Introduction
Video Ill.: Consumer Worship by Dan Stevers
* https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/03/22/more-houses-of-worship-are-returning-to-normal-operations-but-in-person-attendance-is-unchanged-since-fall/
** (https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2023/06/02/online-religious-services-appeal-to-many-americans-but-going-in-person-remains-more-popular/).
According to Pew Research Center, church attendance across America is at an all time low, but has remained flat — only about 32% of American adults attend some kind of religious service at least once a month. This includes watching online services. Only 27% of Americans are attending church services in person these days. *
That’s 3/4 of American adults who do not attend any kind of service.
The importance of attending church is dropping.
Those counting themselves as religious, but do not attend church, claim to have a more meaningful experience when they are out in nature, by themselves, or other situations. There are as many different reasons why not to attend church as there are people not attending church.
Because of that, this morning, we are beginning a study that I hope will encourage us to discover why we gather together on Sundays, and why it is important to gather together — a study that maybe we can share with those who are not with us this morning.
Since the COVID pandemic, online church services began to gain more attention.
The majority of those who attend virtual or online services or watch online services say, though, they miss the connection they have when they do attend in person.
According to the Pew Research Center, 63% of people who prefer attending religious services in person do so because they value the sense of community and connection it offers. They find that in-person attendance enhances their worship experience by providing opportunities for personal interactions, communal activities, and a stronger sense of belonging to their faith community. **
It is important to gather together in God’s house, as a family of believers. Over the next few weeks, we are going to look at some reasons why gathering together is so important to our faith.
Throughout our study, we will be focused on what the early church did — as found in Acts, chapter 2:
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2, NIV1984)
When we studied our identities, we learned that one of the things God gave us that is one of His qualities is the ability and the desire for relationships.
We need relationships. We need interaction with people. We need an interaction with God!
That interaction begins with corporate worship.
Fundamentally, gathering together for church is really all about worship — giving honor and praise to God!
So let’s look this morning, at worship, and different aspects as it relates to why we come together for church.
As we begin, let’s examine the essence of worship.
In John chapter 4, John tells the story of the encounter Jesus had with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well.
The story is full of scandal as Jesus, a Jew, asked a Samaritan, and a woman at that, for a drink of water from the well. Samaritans were not looked on with favor by the Jews. The Samaritans had inner-married with foreigners, and had in the minds of the Jews, defiled themselves. They were no longer worthy of the blessings of God. They were outcasts. They were second rate citizens.
But Jesus, scripture says, had to go through Samaria. And, I believe that Jesus had to have this conversation with this Samaritan woman on that day. It was all part of God’s plan.
It was in this conversation with this nameless woman that Jesus first gives a glimpse into how the Kingdom of God would really look. There would be others in God’s kingdom, in God’s family, that didn’t fit the mold, that were outsiders, that were not Jews. When that would come to pass, things would change. The Kingdom of God is not about how we do things here on earth — it is about Heavenly things.
One change would be worship.
The Jews felt that worship could only be done in Jerusalem. The Samaritans were worshipping God where Jacob’s well was — on Mount Gerizim. But even that would change when God’s kingdom came.
And so in John4 we read:
21 Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now || come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4, NIV1984)
Barclay, William. The Gospel of John, Volume One (The New Daily Study Bible Book 1) (p. 188). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition.
William Barclay writes: “The spirit is the highest part of a human being. That is the part which lasts when the physical part has vanished. That is the part which dreams the dreams and sees the visions which, because of the weakness and faultiness of the body, may never be carried out. It is this spirit which is the source of our highest dreams and thoughts and ideals and desires. The true worship is when each of us, through that spirit, attains to friendship and intimacy with God. Genuine worship does not consist in coming to a certain place, nor in going through a certain ritual or liturgy, nor even in bringing certain gifts. True worship is when the spirit, the immortal and invisible part within us, speaks to and meets with God, himself immortal and invisible.”
I like that statement that Barclay made: True worship is when through our spirit, we attain friendship and intimacy with God.
What a wonderful concept for our worship!
Worship is about celebrating the friendship that God has shown us. Worship is about praising Him for the intimacy we are able to have with Him. Worship should be all about our relationship we have with God.
Worship should be authentic — not putting on a show, but giving God who we really are. Worshipping in truth, not in false facades. If we cannot be genuine and real in the presence of God, who loves us no matter what we have done, no matter how far away we have gone, no matter what, where else can we be authentic?
Worshipping in spirit is about giving God gifts of worship — our love, loyalty, obedience, and devotion.
That is the essence of worship.
2. Let’s look, then, at worship as a corporate experience.
Something happens when we gather together, when we are devoted together, to worshipping together as a family, as a body of believers, as the corporate church!
In just a few short years after Jesus’ return to Heaven, the church started to have problems. Many of the New Testament letters written by Paul, Peter, and others, are trying to address those challenges.
Some of the letters are reprimanding in nature. Others are teaching in nature.
The book of Hebrews is one such letter. It is a letter to the Jews to teach them why Jesus, His sacrifice, and His love for us is better than the Law of the Old Testament.
Throughout the letter, the writer encourages and exhorts that Jesus has superiority to the ways of the Law. We now can have a personal relationship with God. We can personally approach God, entering into the Most Holy Place where God is, without the need of a High Priest. We are all now priests, able to commune and worship God.
In chapter 10, the writer moves to a practical side of his teaching — because Jesus is better, because Jesus’ sacrifice is perfect, we have a new way for us to live.
Picking up with verse 19, in Hebrews 10, we read:
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance || of faith, having our heart sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good || deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the day approaching. (Hebrews 10, NIV1984)
Sadly, the early church, the early Jewish believers, had started doing as many in our community have done today — they stopped assembling together — they were no longer devoted to being together.
Why Go to Church
By Dean Kennedy
Copied from Sermon Central
A Churchgoer wrote a letter to the editor of the local newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. "I’ve gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them. So, I think I’m wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all."
This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:
I’ve been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this: They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today.
Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!"
Assembling together — meeting together for corporate worship encourages us. It’s in corporate worship where we support each other. It’s a time when we come with our brokenness and our hurts, and we lift each other up. We pray for each other.
And then we worship together. Each of us. No matter our faults. No matter our failures. And in doing so, we encourage each other to continue our worship — to continue our praise even in our hard times.
While we are here to lift our praise to God, it is an experience from which we grow when we come together, worship together, praise together, encourage each other.
Though it wasn’t in church, consider Paul and Silas, in a Philippian jail. Paul and Silas had been thrown into prison because they had healed a slave girl of the evil spirit that possessed her.
They were stripped, beaten, and flogged before being thrown into jail. Yet, about midnight, something special happened.
Acts 16:25 reads:
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. (Acts 16, NIV1984)
Paul and Silas absolutely would have looked horrible, after the beatings they had just endured. They would have been in great pain. Most of us would not have been in the mood for worship, but they were.
They were praying, probably for the people in Philippi, the slave girl, the slave owner, the jailer, the other prisoners, and who knows who else. They were also singing hymns to God. They were praising God in spite of their circumstances.
And others noticed.
I remind us of that story because there are going to be times when we do not feel like coming together — when we just do not feel like coming to church — but it is in those times that we need worship more than ever. In those times, we can encourage each other. We focus on God, and not on ourselves. We give Him the praise for saving our souls. We come to be restored, refreshed, and rejuvenated in our faith. We see that God is still faithful. God is still with us. God is still God. God still loves us and always will.
3. You see, worship has an impact on the believer.
A change happens in our lives when we come into God’s presence.
The Psalmist said it this way in Psalm 95:
1 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our
salvation.
2 Let us come before Him with thanksgiving
and extol Him with music and song.
3 For the Lord is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
|| 4 In His hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to Him.
5 The sea is His, for He made it,
and His hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
|| 7 for He is our God
and we are the people of His pasture,
the flock under His care.
(Psalm 95, NIV1984)
Worship allows us to come into God’s presence. Worship, thanksgiving, and gratitude toward God helps to put all things into perspective.
How The Masai Tribe Demonstrates Thanksgiving ...
By Sermon Central
From a sermon by Ajai Prakash, Thankful Worship, 11/19/2009
Copied from Sermon Central
The Masai tribe in West Africa have an unusual way of saying "thank you." Translators tell us that when the Masai express thanks, they bow, put their forehead on the ground and say, "My head is in the dirt."
When members of another African tribe want to express thanks, they sit for a long time in front of the hut of the person who did the favor and literally say, "I sit on the ground before you."
Those Africans understand well what Thanksgiving is and why it is different for us: at its core, worship and thanksgiving is an act of humility.
Worship helps us to remember our place. Worship helps us to lift up God.
Worship changes our hearts.
Worship is our response to God’s greatness, protection, care, and provision. After all, our worship is only possible because God loved us so much that He gave literally everything for us — His only son, Jesus.
In that alone we have reason to celebrate, to honor, to praise, to worship God above. When we worship, it will impact our lives, and change the way we live our life each and every day.
4. You see, worship becomes more than something we do on Sunday. Worship becomes a way of living.
Corporate worship helps to prepare us for going back out into the world — helps to focus our hearts on Him so that we can live a life of worship.
Paul writes in Romans 12:
1 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. 2 Do 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. (Romans 12, NIV1984)
It Was Pentecost Sunday. As The Congregation ...
By Bruce Howell
Copied from Sermon Central
IT WAS PENTECOST SUNDAY. As the congregation filed into church, the ushers handed each person a bright red carnation to symbolize the festive spirit of the day. The people listened attentively to the reading of the Pentecost story from the Book of Acts about how the disciples had heard “what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven”; about how the Holy Spirit had appeared “like tongues of fire.”
Then came the sermon: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon us,” the preacher began. “Like the powerful wind from heaven!” shouted a woman sitting in the first pew. Then she threw one of the red carnations toward the altar.
The preacher began again: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon us.” The same woman’s voice rang out again, “Like the tongues of fire, the tongues of fire!” Again, she threw a red carnation toward the altar.
The preacher looked straight at her and said, “Now throw your pocketbook.” To which the woman replied, “Preacher, you have just calmed the wind and put out the fire.”
We laugh at stories like these, but the truth is, the whole issue of giving our all — of giving our lives as a sacrifice of worship — is no laughing matter, is it? This is serious business.
Corporate worship prepares us, focuses our minds and our hearts, to go out into the world and give our all — be the living examples of God’s love to this world — and in doing so, we are offering our lives as a spiritual sacrifice on God’s altar. Remember the worship that God desires is worship in spirit and truth. Giving our lives as a spiritual sacrifice is worship in spirit.
Someone has once said that the problem with living sacrifices on the altar is that they crawl back off.
May that not be us. When we come to worship, may we prepare our minds, our lives, our hearts, to be God’s missionaries into our world today.
May we not have a consumer worship mentality, as we saw in the opening video.
May we live every day filled with worship.
May we put others first, before ourselves.
May we love others with the love of God.
May we be a beacon of light, reflecting the light of the gospel to this world.
May we truly live a life that honors, that worships, that praises God each and every day.
May we remember that our lives are about God and not about ourselves.
Conclusion
In our world today, there are so many things we could be doing on a Sunday morning, besides coming to church.
There’s sporting events. There’s work. There’s family outings. There’s social events.
There’s a lot of things that try to distract us from worship.
And while there’s nothing inherently wrong with any of these things, letting them come before God does present a problem. When our priorities are wrong, our lives will not be the worshipful, sacrificial lives God wants from us.
This morning, I pray that we will commit ourselves to regular worship. I pray that we will challenge and encourage those who are not with us to come — to join together — to be devoted together to the act of corporate worship. May we be united in worship as God’s people.
I pray that we will leave this place of worship today prepared to reflect God’s love into this world. I pray that we give our lives as a spiritual sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.
This morning, our first act of spiritual worship is to surrender our lives to Him. If you’ve not given your life to Him, I encourage you to begin fresh today. Begin to worship Him through the surrender of your life to His — to put on Christ. Then we can worship the One True God with our complete lives, each and every day.
