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Could There Be Something Wrong with Our Worship?

Writer's picture: Luke HumphriesLuke Humphries

Updated: Jan 25


As our church is preparing to focus on the topic of worship for a few weeks, it would be helpful to ask the question, “Could there be something wrong with our worship?”  




We can respond to the question above, one of two ways. The first way is to say, “No, there is nothing wrong with our worship.” But where does that response place us in the history of worshipers? It places us on a level that even Israel could not ever attain, nor any churches of the New Testament could reach, or anyone in church history has ever been.


Bible Examples 

The history of Israel was a broken record of constantly needing to revive and reform their worship. One or two kings would lead the people to worship the idols of the nations around them. They may have a season of prophets and priests that would serve Baal and not Yahweh, and then a judge, king, or prophet would come along with the mission to reform Israel’s worship back to the Law (see the stories of Gideon, Hezekiah, and Elijah). 


Then you have the churches of the New Testament who were always being corrected or redirected by an apostle. The most obvious example would be 1 Corinthians 11-14, which are all about Paul correcting the worship of the church at Corinth. Even Jesus corrects the worship of the churches in his Revelation to John. The narrative of the Bible is full of God’s people stumbling in their worship and then, by God’s grace, being instruction by God’s servants for the correction of their worship.

Church History Examples 

Even a quick look at history, from the time of the apostles to today, reveals a timeline of ups and downs in worship, a swerve here, and a little correction there. The most obvious is the Protestant Reformation. As the reformers took to the scriptures, they reacted and pushed back against the worship of the Catholic Church, and much of what we do today as protestants comes directly from that work in the 16th century.  


But have we “arrived”? Is there any need for an evaluation of our worship, any unconscious swerves that need to correction? Of course. The right response to the original question, “Could there be something wrong with our worship?” must be yes. To be a Christian is to be aware that we can be influenced by sin and be completely unaware of it, and to be influenced by sin, is to be swayed away from God. As long as we are in this fallen world, we will forever be fighting against the drift of our “old self.” Like Jesus said, “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Indeed, the flesh, as it is tempted by Satan and the world, can have effects on the healthiest churches. There will never be a time when evaluation and correction of our worship is not needed. This is why I like to remind myself of a Latin phrase, semper reformanda, which means always reforming. 


Semper Reformanda 

This was a phrase in the 17th century, after the Protestant Reformation. It was a plea to the churches to remember they were still in the battle against the sway of sin. Though the work of the reformers had purified the worship of the church to a degree, to be satisfied and settle would only set themselves up to fall back again.

  

This mindset, always reforming, is what lit the way for the Puritan movement of the 17th century. The Puritans were given that name because they desired a pure church with pure worship, and they strived to submit everything to the standard of God’s word, their lives and their worship, and much of the form and shape of our current Lord’s Day gatherings exist because of the work of the Puritans. 

 

But overtime, the semper reformanda mindset began to fade. Individualism and the Enlightenment began to influence the church, and instead of reforming, which looks back to the scriptures for the goal, the church began to innovate, which looks away from the scriptures to find something new. Therefore, standards of the Reformers and the Puritans, which were the scriptures, waned, and a new standard began to emerge, “whatever works”, aka pragmatism.  


Three Things Remain 

Here we are today, on the heels of all that history, and three things remain. First, we must worship. Not only does God deserve and demand it, but he has also redeemed us for the purpose of worship. Second, we are still in these bodies of death, susceptible to the ungodly temptations, and capable of getting worship wrong. Third, God’s standard has never changed and is solidified in his Word.


A Humble Evaluation

Let me conclude by giving some help on how to evaluate your understanding and application of worship. Below are eight questions you can use that should stir up what is in your mind and heart regarding worship. Write these down on a piece of paper and sit them on your desk, the kitchen table, or on the fridge. Discuss these questions with your spouse, your kids, or some friends. Read Psalm 95 and Psalm 96 privately and with your family. Question what is going on in those passages. How does the worship described in those Psalms relate to your worship. Read John 4 and see Jesus' interaction with the woman at the well, as He talks to her about true worship. Read Jesus’ interaction with the Pharisees in Matthew 15 and see what Jesus says to them about worship. Look closely at Hebrews 10:19-25 and think about how we have been given by Christ access to the presence of God, and that we ought not only go there alone, but with the church. 


Questions: 

  1. What is worship?  

  2. What happens when you worship?  

  3. Who is worship for, you or God? 

  4. How important is worship for the Christian life? 

  5. Do you worship? Specifically, do you worship privately, with your family, and weekly with the church? 

  6. Does it matter how you worship? 

  7. Does God command you to worship weekly at church? 

  8. How important to you is weekly worship at church? 


As you consider all these things, remember who sets the standard for worship. “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:28-23 


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We are a church in Fulton Co, Arkansas seeking to set forth Christ at church, home, and in our communities. We are committed to the truth of the Gospel as found in the scriptures and living it out to the glory of God.

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Salem, Arkansas

 

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