"Worshiping God!"

“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).
“If someone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” (I John 4:20).
“Do you ever go to church and feel that what is going on is not really the worship of God, but rather the worship of worship itself? There is a variety of ways in which we all worship the Lord. But sometimes I think that our worship gets misdirected and we wind up worshiping our style of worship rather than the subject of our worship – Almighty God! What I am concerned about is how we have fallen into the habit of worshiping our style of worship. I am referring to the way we worship in praise or song. In some congregations the attitude is projected that “our way of worship is the only way to worship.” We may sing, “It’s all about you, Lord” while we are so fixated on our way of worship that we might as well be honest and sing, “It’s all about us, Lord, it’s all about us!”

(Victor Knowles – Adapted).

Worshiping a particular worship style can be sinful in that it focuses the spotlight upon what we do instead of who we praise. Likewise it can engender pride, focusing upon the performers rather than the Holy God, whether they are the clergy, the choir, the praise band, the worship team, or the people themselves. Then, too, worship styles can be quite divisive, as those who are convinced their styles are exclusively the God-approved ones and those persons who won’t conform to them are not brothers in Christ. Hence, those who worship by simultaneous prayer, shouting, dancing, and speaking in tongues shut out others. Those who refuse to use musical instruments reject those who do. Those who insist upon the use of but a single communion cup refuse fellowship with multiple-cuppers. Those who use only choruses, praise bands, exceedingly loud amplifiers, and dress casually denigrate those would choose other things. (“This is not your grandmother’s church! We are the church of the now generation! If you don’t like how we do church, please, just quietly go away!”) Those who prefer priestly ritual and liturgy, read prayers, candles, and darkened sanctuaries tend to segregate themselves, or exalt themselves, from others.
Worship should center upon God! Worship should never divide! Worship should never promote hate!
Whoever has ears to hear, let us hear!

Larry Atkin, Preacher