I like it

by Sam Lee

What does it mean to worship God? Why do we go to a church on Sunday? There are many reasons we gather together for worship. You may like the music or you go because you enjoy the sermon. Whatever the reason may be, does it really matter whether or not you liked it? Is worshipping God really about what you like about worship? Is that what matters? Perhaps we need to consider why we go to communal worship. Why do we gather together on a Sunday morning when we can listen to a great podcast or listen to a professional worship band that we can enjoy? Maybe worship isn’t so much about what we like but rather who we worship and the people whom we worship God with? In Matthew 15:8-9, Jesus quotes Isaiah to rebuke the Pharisees who saw worship as a set of preserving traditions and human rules. For Jesus, worship was not so much about what happens on the exterior versus what happens in the heart. Jesus cared about motives and why we do things versus how we look doing it. We know that God has always cared about what’s in people’s hearts. So when we ask the question about whether or not we liked worship or that we were entertained in worship, it is important

to ask the question for ourselves, what is worship? Is it really about what we get out of worship or is it about what we can offer to God? Is worship about being comfortable or being entertained or is it about giving glory to God and meeting God in community? This doesn’t mean that worship can’t be enjoyable or that it can’t be fun. But worship really is more about who we worship and what God has to say to us than how much we liked the music or the sermon. How can we then enter together in worship that is about meeting the eternal God, who speaks to us and call us His own? If you go to the worship section on our website, you will be able to read the rationale and the reason behind how we view worship. “In Spring Garden, we believe that communal worship is when God’s people gather together as a particular community for ENGAGEMENT in ROOTED and COMMUNAL worship, giving glory to God and witnessing to His Kingdom.” I would encourage you to take the time to read over why we do what we do. One question that may be helpful to ask is “why am I here?” Is it to hear from God? Is it to listen to a good sermon? Is it to meet my friends? Is it for my children? All of those reasons are not bad reasons but they are not the primary reason for why we come to worship God. Worship is God’s way of drawing us in: to turn our eyes off of ourselves and to look to Him. Worship is about God and not about us. The more we can focus on God and less about what we like, the more we can give space for God to speak to us.