“Why Do We Worship the Way We Do?”

Sunday, October 3

John 4:7-15, 19-24

Introduction: You might of heard the story of the man who woke up one Sunday morning, and told his wife he didn’t want to go to church. She responded, “Honey you have to go to church?” “Why,” he asked? She thought for a moment, and then said, “I can think of three reasons. First, it is good for your soul. Second, it is a good way to start out the week. And third, you are the pastor!”

There are many people who struggle with the desire to go to church. Maybe it has to do with a busy schedule, and that might be the one day they have to rest. Maybe it has to do with the fact that they plan other things to do that day. And for some, it has to do with the worship. They maybe have trouble connecting with the worship and understanding why we worship the way we do.

This morning I want to talk about worship: why we worship the way we do. I want to talk about how worship should help us to encounter God. I want to talk about how worship should deepen our relationship with God, and that through this experience of worship we are transformed.

I. Worship should help us encounter God-

a. Our relationship with God- A reality in our North American culture

is that there are many people who believe in God, and who go to church, but who don’t know what it means to encounter God. For many, God is not a personal God who cares about our lives and who desires to be in relationship with us. For many, God is disconnected from their lives.

When talking about worship, you probably wouldn’t think to go to the Book of Order as a resource. In fact, you might not even know that the Book of Order exists, and what is in it, even though I talk about it at every new members class. In the Book of Order there are three sections: Government, Worship, and Discipline. Let me read for you the first paragraph in the section on worship:

“Christian worship joyfully ascribes all praise and honor, glory and power to the triune God. In worship the people of God acknowledge God present in the world and in their lives. As they respond to God’s claim and redemptive action in Jesus Christ, believers are transformed and renewed. In worship the faithful offer themselves to God and are equipped for God’s service in the world.”

That is a beautiful statement of worship. We will talk about being transformed in a little bit, so let me focus on the first part of this statement for a moment. This statement tells us that as Christians, we are to give praise to God, honor God, acknowledge God’s glory and power, and recognize that God is present in the world.

As you travel through the worship section of the Book of Order, you see that it talks about time, space, matter, as well as the elements of worship. It is wonder-fully designed to teach, guide, and inform us of the elements of worship (you really should read it). It talks about how worship can happen at any time, ‘for all time has been hallowed by God.’ It reminds us that from ‘the earliest times, the church has gathered on the Lord’s Day for the proclamation and exposition of the Word and the celebration of the Sacraments.’ So how we spend our TIME is important, and we should allow TIME for worship, which helps us to connect with God.

We also learn that we can worship in any SPACE, but that over time the space has been uniquely designed to help people have an encounter with God and so the meeting time will be enhanced. The sanctuary is set up in a way that helps you to focus on God and be drawn toward God. LIKEWISE, the service is designed for this same purpose. That is why the service includes prayer (time to talk with God and reflect on God), singing (because music has a unique way of lifting up our spirits), scripture (because the word of God is designed to teach, challenge, encourage, and rebuke), and the preaching of the word (so that we might understand it fully, and seek to put it into practice).

So I wonder, do we worship the way we do because it is what we are best at? Or because it is what we are comfortable with? I hope it is because we can connect with God.

b. The power of rest- Rest is important. The Sabbath day is supposed to

be a day of rest from our busy schedules and our daily routine. Church is to be a place where we can come and rest in the presence of God. God has designed us to have rest when we sleep. God has designed for us to rest by giving ourselves down time (time to relax). But God has also designed us to rest in His presence, and love, and grace, and forgiveness, and blessing. In this time of rest we can CENTER on fostering an encounter with God. Worship is to be this venue where we can access the spiritual.

But too often, when we come to worship, we are not centered. So many people still have many worries on their minds. People come tired and overwhelmed. People can’t focus on God, because there are too many other distractions. REST in worship is what calms us down, stops us, and allows us to think about the encounter we want to have with God.

Illus. When I was in college I majored in music. My main instrument was the tenor saxophone. Since I was an education major, and not a performance major, I only had to play one recital; a senior recital. I was given some very challenging music. One piece that I had to learn was a Johann Sebastian Back piece for Viola de Gamba and harpsichord. Now a Viola de Gamba is a stringed instrument, where do you don’t have to worry about breathing, whereas a saxophone is a wind instrument, where do you have to worry about breathing. The piece had NO RESTS! That was a challenge, because you can’t play it on saxophone without taking a breath. I had to go through the whole piece and figure out what notes to drop so I could get a breath in, and the notes I dropped were only sixteenth notes, which gave me very little time to breath!!

You see that “rests” are important in music. For breathing, but also for the silence. The silence can be as captivating as the music, and the silence sets you up for the next bit of music.

Listen for a moment to the opening portion of the song “I Could Only Imagine” by Mercy Me. (PLAY 1:25 of the song)

Did you notice how he didn’t just sing straight through? He paused. Sing: “I could only imagine…..PAUSE….. what it will be like…PAUSE…when I walk by Your side...PAUSE…. You get the idea. The pauses, the rests, prepares you for the next words.

It wouldn’t be as powerful if you sung it straight through: “I could only imagine what it will be like when I walk by Your side…. The truth is, our lives are not as powerful, as meaningful, and purposeful, if we do not take time to rest with God and encounter God in worship!

II. Worship should transform us- (John 1:14; Romans 12:1-2;

Hebrews 12:1-2)

a. God focused- If you haven’t already gotten out the outline from the

bulletin, I want you to do it now, because we are going to do an experiment. As I talk over the next 20-30 seconds, I want you to look at the picture of Jesus in your outline. There are four dots where his nose is. I want you to stare at those dots until I tell you to stop, and then after you are done staring at the dots, I want you to look at the wall and just let the face of Jesus come into focus. Now I hope it works here, because we might have to have a white wall for it to work. Trust me, it does work, I have done it myself, so if it doesn’t work here, go home and try it on a wall in your home. It is amazing how Jesus’ face slowly manifests itself on the wall! Okay, look up at the wall and just stare for a little bit.

The point of worship is for us to focus on God. Jesus, who is the Son of God, Jesus, who was God in the flesh, is actually the way we are able to see God better. In the gospel of John, chapter 1, verse 14 it says: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” In Christ we see the glory of God. In Christ we see the unconditional love of God. In Christ we see how far God has gone in His love for us to save us. In Christ we know how we were created to live.

So, it is in Christ that we are drawn into a relationship with God and are able to be focused on God. As Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” When we fix our eyes on Jesus, which we just did with the help of the picture, and which we can do with the help of worship, then we will be able to draw close to God, and receive the transformation that God has for us.

b. God like- Example- Many women, on the day of their wedding, go to a

beauty salon to have their hair, nails, and make-up done. They do this because they want to look very beautiful for their wedding. When they leave the salon, they have been TRANSFORMED./ This too is to be the goal of worship, and why we worship the way we do. In Romans 12:1-2, the apostle Paul tells us: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. ²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

The power of worship is its ability to foster a deeper relationship for us with God. The most powerful kind of worship is worship that enhances the relationship between us and God. The prayers build a bond between us and God. The sermon helps us to explore that relationship and understand it more fully. The Bible reading reminds us where we are to go to encounter God on our own, and takes us to that deep place of the spiritual. The whole experience is to forge a union where the love of God is placed deep inside us, and we are then motivated to change who we are. It is in worship that we offer our body to God, and make the determination that we will not live according to the ways of the world, but the way of God. When we leave worship, it is like the bride-to-be who is transformed in appearance. Only our transformation is not physical, but spiritual. We should not be the same spiritual person after we have been in worship!

Going back to the Book of Order, the last part of the paragraph I read earlier says: “…As they respond to God’s claim and redemptive action in Jesus Christ, believers are transformed and renewed. In worship the faithful offer themselves to God and are equipped for God’s service in the world.”

Conclusion: More important than the type of music (although that is important because it helps us to connect to what is going on), and the look of the sanctuary, is the attitude of our hearts. If we come longing to grow closer to God, and we come desiring to be more like Christ, then our time of worship will indeed transform us. When I am with my children, it doesn’t matter if I’m playing dolls with my daughter, or helping her change the water in her fish tank; it doesn’t matter if I’m playing Wii with Tyler or throwing the baseball with him; it doesn’t matter if I’m on a romantic dinner with Tami, or just sitting in the living room reading a book; what is important is that I spend time with them. When we come to worship with the attitude that we are going to “spend time with God,” then we will experience worship. Our worship will help us to encounter God, and be transformed by Him. Let us seek to do this in worship each and every week. Amen.