I read an article a few months back and thought I would share part of it with you.
The following excerpt is taken from 4 Elements of Genuine Worship by Drew Smith, published on goodfaithmedia.org.
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If worship is the primary practice to which we are called, if worship is what can change and transform our lives, and if worship is what puts us in the presence of God, then how are we to experience this kind of worship?
1. Preparation
Athletes prepare for games. Entertainers prepare for the big show. Hosts prepare for their guests. Why don’t Christians spend more time preparing for worship on Sunday? Is it because we rely on others – the pastor, worship leader, musicians – to do the preparing for us? Worship, if it is to be transformative, renewing and decentering requires our preparation. This involves personal times of worship during the week – prayer, Bible reading, reflection and so on. It involves asking God to prepare us for corporate worship and to prepare us to receive and respond to God’s word.
If we are not experiencing life-changing worship, perhaps we are not preparing for corporate worship through our personal worship.
2. Participation
We live in a culture bathed in the “entertain me” mentality. We pay good money to go to movies, concerts and other forms of entertainment. We have hundreds of cable channels to choose from and Netflix. We are perhaps the most entertained culture in history. Yet, this often spills over into our worship as we come to be entertained. If worship is boring to us, we complain. If we are not being entertained by worship, we complain. But worship is not about entertainment. Worship is not about meeting my entertainment needs. Worship is about participation with the saints in the eternal praise and experience of God.
3. Expectation
Do we come expecting God to change us? Do we come expecting to hear from God? Do we come with prepared hearts and minds, wanting, desiring and longing to hear from God, to experience God’s presence and to be changed? Or do we come with our own agendas, distracted by our own lives and set on maintaining our status quo existence? We need to come prepared to participate and expect God to speak to us.
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So I challenge you with this: When you come through those church doors Sunday morning, come prepared, ready to participate and expecting God to move.
To read the full article, click here.