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worship hands (crop)

We all know the popular adage about the tail wagging the dog ... a saying meant to illustrate when a secondary thing has taken precedence over the primary. Sadly, this happens in life all the time. It would seem something in our fallen human nature tends to drift from a properly ordered existence and ultimately results in a lot of backwardness in the world.

We shouldn't be surprised then that this pitfall also creeps through our church doors and into our worship services. Here are three ways to fail at keeping your congregational worship priorities straight.

 

1. Come as a consumer

We tend to enter worship services like we enter concert venues - as consumers who are owed something equal to or greater than the price of admission. The transaction of purchasing a ticket to gain entry to an event actually permits someone to then consume and critique. That individual fulfills their part of the bargain by buying their right of entry and then by in fact showing up. From that point forward their work is essentially done and it becomes the performer’s turn to complete the transaction by delivering adequate value. If the performer performs well, the ticket-holder is pleased and gives positive reviews; if the performer performs poorly, the reviews follow suit, and rightfully so.

This is not how the congregational worship of God works. We come not as an audience seeking entertainment, but rather (in sticking with the analogy) as the performers in this instance! It is God who has invested in us; He who has done the purchasing and showing up through His son, Jesus Christ. Our job in turn becomes to respond with thanksgiving and adoration; what we call worship. There are seasons where critique is wise, such as when we choose a specific church to attend, but all seasons come to an end. We gather on Sundays first and foremost to give back to God what he is due, not the other way around.

 

2. Come passively

We tend to enter worship services far too passively, relying solely on outward factors to generate the spark from which the flame of worship within our own hearts ignites. There are likely many elements to a service that are designed to pastorally help you enter into worship...

-Countdowns inform you that the worship service is approaching

-Music or lighting cues tell you when it's time to enter the sanctuary and engage

-Pastoral calls to worship mark the worship occasion and signify the beginning of the service

-The other people in attendance remind us that God isn't just calling individuals to himself, but rather gathering a new people. The presence of others affords countless reminders and encouragements towards the worship of God.

Indeed, all these elements are there to help you profoundly, to point, guide, remind, and equip you, but when has passivity ever served the greatest cause or fulfilled the greatest desire? Consider how much more joy is to be found in the personal ownership of worship.

 

3. Come thanklessly

"Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!" -Psalm 95:2

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!" -Psalm 100:4

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God." -Colossians 3:16

If we walk through the doors of our worship services as either consumers or passively, there's a good chance we're also not coming with a spirit of gratitude. The scripture is pretty clear that the entry point to the worship of God and his presence is the giving of thanks. To believe God is good and sovereign over your life is to be grateful. To believe Jesus has accomplished perfect righteousness for you in the eyes of a holy God and blessed you with "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" including adoption as a son or daughter of God (Eph 1:3-5), is to be unimaginably grateful. Thankfulness spawned by belief in the gospel fuels authentic worship, but our hearts need constant gardening.

If engaging in meaningful worship is difficult for you (both individually and congregationally), work on your thankfulness towards God. Take a moment before entering a worship service to remember, make a list, say a prayer, speak truth to your heart and remind yourself of all the reasons to be thankful, the greatest being Jesus Christ and his saving work on your behalf.