Last week we looked at the basic idea of what is worship. Simply put, worship is the action of God coming to us and filling us. It’s God inviting us to a time and a place, to a lifestyle of receiving from God then (and only then) do we return with hearts of thankfulness and praise. The whole post on What Is Worship can be found here.
This week we’ll look more at how we are served in worship. It sounds so self-centered to say that worship is about what we receive but in reality that’s what the invitation is all about – God inviting us to receive. Now before we get too deep into this, it’s important to understand one key aspect to this whole receiving business. Worship isn’t about what I want but what I need.
This is important because in the worship wars that are rampant in denominations across America, people are arguing over not being touched emotionally in worship. Or those songs don’t speak to me because I don’t know them. Or some will even say that they are distracted in worship because the songs are so unfamiliar that they can’t sing them. But to be totally honest, worship isn’t about any of these things!
Worship isn’t about getting what I’m asking for! Worship is about getting what God is giving. Sometimes God just might need to give me something that comes in a format that is different from what I’m used to hearing. Still confused? Look at it this way…
When you enter a place of worship, what’s the focal point? It should be the work of God for you. Perhaps it’s a cross or some other architectural element that looks like a cross. Maybe the focus is a baptism font or a scripture passage. You see these are the places Jesus promises to be present. But there’s a growing trend in the worship community to have less of these present and more of the created earthly and worldly things taking the primary seat in our worship spaces.
Look at how the service is built. We’ll look at this a little deeper in the coming weeks but the general flow of the worship service is pretty telling. In a more historic, liturgical church the worship starts with a time of reflecting on who God is and who we are on our own. We do this in a thing called confession and forgiveness. God is perfect. We are not. Therefore, we admit our imperfection to God and receive his forgiveness. Then we receive his gifts through prayers, bible readings, teaching on those bible readings, even through communion. After we’ve done all of this receiving, we’re invited to give something back.
When it’s all said and done we are invited to give back to God by taking all that we’ve received and living it out where we live, work and play. This has nothing to do with a more traditional or praise approach to worship. It has nothing to do with what style we are used to or how easy the songs are to sing.
The primary part of worship is what God is doing. It really doesn’t matter if we can’t sing a song. It really doesn’t matter if the candles burn out in the middle of worship. It doesn’t matter if we’re in jeans or a three-piece suit. When we focus so much on what we bring to worship, we start to take the place of God. When these little things detract from our time of worship, we need to ask ourselves if we’re really there to receive from God or if we somehow think we are adding to God when everything is perfect and in place.
This week, take time to worship! Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing just let God be the actor and you be the recipient. Quit worrying about what might go wrong or what others think. Sit back and receive what God is pouring into you. That’s the essence of worship. That’s what God wants to do for you. He wants to fill you up and recharge your batteries. Worship is all about God serving us not us serving God.
You are the customer in the restaurant. You don’t wait on tables. You don’t cook the food. You eat what the cook is making that day. You dine on the delicacy that the chef sets before you. Worship! Dine on the grace of God! Be filled by all that Jesus has done for you. Rest in the power of God’s mighty hands.
Worship is what I need, not what I want.
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