Acting up in Worship

Worship gatherings are a wonderful place to fellowship, celebrate, and be edified.  I love to attend them and listen to laughter and music being made from the hearts of each attendee as they lift Jesus up, and to cheer on those who have surrendered their lives to Jesus and to joyfully sit around the supper table and eat the bread and drink the wine that represents Christ sacrifice.  Each gathering gives us hope and encouragement and gives us a boost.

I’ve often heard it said that there are five acts of worship in the gathering:  Giving.  Singing.  Preaching.  Lord’s Supper.  And, Praying.  I have searched the Scriptures to find it, but am not able to.  What I have found in Scripture that are acts of worship pertain to our daily lives. 

When I was a kid, we all attended our church gatherings.  When we were younger, we all had to sit with our parents.  For a while, six kids lined the hard wooded pews.  My dad was the lead and then my mother and then we followed from youngest to oldest.  We did not dare “act up in worship.”  If we did, somehow, my father’s arm got pretty long and we felt a pinch on our leg.  We had to stay still.  Listen.  No sleeping. No eating snacks.  No! No! No!  It was a time of strict silence.  Oh, we could sing when we were supposed to and we could give our quarter when the basket was passed and if we were baptized, we could take the Lord’s Supper.  Other than those activities, we didn’t dare make a sound or movement that was distracting. 

Years later, I have found that worshiping God is so much more than sitting idle in a building and going through “acts” of worship.  Worshiping God isn’t confined to a facility once a week and then it is over until the next week; rather, it is a daily opportunity to demonstrate to our God that all we have and all that we are is appreciated.  I love what Romans 16:1 says, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.”  (NLT) Whatever each of us do on a daily basis, whether it is working, sleeping, or simply walk about in life, give it as an offering to God first.  Once we give it to him, there is no taking it back.  This is worship!

While praying and singing and giving and preaching and taking the Lord’s Supper are all beneficial, they do not solely capture the essence of daily worship.  If on one particular Sunday I could not sing, does that mean I did not completely worship God?  Or, if I left before the sermon started, was my worship cut short, therefore, I did not fully worship?  If that were the case we would have a lot of people who do not fully worship God.  On the other hand, if worship is viewed as Ephesians 5:15 describes, “Be careful, then, how you live your life…” (NIV) our entire life would change.  Our music to God would be everyday, not just confined on Sunday.  Our giving would be everyday, not confined to Sunday.  Get the point?  Plus we would live Hebrews 10:24 out, “Let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds.” (NIV)

Let’s act up in worship…EVERY DAY!  When worship is our life, then it will be much easier to gather with our people to celebrate and fellowship and be edified on a Sunday!

Remember, Be God Controlled!

Brian