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Written by Sparky Pritchard Friday, 13 November 2009 18:32

In John 5, Jesus is confronted and berated by the religious establishment for ignoring and violating their traditions.  But in their passion to enforce their rules concerning the Sabbath, they missed the opportunity to worship the Lord of the Sabbath!  This week I came across these convicting words from Philip Yancey that should prompt each of us to examine our hearts as we gather to worship God.

“I used to approach church with the spirit of a discriminating consumer.  I viewed the worship service as a performance.  Give me something I like.  Entertain me.

“Speaking of folks like me, Søren Kierkegaard said that we tend to think of church as a kind of theater: we sit in the audience, attentively watching the actor onstage, who draws every eye to himself.  If sufficiently entertained, we show our gratitude with applause and cheers.  Church, though, should be the opposite of theater.  In church God is the audience for our worship.  Far from playing the role of the leading actor, the minister should function as something like a prompter, the inconspicuous helper who sits beside the stage and prompts by whispering.

“What matters most takes place within the hearts of the congregation, not among the actors onstage.  We should leave a worship service asking ourselves not ‘What did I get out of it?’ but rather ‘Was God pleased with what happened?’  Now I try to look up in a worship service, to direct my gaze beyond the platform, toward God.

“The same God who took pains to specify details of animal sacrifices for the ancient Israelites later told them, ‘I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pen, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.’  By focusing on the externals of worship, they had missed the point entirely: God was interested in a sacrifice of the heart, an internal attitude of submission and thanksgiving.  Now, when I attend church, I try to focus on the internal spirit rather than sitting back in my pew, like a theater critic, making aesthetic judgments.

“For many reasons I continue to worship in the Protestant tradition, which places a greater emphasis on the Word spoken from the pulpit.  Yet, I no longer worry so much about the style of music, the order of worship, the ‘trappings’ of church.  By focusing on the trappings and not the goal of worship – to meet God – I had missed the most important message of all” (Philip Yancey, Church: Why Bother?, pp. 24-27, quoted in Yancey’s Grace Notes, p. 362).

What great insight and challenge!  So, what are you looking for in worship?  The answer to that comes in the form of another question: What is God looking for in worship? God seeks true worship … a devotion flowing from the heart longs to see God, know God, and honor God!