Intentional Worship

“You are worthy, O LORD our God, to receive glory and honor and power.

For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased”

(Revelation 4:11, NLT)

Karen Burton Mains wrote these well-phrased admonitions about worship in the preface of the hymnbook, Sing Joyfully:

“Worship has been defined as being preoccupied with God. How do we learn to become preoccupied with God? By cultivating intentionally. By deliberately turning our minds toward divine preoccupation. By developing worship habits and working on them. Intentional worship means a worshipper is not going to church expecting that worship will just happen; but intentionality means that a worshipper is going to church determined to make worship happen…

“A church bulletin aptly (said): ‘Too many Christians worship their work, work at their play, and play at their worship.’ We must learn to work at our worship so that preoccupation with God becomes delightfully habitual.

“The biblical ethic regards worship as work. Av’dh in Hebrew, dienst in German, leitourgia in Greek, service in English all have the double meaning of worship and work. In fact, liturgy means ‘common work.’

“We must remind ourselves, over and over, that the focus of Sunday worship must be upon the living Christ among us. In truth, if Christ were bodily present and we could see him with more than our soul’s eyes; all our worship would become intentional. If Christ stood on our platforms, we would bend our knees without asking. If He stretched out His hands and we saw the wounds, our hearts would break; we would confess our sins and weep over our shortcomings. If we could hear His voice leading the hymns, we too would sing heartily; the words would take on meaning. The Bible reading would be lively; meaning would pierce to the marrow of our souls. If Christ walked our aisles, we would hasten to make amends with that brother or sister to whom we had not spoken. We would volunteer for service; the choir loft would be crowded. If we knew Christ would attend our church Sunday after Sunday, the front pews would fill fastest, believers would arrive early, offering plates would be laden with sacrificial but gladsome gifts, and prayers would concentrate our attention.

“Yet… Christ is present.”

“You are worthy, O LORD our God, to receive glory and honor and power.

For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased”

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

References:

1) Karen Burton Mains, Sing Joyfully (Carol Stream, IL: Tabernacle Publishing Co., 1989), Pg. 3-6.

2) Robert J. Morgan, Preacher’s Sourcebook of Creative Sermon Illustrations (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2007), pg 814-815