By Brother Matthew Henson
In my travels, I have the blessing of joining many congregations in their Sunday morning worship experiences. I have participated in traditional, liturgical worship experiences; contemporary worship experiences with talented worship teams; and a blend of both guitars and drums with organ and piano. No matter the “type” of worship experience, I have sensed the power of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our community gathering.
The Sunday morning worship experience serves a variety of purposes as we join with other Jesus followers to sing, pray, and hear God’s word proclaimed. We seek the opportunity to pull away from the busyness of life to spend time encouraging and being encouraged; placing our focus on Jesus; finding respite and renewal from the struggles of the week. We are encouraged in Hebrews 10:24-25, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
We also come to Sunday worship experiences to place our focus on Jesus: to worship and to adore him. The definition of worship found in the Arndt Greek English Lexicon states that worship is “to express in attitude or gesture one’s complete dependence on or submission to a high authority figure, (fall down and) worship, do obeisance to, prostrate oneself before, do reverence to, welcome respectfully.” When we come to the worship experience as a community, our motivation should be at first to focus on Jesus and to confess our absolute need for Him to be the guide for our lives. In John 4:23, Jesus, in talking with the Samaritan woman, says, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.”
God desires our worship, not for the style or the instruments used, but for us to come to worship with our eyes fixed on Him as we surrender our lives. When focus is placed on the Father and we seek Him in the Spirit and in truth, we will discover the troubles, trials, and frustrations of this world no longer have control of our attitude and our perspective. As we come in worship, we see our world in a new light because we no longer place ourselves at the center of the world. As we come in the Spirit and in truth, we place ourselves in the position to hear from the Lord through the lyrics of the songs; the spoken words of liturgy, Scripture, and sermon; through the quietness in moments of prayer.
The beauty of the worship experience places us in the position to sit at the feet of Jesus, while joining in community to worship together. We are touched in our spiritual lives and our relational lives as we come together to worship Jesus and encourage one another as we live the adventure of being a Jesus follower in our world today.
As you approach the weekly worship experience at your local church, do you enter with your focus on Jesus? Or, do you find yourself falling into the rut of another task on the “to-do list” that needs to be completed for the week, missing the worship Jesus invites us to experience? Does the community with whom you worship encourage and support you in your daily adventure of following Jesus? How are you encouraging others in your worship community in their discipleship?
Prayer: Lord, I want to worship in the Spirit and in truth where you are the focus. Forgive me for the times worship has become about me and my preferences. As I show up each week, help me see where I can encourage others in their adventure of following you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
