Reverent Christian Worship - Psalm 29:2

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.
- Psalm 29:2

    It has been variously described as tedious, unstimulating, boring, dull, monotonous, and unimaginative. The “it” I’m referring to is the liturgy of a Christian service. This liturgy and there are many stylized versions of it, represents the manner of worship during services in our Christian churches. All those lukewarm descriptions of the liturgy are the excuses many give for not attending a traditional Christian service.
    Most people are aware of the Roman liturgy known as “the Mass.” For Protestants, churches can be divided into two major categories - “liturgical Protestant and non-liturgical Protestant.” I attend a “liturgical Protestant church” with a formal order of worship or set liturgy.
    Many denominations mean many forms of worship. Do they all give glory to God’s name? Do they all lead to worship in the splendor of holiness? “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!” - Psalm 95:6.
    God has commanded us to worship Him in awe, reverence, and fear - “Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!”- Psalm 96:9. It is true. When we attend service we should come prepared to worship God, the Creator, and Sustainer of the world. Our focus must be on reverently worshiping God, not on what best entertains us.
     At this point I would like to interject; there is a too familiar casualness that many Christians project when coming to worship services. Please, check the flip-flops and the mocha cappuccinos at the door. Adoration and veneration do not come glibly wearing cut-offs and tank or bringing egg McMuffins into the presence of the Lord. No, perhaps not of us all have suits or blazers but we all should have an outfit or two that can be seen as our “Sunday best.” And we can all wait for breakfast. Remember; we are in the presence of the Lord God Almighty! We should dress and conduct ourselves appropriately.
    Getting back to the subject of proper liturgical worship; when we attend service in the house of God shouldn’t our worship style reflect the reverence we have for our God? Shouldn’t the Holy Gospel be front and center of our worship? We can certainly be entertained by rock bands and carnivals at our festivals and congregational celebrations. We shouldn’t use them as worship tools in place of the Gospel.
    So what kind of worship does God want? Perhaps the words of Isaiah will shed some light on the subject - “And one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!’” - Isaiah 6:3. The angels proclaimed the holiness of God - the holiness of God, and we take it upon ourselves to approach worship with an air of informality? God’s holiness demands we approach Him with reverent respect. Even Moses was instructed to remove his sandals in the presence of God’s holiness - “Then he said, ‘Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’” - Exodus 3:5.
    Paul tells us how we are to approach God - “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” - Romans 12: 1-2. We are to present ourselves “as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.” That, I contend, is a far cry from treating Sunday service as a social club.
    Finally, as Peter instructs us - “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” - 1Peter 1:14-16.
    If your church presently allows distractions from proper reverent Christian worship, perhaps you’re attending the wrong church. Seek a church with an approach to worship that is grounded in the Gospel and the holiness of God.