Transformational Worship

Joanne Weil describes the time her young son asked what was the highest number she had ever counted to. She didn't know, but she asked about his highest number. It was 5,372.

“Oh,” she said. “Why did you stop there?”

“Church was over,” he replied. (Mike and Amy Nappa, Bore No More! Group Publishing, p. 7; www.PreachingToday.com)

All too often, people are distracted in worship or just find it boring. So how can people have a more meaningful worship experience? How can YOU experience worship in such a way that it transforms you, not just tires you? How can you let your worship experience change you, not bore you. How can your heart find strength when you worship? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Hebrews 13, Hebrews 13, where the Bible shows you how your worship can be a transforming experience.

Hebrews 13:9 Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. (ESV)

Paul is writing to a Jewish audience, and the Jewish religion has a lot of rituals, some of which include the eating of certain foods. As you know, Jews cannot eat pork and shellfish. In fact, they must eat only kosher foods, but Paul says their food rituals do not benefit them.

You see, there is no benefit in religious ritual of any kind. Following the rituals of any religion do not make you stronger. Religious activity does not free you from sin or make you a better person. No!

Only the grace of God can do that. Only God’s supernatural power, given freely to those who depend on Him, can strengthen your heart. So trust Jesus with your life. Depend on God’s power to change you, because that is far superior than depending on any religious ritual.

Hebrews 13:10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. (ESV)

“The tent” is a reference to the Jewish tabernacle, the center of Jewish worship, for centuries. And that tent had an altar, but we who follow Christ have a better altar. We have a superior altar, from which nobody else can eat.

The book of Hebrews was written to Jewish followers of Jesus, but they were going through some very tough times, and they were not sure that following Jesus was worth it. They saw their Jewish neighbors going to that great bronze altar at the temple in Jerusalem. There, they slaughtered a bull, gave part of it to the priests, grilled the rest and shared it with their friends. Their Jewish neighbors were enjoying grilled steak and having a party while they were being persecuted for their faith in Christ. So Paul has to remind these persecuted believers that we have a superior altar.

We have a better altar where God’s grace strengthens the heart. Grilled steak from the altar in Jerusalem fills the belly, but God’s supernatural power from heaven fortifies the soul.

Listen to what the author of Hebrews says in another context about his own pain in 2 Corinthians 12: To keep me from becoming conceited… a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me… Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).

God’s grace strengthened his heart in his pain, and God’s grace will strengthen YOUR heart, as well. God’s grace will give you supernatural power to face anything life or Satan throws your way.

Kate Bowler is an associate professor of the history of Christianity in North America at Duke Divinity School. Kate has terminal cancer and has written a new memoir, Everything Happens For A Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved. In a recent interview on NPR's Fresh Air (February 2018), the interviewer asked Bowler how she managed to feel loved by God even after enduring major cancer surgery and its aftermath.

Bowler responded that she discovered a gift in her cancer. She realized how fragile life is for everyone, and that realization connected her with the pain of other people. Here are Bowler's own words:

You notice the tired mom in the grocery store who's… struggling to get the thing off the top shelf while her kid screams… You notice how very tired that person looks at the bus stop. And then, of course, [you notice] all the people in the cancer clinic… [It] felt like I was cracked open, and I could see everything really clearly for the first time. And [I didn’t] feel nearly as angry as I thought I would… Granted… I have been pretty angry at times, but… mostly… I felt God's presence… It was less like… important spiritual truths I know intellectually about God. There are four of them. I have a PowerPoint presentation. It was instead more like the way you'd feel a friend or… someone holding you. I… didn't feel quite as scared. I just felt loved [by God]. (Teri Gross; “A Stage-4 Cancer Patient Shares The Pain And Clarity Of Living 'Scan-To-Scan,'” NPR Fresh Air, 2-12-18; www.PreachingToday.com)