Wednesday, September 23

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GOD-PLEASING WORSHIP

One of the major problems with our worship is that we evaluate it by asking the wrong question. "Did you enjoy worship?" we might ask someone who's just attended a church service. But the point of worship is not that we enjoy it (although certainly we should), but that God is pleased by it and honored through it. A better question would be, "Did God enjoy your worship?"

I've enjoyed the few Broadway shows I've seen. I once tried to get tickets to My Fair Lady and could not-and ended up seeing a new show called Funny Girl with an unknown actress named Barbra Streisand. (I guess you could say I fell uphill.) In theater, you have the actors, the audience, and an unseen assistant called the prompter-whose job is to whisper cues to the actors when they forget their lines. Most of us have the idea when we worship in church that the preacher is the actor, God is the prompter telling him what to say, and the congregation is the audience. But this is wrong.

In worship, God is the audience, and the congregation is on stage. The preacher is simply a prompter, helping the people focus their attention on God. If worship is true and God-honoring, He is blessed by every hymn sung, every word proclaimed, every gift given and every testimony spoken. It is all about Him...and all for Him.

Memory Verse

PSALMS 149:4
For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation.

Read Through The Bible

1 Corinthians 15; Psalm 48