Our staff right now is reading a book together that focuses in on the marks of a healthy church. There are ten of them in all, but this week we focused in on God-Exalting Worship. The chapter cover the importance of God-honoring worship, the presence of prayer, Scripture reading, etc. One of the most importance aspects is talking to God vs. talking about God. It was an important point and one that I think most churches don't think of. I know I don't always think of it.
There was another sub-point that I believe was the most important: Worship on Sunday is a culmination and/or high point of what a worshiper is doing with God during the week. In other words, worship on Sunday does not stand on its own. Good worship is not a function of what the "worship team" does on Sunday, it is a function of what worshipers are doing in the course of their week. If a worshiper is worshiping during the week: prayer, Scripture reading, engaging in fellowship, then they are able to "maximize" their worship on Sunday - God does His greatest communal work on those Sundays. In other words, the greatness of your worship on Sunday morning is totally dependent on what you have done during the week. It also means that the pastor, worship team, etc and their performance are not completely responsible for your worship experience. They can't shirk their responsibility - everyone should expect the pastor and worship team to do 100% to create a great environment for worship, but your worship is not 100% dependent on others. Each one of us is responsible for worshiping on Sunday. The quality of your worship, the glorifying of God in your life on Sunday morning, fall on what you do during the week.
What are you do thing week to prepare for worship this coming Palm
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