Pursue: Worship
What is Worship?
This past Sunday, Blake pointed out something in his sermon that has really resonated with me and got me thinking quite a bit. He described the situation the Israelites were experiencing in Exodus 14 and their joyful response to God’s deliverance in Exodus 15. They worshiped in response to what God did. This brings up a very important distinction regarding worship:
Worship is not a means to experience God. Worship is a response to who God is and what God has already done.
Think about that statement for a minute. Does that statement align with what you think worship is? Does it align with our typical thoughts regarding worship?
Remember to Worship
In our culture, Christians and churches commonly use terms like a “worship service” or “worship experience” to describe the primary Sunday gathering. At Providence Road, we have been guilty of using that language too. However, based on what we see in Scripture, the people of God did not worship Him to “experience” Him, but instead they worshiped Him because of what they had already experienced! They remembered and then they worshiped!
Everyone was created to worship and as Blake mentioned on Sunday, because of the fall, we are prone to worship created things instead of the Creator. We all have a worship disorder! A big part of reorienting our worship is to remember what God has done for us. May the glorious good news of Christ’s rescuing of sinners never become old! May we always remember the good He has done for us!
Sunday Gathering
At Providence Road, we attempt to address each of these truths in every Sunday gathering:
Who God is – His majesty, holiness, and might.
Who we are, apart from Christ – alienated from God by our sin.
That God has made a way for us to be reconciled to Himself through Jesus Christ.
That redemption is promised, secured, and realized through the finished work of Christ.
Our hope is that every week – through the songs that we sing and the message that is preached – men and women would encounter the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, either for the first time or the thousandth time, and worship God for the rest of the week in response to what was declared.
