WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?
Part 1: Worshipping God

Dr. Richard J. Henderson May 8, 2005

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Psalm 95:1-7
John 4:19-26

Introduction

We begin a series of sermons this morning on worship. We are calling it, "What are we doing here?" Today we begin with the foundation: what is worship about? Why do we come here and do this anyway? I think this is particularly relevant right now because there are many different styles of worship, and different meanings behind them. Why do we do what we do?

A friend of mine, who not long ago became a Christian, told me of visiting a mega-church in our area. She was surprised by what she saw. "There wasn't one cross in the entire building! The sanctuary looked like a huge theatre. The service was a show! Performers acted, a band played, it was like being at the Fisher Theatre. There wasn't a Call to Worship, Prayer of Confession, or any kind of creed. Instead, the band played, there were a couple of skits, and then a long sermon. There was a fill-in-the-blank form that came in the bulletin, and you were supposed to fill in the answer as you listened to the sermon. I felt like I was back in first grade! I didn't feel like I had been to church, I felt like I had gone to a good show. I'm surprised they even call themselves a church!"

Her strong comments raise the question we look at today - what are we doing here?

I

The primary answer to that question is "We are here to worship God." The main reason you and I gather here today is for God - to praise, thank, and worship the One who made us. We are not here to entertain ourselves.

We are here for God more than we are here for ourselves. In a culture that is enormously "me" centered, we are able to break that pattern and come to worship God, who is greater than we are. When the "me" culture oozes into our worship it is dangerous. You can find several Sunday services that are entertaining, but what are they about at their heart? There are quite a few nearly professional performances, but who are they for? In trying to draw in more people, do you sacrifice your very reason for being?

II

Those who conduct entertainment services respond that they are doing this on Sunday morning in order to reach the "unchurched." Most often, these churches have a Wednesday evening service more geared toward worship and learning the Bible. The problem I have with this is that it is setting up a false image in order to draw people in. They go against the purpose of worship in order to get more people in the door. There is a price to pay for that.

I received this flier in the mail just before Easter; maybe you did too. Two parents are dragging there son up the steps of an obviously traditional church. An old lady stands at the top. The caption reads, "Easter doesn't have to be a DRAAAAG!"

Apparently, the most important thing about Easter is that your child not be bored. Never mind that the Son of God died on a cross for us and rose on Easter...what really matters is that Johnny experience a twinge of boredom during that Easter service. Most parents learn at some point not to teach a child something that you will have to "unteach" later on. That is, we don't want to mislead a child, because eventually you will have to go back to say, "Well it's not really that way, we just told you that."

For example, if you teach your child that a stork brings babies, you will have to tell your child at some point that it isn't true (hopefully!). Then one day your child may say," Why did you tell me that? Every time a big bird flew over our house I was hoping I'd get a new brother or sister!" The child will wonder why you didn't tell him the truth in the first place.

We don't want to teach something we will later have to admit isn't true. There is a certain degree of dishonesty in that. To entice people to church with worship as entertainment means that at some point you have to say, "OK, that's not really what worship is about, we just did that to get you in the door. Worship is really for God; ignore what we're doing Sunday mornings."

III

The paradox is that the more we keep the true meaning of worship, the more helpful it is in our lives. When we keep worship centered on God, we get more from it. When we lift up people who we care about in our morning prayer, entrusting them into God's care, we are able to release them into God's arms. When we pray the confession with all our hearts and souls, we are relieved of guilt and find ourselves drawn closer to God. When we sing glad praises to God, our own lives are enriched. When we hear scripture in context and a biblical sermon based on that text, our lives can be changed. In honestly offering to God, we receive from God.

Anne LaMott has written about the radical change that happened in her life as she changed from aimless hedonist to committed Christian. Her book, Traveling Mercies, is unlike any spiritual autobiography you have ever read. I guarantee it. She gave her life over to God after attending a worship service (in a Presbyterian church). She writes: "One week later, when I went back to church, I was so hung-over that I couldn't stand up for the songs, and this time I stayed for the sermon, which I just thought was so ridiculous, like someone trying to convince me of the existence of extraterrestrials, but the last song was so deep and raw and pure that I could not escape. It was as if the people were singing in between the notes, weeping and joyful at the same time, and I felt like their voices or something was rocking me in its bosom, holding me like a scared kid, and I opened to that feeling - and it washed over me. I began to cry and left before the benediction, and raced home..."¹ She went back to her houseboat and as she entered the door, she opened her life to God. Her life was changed in that service forever. When we worship God, it changes our lives.

Conclusion

The main reason we come to worship is to thank and praise the God who created us. When we do that, we are often touched by the good news and our lives are changed. Fred Craddock tells the true story of a freshman who came to talk to him. She said, "I was a failure in my classes; I wasn't having any dates; and I didn't have as much money as the other students. I was just so lonely and depressed and homesick and not succeeding. One Sunday afternoon I went to the river near the campus. I had climbed up on the rail and was looking into the dark water below. For some reason or another, I thought of the line, 'Cast all your cares upon him for he cares for you.'" She said, "I stepped back, and here I am."

Fred asked, "Where did you learn that line?"

She said, "I don't know."

"Do you go to church?"

"No...Well, when I visited my grandmother in the summers, we went to Sunday school and church."

Fred said, "Ah..."²

Amen.

Footnotes:
(1) Anne LaMott, Traveling Mercies
(2) Fred Craddock quoted in Craddock Stories, edited by Mike Graves and Richard F Ward. St Louis: Chalice Press 200, p. 33.

©Richard J. Henderson 2005