Is Your Worship Worthwhile?

Last December my wife and I attended a holiday concert at our daughter's high school. The choir and orchestra performed traditional selections from "Deck the Halls" to "Joy to the World," and concluded with a rousing rendition of Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus." It was powerful music with a powerful message—but my enjoyment deflated a bit when I read a disclaimer printed at the bottom of the program. It said: "This presentation of traditional holiday music includes incidental religious content. This content does not constitute an endorsement by the school district of any religion or religious doctrine."

Now, I understand that school officials are under pressure not to violate the separation of church and state. But it was sad to see the magnificent lyrics of songs like Handel's *Messiah *dismissed as little more than "incidental religious content." I felt sorry for the students who sang and for the audience who listened, because the printed disclaimer seemed to caution, "Don't take any of these words too seriously—we don't really mean what we're singing."

Sadder still, some church bulletins could include the same disclaimer. Instead of feasting wholeheartedly on the Word of God, the Lord's Supper, and the fellowship of the saints, do we simply go through the motions? Instead of being gripped by soul-stirring praise for Almighty God, do we become passive spectators, assuming the role of critic, or (perhaps worst of all) mouth bland words that convey no more than "incidental religious content"?

Jeremiah challenged the worshipers of his day to reform their ways instead of trusting in deceptive words (7:1–8). Solomon warned, "Guard your steps when you go to the house of God" (Ecclesiastes 5:1). Amos revealed God's disgust for empty, hypocritical worship (5:21–24). Paul warned that some Christian gatherings were doing more harm than good (1 Corinthians 11:17).

No doubt some blame for the worship blahs belongs to leaders who plan or preach poorly. Many of us can identify with the little boy who asked his parents about a plaque displayed on the church wall. His parents told him that it was a memorial to those who died in the service; and the little fellow asked, "Did they die during the morning service or the evening service?"

Some worship services indeed seem lifeless and boring. Leaders owe it to the Lord, and to the people who attend, to ensure that the church's corporate worship is meaningful and worthy of our wonderful God. But many times the problem isn't the leaders; it's our own hearts. Effective worship isn't just something to conjure up at 10 o'clock on Sunday morning; it's an attitude—a lifestyle—to cultivate in everything we do.

We hear a lot today about seeker-sensitive worship. But God himself is the most important seeker. According to Jesus, the Father seeks worshipers who will honor him "in spirit and truth" (John 4:24).

So isn't it time we join David and say, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name"? Can we become more like Isaiah who glimpsed God's glory and responded, "Here am I, send me"?

I attended another program at my daughter's high school during the holiday season. This time, the entire concert consisted of selections from Handel's Messiah. The printed program offered an interesting historical detail: after a performance of the Messiah, Handel himself once commented, "I should be sorry if I only entertained them the audience and the performers. I wished to make them better."