April 17, 2000

FAMILY MATTERS:
Will the real worshippers please stand?
___Are you a true worshipper?
___Do you encounter God when you attend your "worship" service?
___Are our churches houses of worship or houses of preaching? Or both? Or neither?
___Is it even correct to ask this question?
___How closely are preaching and worship tied?
___Where does preaching fit into worship?
___Is preaching worship?
___Are singing praise songs and lifting up prayers worship?
___Now there may be definite "amens" to these latter questions, but how many of our congregations truly enter a worship service expecting to see God move in a mighty way?

STEVE SMITH Minister to Singles Prestonwood Baptist Church, Plano

How many leave the worship service having been changed by the events of the worship?
___If church is about changing lives, about exalting the name of Christ, then why do week in and week out so many leave unchanged?
___Perhaps this is due to their own spiritual immaturity, but possibly it is because the pastors and music ministers, not to mention the members, have a misconception about worship. Maybe each is too concerned about his or her own area of expertise or reason for coming and fails to see the big picture of the worship encounter.
___Everyone would agree that worship is a necessary part of the Christian life, and perhaps it should be the most important part. Yet, so many people in worship services fail to worship.
___Ultimately, we must understand that anytime God encounters man, there is the potential for worship.
___The question is: Are our churches worshipping?
___Worship is recognizing the "worth-ship" of the one being worshipped, in this case, the worth-ship of God.
___In German, the term Gottesdienst means "God service and service to God." It is both God ministering to us and us ministering to God.
___The French le culte and the Italian il culto both refer to "a lifelong engagement ... a relationship for giving and receiving."
___Moreover, worship is active, not passive. It involves interaction between humanity and God. Worship is a dialogue--"God comes to us, speaks to us, and we respond to God."
___Are you interacting with God?
___Who is worthy in your eyes?
___Are you a true worshipper?
___It is when we recognize God's worthiness and our unworthiness that true worship begins (Isaiah 6).
___


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