Aimed worship

‘I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.” Psalms 122:1 In the 2005, George Barna book “Revolution,” Barna makes a shocking statement that 8 out of 10 regular worshippers of a local congregation do not feel as if they have entered the presence of God during the worship period. This statement is followed by several statistics regarding the local church that are mind-numbing, but this is one that jumped off the page when I read it. How sad for someone to enter the worship of our Lord and not feel as if we enter His presence. If there is anyone reading this article that feels this way, hopefully we can discuss a few things that will help.

“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). Jesus states that when we assemble for the purpose of worship, we are worshiping God. When I enter into the worship assembly, I am not coming to hear the singing, or to hear how good or bad the preacher may have been, or even to see how much the collection of the saints was for that week, but when I come to worship, I am there to offer my worship to God.

Consider the Old Testament sacrifice. When one would bring their sacrifice to the priest to be offered, the sacrifice would have to be the exact way God commanded and, the offering of that sacrifice would have to be the way God commanded. Everything about the worship in the Old Testament revolved around God.

The Old Testament is given to us for learning (Rom. 15:4). As we look at the worship of the Old Testament and the worship we offer, knowing we have better promises (Heb. 8), we should have worship that is aimed toward God. Our prayers are being lifted to His ears. Our songs are being sang to Him. Our giving is giving back to Him. Our preaching is to Him. Our partaking of the Lord’s Supper is thinking about the Gift He gave. Everything that we are doing, we are doing to present it to God, and to present the best we have to Him.

One final thought. Look at the Greek word “proskuneo” (our English word “worship”). The definition for this word literally means “to kiss the hand toward.” When we are worshipping God, with our actions in worship, we are kissing our hands toward Him. Does He know, from our worship, that we love Him?

Jeremy Thornton is Minister of Highway 77 Church of Christ in Marion, Arkansas.

Jeremy Thornton