Attendance at public worship is both a privilege and an expectation.
We wholeheartedly agree that worship is not an option, as it is commanded by God; and that “to give up meeting together” (Hebrews 10:25) is not only in direct disobedience to God’s commands but also leaves us so much poorer in our relationship with God and His people.
Worship is also a privilege – to meet with our God, to hear from His Word, to fellowship with other believers, is the highest expression of our faith, a foretaste of heaven, and the ultimate joy of our hearts as we praise and glorify the One who has drawn us to Himself in Jesus Christ.
We also endorse, through our Church Order, that twice on a Sunday is not just a ‘nice to have’ but an expectation within our churches and for each and every member and their family.
With that in mind, we need to ask the question: Why does attendance in worship, and particularly in the second service, continue to decline both within our churches and others?
At the very heart lies the question: Why do I come to worship? And this question applies equally to one service or to many services on a Sunday: just because the attendance at the second service is suffering does not mean that the issue is unique to that time-slot alone. Is worship simply an item in our schedule – an appointment each week? Or a time for which we long, which cannot come soon enough, and often enough? Are the times of worship the highlight of our life and living in the presence of God?
The Psalmist writes: “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?” (Psalm 42:1-2)
Does our soul pant for the Lord? Is our whole desire a thirst for God, a longing to meet with Him? Augustine wrote “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You” (Confessions, 1.1), a concept that Blake Pascal in his work “Pensees” described like this: “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus Christ.”
Such a thought should not surprise us – for the Preacher already tells us that “He (God) has put eternity into man’s heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
We are relational beings – God has made us in His image and likeness. God Himself is God in trinity – three in one; we were made from the very beginning to be in relationship, and the only relationship that will last is with God.
This idea is also at the very heart of the Gospel. The entire universe – a gift beyond measure – was created by a good and gracious heavenly Father who filled it with good things to enjoy and moral laws by which to structure to our lives.
And yet, when we break it all down, the chief end of man is neither to enjoy the good gifts, nor obey the laws, but to joyously know and be known by our Creator and to glorify Him. It is not to receive whatever blessings we may find, but to be in fellowship with the Giver.
In worship, this loving relationship between redeemed man and God begins to be the way it is supposed to be. Our purpose, our fulfilment, our every delight, and even life itself flows from this relationship – which we have in Jesus Christ our Saviour and Lord. God wants nothing else from us but worship! What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and enjoy Him forever! (Westminster Shorter Catechism: Q&A 1)
Humanity has sought to find that meaning and purpose in every possible place, and with every possible means – and mostly apart from God – but believers are not exempt from this temptation. Although we know our rest is in God alone, we so often seek to find that rest in ways that meet our own needs, that fulfill particular desires and likes, and we find we can apply even the Scriptures to show that our way is right, that our understanding is correct, and that our version is the best.
It often comes down to this – what will it take to get us to show up? To be prepared for worship? Are we glad, as in Psalm 122, when other believers call us together to come in worship? Do we long to experience the fellowship, the united praise, the sense of eternal belonging that is described there?
Consider the question of Psalm 15:1 – “O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent?
Who shall dwell on your holy hill?”These are serious questions, questions that cannot be answered simplistically or casually, unthinkingly or blithely… these are questions that require the whole week to answer, and each and every week again: for these are questions of life and death, questions of acceptance or rejection, questions as to where our heart and soul and mind turns to find its rest!
Or, to go back to Psalm 42 – What causes us to thirst? How do we quench that thirst? As God’s people are called to gather, are we grieved when we are unable to be there? Do we find reasons to not be there – and would God approve of them?
Do we come with the mind to worship, actively, deliberately, with heart and soul and mind and strength, or do we come with our shopping list, our particular likes and dislikes, our own version of what the singing – sermon – praying should be like? Do we worship God who created us in His image, or do we worship a God we have created in our image?
For some, the church service becomes increasingly a demonstration of piety, a kind of spirituality at the heart of which is the Christian himself and the excitement of his experiences and feelings.
Others seek the preaching of the Word as an exchange of experiences and discoveries.
So often, we ask whether we go to church with a certain happiness and feel spiritually uplifted and renewed by the experience. We get confused – on the one hand we admit that worship is not about experiences, and yet we define our excellence of worship by how we felt.
We know that Christ is the centre of worship, yet we make it more about being a Christian.
Ask yourself: Should our experiences ever be the judge of our worship?
Should our desire to attend ever be driven by how we feel and what we get out of it?
Should our love for worship ever be primarily directed by anything we do, feel or receive?
With that in mind, different formats make little difference – churches can major on teaching, or on fellowship, or on music style, but in the end this does not change the heart.
People themselves come for various reasons – out of habit or tradition, out of family loyalty, even in some places as societal expectation, perhaps even a sense of guilt – but in the end these too are secondary issues. Some even come to gain favour with God, as if He would be impressed by our attendance.
It goes to the heart, and we, like all around us, continue to be affected and influenced by the world around us – a world that is consumeristic, self centred and individualistic. It is a world driven by the centrality of ‘me’; my needs, my rights, and my expectations. We assign value to ourselves and others based on the goods we purchase. Our identity is constructed by the clothes we wear, the vehicle we drive, the music on our playlist. Christ is demoted from Lord, and instead becomes yet another label, or style.
Quite simply, I believe, the struggles with attendance at worship is a matter of the heart – and a consequence of worldly influences creeping further and further into the people of God.
Too often, the questions we ask when it comes to deciding what to put in or leave out of worship services are: Is it attractive? Do I like it? Does it move my emotions? Is it what most people want? Instead of – what does God want? What do we as church confess?
Consumers demand options – but being made more Christlike is rarely getting what we think we want.
One of the greatest challenges for the heart that seeks God is to come to worship setting aside all thoughts of what I get out of it, and instead considers what I may bring to the Lord! “What shall I render to the Lord for His benefits to me?” Psalm 116:12.
Our only reason is to bring praise and glory to God. We have heard the voice from the throne saying: Praise our God, all you servants, you who fear Him, small and great!!(Revelation 19:5)
And from Psalm 100:1-2: Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!
When we consider the claim God has on our life, the salvation He has brought us, then surely our only response can be one of joy and praise? Do we fully realise the extent of God’s claim upon us?? Or the absolute wonder of His salvation?
What makes attending worship worthwhile for you? Do you hunger to give yourself to God in praise, and to your fellow believers in sacrificial love and service? Is worship a discipline of the heart – where even as we are torn by our own feelings, our own desires, and our own needs, we know they are met by the all sufficient grace of God even as we go to meet with our God?
Do we go to receive – or do we go to give glory to God? Yes – to receive is a blessing, but only as that gift changes our hearts, draws us closer to God, brings us ‘nearer, still nearer’, as we discover more and more what a great and awesome and gracious God we have!
Psalm 122 describes our joy as being where God is – rejoicing as we gather among and with God’s people – a joy that is secured, not in a physical city, but in the God to whom this points – to praise Him, worship Him. Psalm 122 is about the body of Christ, the temple of the Holy Spirit, the place where God dwells through His Spirit.
After all, this is where the Word of God is proclaimed; where the law is taught, where we come to be refreshed in worship, sharpened and equipped for the week that lies ahead.
It is where we get together to encourage each other, carry each other’s burdens, bring each other’s needs to God in prayer, teach our children and set them a strong godly example, even where disagreements are settled before the throne of God, differences put aside because of a humble togetherness in God’s grace.
Psalm 138 reminds us that worship begins with the character of God. God is to be worshipped – for who He is, in His covenant love, (vs 2); His truth as found in His name and word, (vs 2). It begins by calling us to worship with all our heart; singing His praises!
It continues by declaring that God speaks and acts when we call upon Him, as He exalts His name and His word, as He answers the prayers we bring, (vs 3) as He has regard for the lowly, (vs6) preserves life in the midst of trouble, (vs 7), acts against our enemies in deliverance (v 7) and fulfils His purposes in His people. (vs 8)
In other words, God is to be worshipped – because of His Word, as He reveals Himself, and because of His works, as He acts on our behalf. This is why we come – to know our God. This is why we rejoice to know Him better – not for what we get, but for what we may bring in response to such glorious grace! This is what brings us to our knees in submission, and calls our voices to sing His praise.
Any worship that begins with us and our needs is not true worship – any worship that is about what we get has a twisted focus – for to worship God with our whole heart requires all our mental, emotional and spiritual capacity. And with our whole being offered to God, there is no room left for self.
This is also where self-centredness in worship is a growing concern. As we live in a free land, where self is highlighted and elevated – the growing trend is to find a church that meets my needs – that sings the songs I like, or has the programmes my children need, or simply where I can go and not face the issues in my life, the people I have problems with, and so on.
This comes out particularly in the discussion around a second service – where the point is sometimes made that twice a Sunday is not a Biblical command – that the format of the second service, particularly with it’s focus on the Word as summarised in the Confessional Standards, is seen to be out of date or irrelevant; and the push focuses towards relevance and significance. The argument is made that time with family in this busy world, or the opportunity to ‘rest’ from our daily labour should not then be filled with yet another requirement.
And yet, the life we live, the thoughts we carry, the attitudes we nurture, the way our character is shaped and formed, the way we interact and react to those around us, ought to be measured, not just every now and then, but constantly against that which God has stated in His Word! Do we want to hear what He says? Will we judge the sermon, or will the sermon judge us?
Does the presence, the majesty, the holiness, the righteousness of God fill our thinking, or are we more concerned about our own needs, expectations, and demands?
Has our week been about ourselves, our needs, our lifestyle; or a preparation for bringing it all before the Lord? Will we use the coming week, in work, in parenting, in playing and relaxing and visiting and sharing as a time to live for the Lord, culminating in His presence again next Sunday
Think it through. These are questions all of us should ask ourselves all week as we prepare to worship our awesome God! Have we come to grow in our relationship with our Saviour? Are we filled with awe as we meet with the one to whom even the seraphs around His throne bow and cover their faces?
In that sense, the argument is never – what is required – or how much is enough – but rather – where would we rather be? Who would we rather be with?
Again, Psalm 138 reminds us why we worship our God – His steadfast love and His faithfulness, His ongoing revelation of Himself through His Word, a revelation which cannot be limited or at any time said to be sufficient – a revelation which takes us a lifetime to even begin to understand and appreciate –and a supply of strength, and hope, and joy that is there for the asking, where God who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think (Eph 3:20) and knows our needs better than we will ever know them ourselves!
Psalm 138 also calls us to look beyond our own boundaries, our own walls, even our own horizons – for as we come to God, as we worship and honour and praise Him, we see the eschatological vision – the universal praise of God, from the least to the greatest (vss 4-6) singing the ways of the Lord, and find our delight in joining that song, in bringing that praise, as we hear the words of His mouth, and come under His regard, and find it our joy in our weakness to come to Him who is our all in all
Psalm 138 also reminds us that we find our peace in the works of God, that we are safe in the presence of the Lord – His right hand delivers. He will fulfil His purpose for us – and where better to hear that purpose than where His word is proclaimed? How better to understand this than gathering in worship with all who have experienced His salvation, receive the forgiveness of their sins, and are accepted as children precious in his sight? All of which endures forever
Worship is a beautiful response to the grace of God! It is to bring praise to our God to whom we owe our entire existence, to meet with our God who is holy and righteous yet spending time in close fellowship with Him! It is a wonder and a privilege that both exalts us yet humbles us in His presence.
In the end, we need to examine our hearts. No one says this comes naturally to any of us – for we still live in a world of sin. We may be offended at any suggestion that we come for what we get, or in some sense worship a God we have limited and defined – but only we ourselves can examine ourselves and truly know our motives – even as God knows us intimately.
So: Why do we worship? Why do we come?
Because God is God. He keeps His covenant. He brings His Word. He answers our prayers. He works in us and through us – so that nothing is left of us and He is the totality of our existence. We worship from the heart – which belongs completely to our Saviour.
Mr Reinier Noppers is a minister in the Bishopdale Reformed Church.
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