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PASSIONATE WORSHIP
Exodus 8:1-7
Luke 18:9-14
August 16, 2009
Right about now you’re probably asking yourself, “What do a plague of frogs, a Pharisee, and a Tax Collector have in common? It sounds like a start to a bad joke, not a sermon.” Although, some of you think my sermons are a bad joke. Did you catch the reason why God told Pharaoh to let my people go? It wasn’t because they were suffering badly (although they were), it wasn’t because he had a job for them to do (although he did), and it wasn’t because they are his chosen ones (although they are). The reason to set them free was, “so that they may worship me.” We need to understand right now that worship of God is important to God.
That word, worship, has changed a lot in meaning over the years. In Jesus’ day it meant to go to the big Temple in Jerusalem, and present your Temple tax and a sin offering (John 4:20-24). It was a one way devotion to God. After Jesus’ Ascension to heaven we entered the Apostolic age (Acts 24:12-14). The Sabbath was moved from Saturday to Sunday. Every week they shared Communion and celebrated Easter, because they were certain Jesus would return before the next Sunday. And something new came along – preaching. Each Saturday in the synagogue they would do some teaching on a Scripture, but this was different. Now, each Sunday, the Christians would meet separately to hear a message preached on the need to repent and be saved; this was topical, not Scriptural.
After the Apostles died off we enter the time of the Church Fathers, or the time of the great persecutions. Christianity came under attack. Jewish Christians were kicked out of the synagogues. Jewish worship began with a curse on Christians called the ‘Birkat Ha-Minim’ – “Let Nazarenes and heretics perish as in a moment; let them be blotted out of the book of life and not be enrolled with the righteous.” The Romans made Christianity and illegal religion. Christians could be hunted down, murdered, and their possessions stolen. Worship went underground. Christians met secretly, in small groups, so as not to attract attention. You could bring a visitor to hear a short sermon about Jesus, but they had to leave when Communion was served. Word on the street was that Christians ate the body and drank the blood of their Savior – they were cannibals. Baptism only happened once each year, on Easter; because it exposed the church and made it easy to find and punish new members.
After Constantine becomes the Emperor Christianity not only becomes legal, it becomes the preferred religion of the state. We enter the medieval period and worship changes again. Early on there is no New Testament and everyone who knew Jesus personally (or knew someone who had known Jesus personally) is dead. Most of the people cannot read or write. So, Scripture never comes up in worship. We memorize creeds and litanies that we recite each week such as the Apostles Creed. Or, how about this, “The Lord be with you …” We bring stained glass into the church so we can see the Bible stories since we can’t read the Bible stories. Communion is celebrated each Sunday, but the service is in Latin – so the people don’t know what is being said. They just know when to stand up and come forward. Prayer is not a part of church. Prayer, like confession of sins, is private.
In 1517 Martin Luther inadvertently launches the Protestant revolution. Half of the world breaks away from the Catholic Church, and worship changes again. The Bible is translated from Latin into the language of the people, so everyone can read for themselves. Reading Scripture becomes significant in worship. Preaching comes back, but this time it is more about the words of Paul, and how to live correctly, than about the words and life of Jesus. Prayer becomes a significant part of the worship experience. Communion and Baptism come along whenever they are convenient. This is how worship is practiced for the next 400 years, until the 1960’s.
In the 1960s everything changes. Television arrives. For the first time we can see what is happening in a war half way around the world, as it happens. War becomes horrifying, and polarizing. Whether you are for the war, or against it, you accuse the other side of being unpatriotic and un-American. Racial violence is beamed into homes of people who had never even thought about the issue. ‘The Pill’ comes along, and suddenly there don’t seem to be any adverse consequences for having sex outside of marriage. There is a complete loss of respect for established institutions, and that includes the Church. Much of what happens during worship begins to focus on social reform.
The 1980s are the height of the ‘me’ generation. I don’t need a church; I can have a personal relationship with Jesus. Worship is when I meditate on my life and my interaction with my Savior. I don’t completely understand the Bible, and I’m not a part of a community that can explain it to me, so I’m free to interpret and believe whatever I want to. In fact, I can leave out the parts of the Bible that I don’t agree with – it’s only a book. It is my experience of God that matters.
We reach the 1990s and people begin to recognize there is value in being a part of a faith community. When your world falls apart, when you spouse abandons you, when you’re diagnosed with cancer, when your children fall victim of drug abuse it is good to have other believers around you. But, I don’t want all of the nuisance of churchy church. I want to agree with everything I hear otherwise I’ll go somewhere else. And, I want to feel better about my life.
We see the rise of the mega church. Worship is contemporary and entertaining. Communion is almost never served. Baptism is not for the whole church to watch, it’s something we do afterwards, so we don’t mess up the worship experience for everyone else. The worship experience is all about what God can do for you; God’s amazing forgiveness, God’s amazing salvation. You should leave church feeling much better than when you arrived. Worship is completely dominated by preaching, on a topic that will encourage you, with sprinklings of Scripture to help make the point. In 2000 years worship has gone from being exclusively focused on God, to being exclusively focused on man.
Now, why have I spent so much time talking about what worship is and how it has changed? Because, September is the month we are going to aggressively pursue inviting people to church. And, worship is invariably our first point of contact with the unchurched. Visitors don’t start with the Men’s group, or the support group, or Sunday school. They start by coming to worship, and if they like that, then they will try the other activities. So, it is important for all of us to be on the same page and mean the same thing when we invite someone to worship.
If we take the time to really work through the Bible here is what we know. Worship is an intentional encounter with God. Throughout our week we have several God moments, where we are surprised and our faith is encouraged. Worship is the one time when we come together planning on having a God moment. It is not a weekly obligation, it is a joyful coming out. The Greek word in the New Testament which is translated as ‘Church’ is ekklesia, which literally means ‘called out of the world’. It can mean those who are saved being separated from the unsaved. But, a secondary meaning is to put the world away, step away from all that is not God, and intentionally come into the presence of the Savior – to be ‘in church’. Worship is holy.
The contemporary church is right about some things; worship does change and affect us. “God uses worship to transform lives, heal wounded souls, renew hope, shape decisions, provoke change, inspire compassion, and bind people to one another.” What we experience during worship is a part of our encounter with God. In our New Testament reading the Pharisee is going through a memorized formulaic prayer. He’s says what he’s supposed to say, when he’s supposed to say it. The Tax Collector is pouring out his heart; he is beating his breast; he is crying over his sin. Jesus tells the crowd, “I don’t know what the first guy was doing. But, the second guy, he was in church.” So, the contemporary model is right that something should happen to us when we gather.
At the same time worship must be God directed as well; that’s why He set the Israelites free. Jesus says the greatest of all the commandments is, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind” (Luke 10:27). Worship is how we fulfill the greatest commandment. In order for us to love, or worship, God with our entire being we must involve every capacity we have. That’s why worship must include singing and praying – these actually touch an emotional center in our brain that mere words cannot. Worship must involve Scripture and preaching – because our intellect has to be trained and directed to a Godly viewpoint. Communion and Baptism must be a part of corporate worship, involving the entire faith community. Because, God says these two sacraments connect us physically, emotionally, and spiritually to Him.
Finally, worship must be participatory. It is not something that is just done to you. It is not entertainment. You are responsible for being in worship – both physically and emotionally. That is part of the God directed aspect of worship. And because of that you have some responsibilities. First, be on time, be in place, and be reverent. That’s not because I care about you disrespecting me. I am unimportant. But, how do you explain to God that you couldn’t be present for the start of worship because you needed to finish one more story about what you did yesterday before you could leave Heavenly Perks and take your seat? What does it tell a first time visitor when the acolytes can’t come forward to light the candles because the aisle is filled with people still milling around?
Secondly, keep up with your responsibilities. Nothing in this church is mandatory; everything is on a volunteer basis. If you volunteer to lead the invocation, assist with Communion, give a children’s sermon, or sing in the choir – you need to keep up with that. What does it tell a first time visitor when none of the people scheduled to lead worship that Sunday show up for church, and we have to scramble around and find last minute substitutes?
Thirdly, examine your motivations. When you make a recommendation on a change in worship, is it to make the experience more meaningful (more worshipful), or is it to exert your influence over those around you? John Wesley was adamant when he set up the Methodist Church that the Senior Pastor has complete and exclusive control over the worship service. He, or she, doesn’t have to answer to a presbytery, or a consistory, or a board of deacons or elders. He, or she, alone makes the decision on worship. However, that doesn’t mean that suggestions won’t be welcomed.
Last Sunday Del Thomas approached me after worship. He said, “It bothers me that we don’t stand for the reading of Scripture. The Bible is the holy word of God, it is sacred, and it is to be revered. Sitting while we read seems less than respectful to God.” I can see his point, and I can agree with that. We stood for the reading of Scripture today, and we will probably keep that up. If he had come to me and said, “When I was a kid we stood up for reading the Bible and I want that changed now!” I’m not so sure I would have made the change. His reason was not to bend the rest of the church to his will, but based on worshipful respect for an Awesome God. What does it say to a visitor when we worship not just with our mouths, but with our entire being?
Why am I spending so much time on this? Because, in September we are going to emphasize inviting people to church. We are going to ask them to, “Come and see!” Statisticians tell us that a visitor will make up their mind in the first six minutes whether they want to come back a second time or not. How we approach worship could affect their decision to give their life to Jesus. It’s that important.
Last week I challenged you, by the time you arrived at church today, to have a specific name in mind for the person or family you want to invite in September. Here is why. Who that person is, will determine which service you invite them to. If your invitee has a church background that is either Methodist, or Catholic, or Presbyterian, or Anglican, or Episcopalian – they will be most comfortable at the 11:00 traditional worship. They will recognize the creeds, the litanies, the prayers and the Communion service.
If your invitee is completely unchurched, or Baptist (and those are not the same thing), they will be more comfortable at the 8:30 contemporary service. It doesn’t have the rigid structure, all of the standing and sitting, or any of the memorized responses. It is much more guided and beginner friendly. Now, this is critical. You must make a decision which worship service will minister to them the most, and then you must come with them. If you are an 11:00 person, but your invitee is an 8:30 personality, you must come to the 8:30 service with them.
Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations (worship is our first point of contact with the ‘nations’ the unchurched and the unbeliever), baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (worship is where we practice the sacraments of Communion and Baptism), and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you (worship is where we read the Bible, and teach on its meaning and relevance. It is where we exhort and encourage one another to obedience to Christ). And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20) (we serve a living Savior, our worship is to a living Jesus Christ who watches and embraces us as we worship).
By today you were to have the name of the person or family you will invite in September. By next Sunday you should make a decision on which worship service will benefit them the most. If it is the ‘other’ service, perhaps you should attend that worship next Sunday so you will be able to answer any of their questions. We are attempting to live out with our bodies the faith we profess with our lips. What you do in September could have eternal consequences. God bless and keep you.
Robert Wuthnow, After Heaven: Spirituality in America Since the 1950s (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1998), all.