Why the Church? Worship

June 23, 2022 (Thursday)

Long ago God called a man to dedicate himself and his descendants as a special people for God. He was Abram, soon to be known as Abraham, father of a great multitude. His grandson, Jacob (renamed Israel) moved to Egypt with his family. The Israelites, as they became known, were treated well until they grew great in numbers. The Egyptians then feared the Israelites and enslaved them. The Israelites cried out for deliverance, and God raised up from among them a man named Moses to lead them out of Egypt to a land of their own, promised to them by God.

On the way to the Promised Land, God gave them a system of worship that included animal sacrifices. The very best of animals owned by these people were brought to their Tabernacle to be sacrificed by the priests. Many years later, a Temple was built in Jerusalem, in the promised land, and sacrifices were made there. This is how they worshiped God. They sacrificed animals, grains, etc. They brought the sacrifices, gave them to the priests, and the offerings became the Lord’s property. This was the way they worshiped.

Many years later, Jesus, the Messiah, came and provided genuine forgiveness of sin through His own death, burial and resurrection. The Messiah’s blood was the perfect sacrifice, and the animals, etc. were no longer required for worship. That’s when the Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians that, just as the Jews had worshiped by giving animals, now Christians were to worship by giving themselves. . Here’s what he told them: “.. I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship” (Romans 12:1 NIV). Total commitment to Christ is the style of worship that we are to follow.

In the Old Testament, Jews provided sacrifices to God. In the New Testament, God Himself provided the sacrifice: His own dear Son.

Your Proper Worship – A Living Sacrifice (Romans 12:1)

Christ became our sacrifice for sin, and with no more animal sacrifices required, we give ourselves to the Lord as an act of worship. This is our worship: surrendering our lives to Christ. “Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling.” “I surrender all. I surrender all. All to thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.”

Worship at its heart for us Christians is the surrender of our lives to God’s complete control.

The church today provides opportunities for worship services at various times, and the services include singing, preaching, giving offerings, prayer, testimonies of faith, and perhaps more, but the worship takes place within us as we come face to face with our Lord and become living sacrifices. This is our true and proper worship.

When we go to church, worship is not only what takes place around us; worship is what is going on in our hearts. Are we surrendering our all to the one we are worshiping? That is the ultimate act of worship.

“Lord, Thy love at last has conquered: None of self, and all of Thee.”

The printed order of these five objectives is not necessarily the order of importance. They are all important, and each one is needed in the church. Local churches determine priorities as they are led by the Holy Spirit.