspect of the service for that matter). We participate in the worship service because our participation is an act of worship to the Lord. It’s why being on time matters (a topic for a future post). If we’re there to meet with and worship the King, we had better be on time and ready to join in!
Do we benefit from and receive spiritual blessings from worship services? Of course we do, but only when we have made worshipping Jesus the #1 priority. As He is praised, He inhabits the praises of His people and His people receive blessing upon blessing.
I fear that far too many people show up to church on the Lord’s Day looking for what they can get out of it rather than what they are there to offer to the Lord. We are not consumers of worship, but are to be consumed by the One Whom we are there to worship. Hebrews 12:28-29 says “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”
It is possible to walk away from a church service feeling uplifted, happy, and even like we “got something out of it” all the while we wre exalting ourselves rather than the Lord. On the flip side, I would say it is impossible for us to lift high the name of Jesus and not be blessed immensely as He draws us to Himself (John 12:32).
This truth also informs the content of our worship services. If we are there for Jesus, the songs we sing and the sermons we preach had better reflect that. Too many songs focus on the believer and how we are getting through trials. Too many sermons are more like TED talks that give us 5 tips for a better life. Who are we worshipping with that kind of material?
May we enter each Lord’s Day worship service with the words of Psalm 115:1 on our minds, hearts, and even coming out of our lips: “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory.”