True Worship

 November 10, 2024

How do you know when you come to church you are actually worshipping God? Have you ever thought about that? What does genuine worship look like? Is it emotional? Does it make you feel happy, moved in your soul? Does it involve singing, praying, shouting, dancing, listening? We are told how important it is that we worship, but aren’t often told exactly what worship is, or how to do it. Listen to these words:

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” —Matthew 2:1-2, 11 

The wise men came to worship the newborn King, but notice what they did when they worshipped him. They GAVE him their treasures. The rest of this story has Herod asserting his desire to worship, but he made no effort to seek out the baby, but instead let others do the work. When he finally got around to it, his idea of worship was to make sure that he was in charge and that there was no contesting his authority. 

I have seen worship dragged down to this level when people insisted on having everything their own way. The songs are too repetitive, too loud, too mellow, it’s too liturgical or too loosey-goosey, the preaching is too long, too short…the list goes on and on. True worship doesn’t dwell on what I want from God, but what I can give to him. So…when you come to church, are you actually worshipping God?