The Heart of Worship

I go to a great church! I was a little skeptical at first - the thing is huuuuge (think 3000 members) - but once you're plugged in and involved with a smaller group the opportunities are endless!

My friends and I go to Central's Five:33 Service on Saturday nights. Steve and the worship band rock! More often than not we end up 1-2 chair farther down the row because we were dancing and jamming to all the great music!

Last Saturday Pastor David started his Easter sermon series called "This Changes Everything." His first sermon was on The Last Supper. (Click here for a link to CCC's podcasts, then click "The Last Supper" for Saturday's sermon.) The entire sermon was about preparation for our worship experience each Saturday night/Sunday morning...which really got me thinking.

In September my brother and I threw my parents a 30th Anniversary party. It was a big shindig. 100 people invited, we sprung for their favorite band, we put a lot of thought into the decorations, we went all out. I started planning a party in January that wouldn't be happening until the end of September. It completely consumed my life for nearly all of 2008. It was a very important milestone in my parents' lives together...it deserved the celebration. Yet no matter how important that day was, or how many memories we made that day, it's temporary. It's fleeting. It's been forgotten by some of the guests. The decorations are in a box somewhere in my garage. Which makes me wonder...

If something that is temporary and fleeting garners that much of my time, effort, money, and attention then shouldn't God and my worship of Him be that much more of a focus?

How much time do I spend preparing my heart and my mind and my emotions for worship on Saturday nights? If I pray about the service at all it's a quick "bless those that are coming, Lord" and I'm off again. The things that are part of my relationship with God are eternal. They are lasting. They are forever! I should spend all week preparing for the time I spend with Him on Saturday nights. I should be praying for those that will be there. I should be praying for the praise band and the pastor. I should be praying for my own heart to be open, receptive, and ready for what God has to tell me.

The time I spend in worship at church shouldn't be when I wonder if I'm on tune harmonizing with the singers, or on where we should go eat after we're done. God deserves my undivided attention and honor. He deserves my worship to be a sacrifice to Him, not just a half-baked effort. He deserves far more than I'm able to give Him.

My prayer this week is that God would bring me back to what worship really means. That He would be the focus of my week. That I would spend every weekday preparing my heart, my mind, and my emotions for the time I spend with Him in His house on Saturday nights. I pray the same for all of you!