Deutero Q

How pleasing it must be to God to find a worshiper whose singular preoccupation is not with form or ritual, but with the One to whom the liturgy points. Likewise, how pleasing it must be to God to find a worshiper whose primary focus is not on charismatic experiences and spiritual gifts, but on the Giver of the gifts.

In short, worship acknowledges the triune God’s “worthship” and ascribes to Him the glory due His name.

I remember a helpful worship insight I heard from the Presbyterian minister Dr. D. James Kennedy. He said that most people think of the church as a drama, with the pastor as the chief performer, God as the prompter, and the congregation as the critic. But the truth is, the congregation is the chief performer, the minister is the prompter, and God is the critic. That is a good insight.

To put it more bluntly, God is the One who decides whether a worship service gets the “thumb’s up” or “thumb’s down.” God alone is the One who determines whether or not a service is acceptable or “rejectable.”

Unfortunately, the focus of too many worship services is on entertaining the worshipper rather than on pleasing the Lord.

Since worship should be God-centered, not people-centered, a good question to ask ourselves after a worship service is “How did I do?” In other words, was I focused on my feelings and needs or on God and His glory? God is concerned about our needs, of course, but we must remember that worship is not primarily about us but about the triune God.

One of the pastoral challenges I regularly face is trying to help people understand that worship, at its core, is not about liturgical style (whether traditional or contemporary) or personal preference. It can be easy to become fixated on a favorite song or preferred worship format, forgetting that these things are not our goal or destination; they are vehicles to help us glorify God.

The words of the psalmist are instructive: “Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness” (Ps. 115:1).