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For the Father is seeking such to
worship Him. John 4:23
When we gather as a church on Sunday morning to worship, who is at the center of our worship? Some people pray to Jesus and worship Him as well. But in Matthew 6:9, Jesus taught His disciples to pray to the Father; "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name." And when it comes to the worship service on Sunday morning, we should be there to worship the one God who exists in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Let's not forget the Holy Spirit; sometimes He gets put on the back shelf by a lot of professing Christians. He is a separate and distinct person of the Godhead. Without the work of the Holy Spirit, no one would come to faith in Christ. He illuminates the heart and mind and leads us into truth.
Now some people come to worship the Great I Am as if He is a friend, kind of carefree. They like to quote John 15:14-15, where Jesus referred to His disciples as friends. Then in John 20:17, He calls them brethren. It would seem that Jesus used these two descriptive words as a show of love and affection. The use of those words did not take away from His Lordship or being the Son of God. He is still equal with the Father and remains the Great Creator and Sovereign Lord of the universe.
The God that we gather to worship on Sunday morning is the One who struck down Ananias and Sapphira when they lied to the Holy Spirit. He is the same God who said in Deuteronomy 32:39, "Now see that I, even I, am He, and there is no God beside Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; nor is there any who can deliver from My hand."
In Hebrews 13:8 it says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." Although we live under the new covenant and are in the age of grace, our God has never changed. Today we worship the same God that created the heavens and the earth. The God we worship in 2023 is the same as He was in 33.
In Isaiah 6:3 the prophet makes an interesting statement. He says, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory." Nowhere in the Bible will you find it written that He is loving, loving, loving. He is a holy God, high and lifted up, who is worthy of our praise, worship, and adoration.
Should we come to worship the Great I Am in a carefree, joking, light-hearted manner? Or should we come in humility and reverence asking for His blessing as we offer the sacrifices of praise and worship to Him. In Isaiah chapter 55, God invites everyone to come to Him. Anyone who is thirsty can come to God and take of the water of life freely.
But as a warning, He also says in verses 8-9, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." Do we come on Sunday morning to worship God with a humble, reverent spirit? Some humor in the service can be good, but when it becomes irreverent and coarse joking, we need to adjust our attitude.
Contact the author at thoughtsonword@gmail.com if you have any comments or questions.
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Lyndon Stimeling, of Richfield, has been writing about faith and family for many years. He has self-published four books, Common Thoughts on The Word in 2016, Eye of a Needle in 2017, Common Thoughts on The Word II in 2019 and A Bridge Between in 2023. He has also had articles published in The Coming Home Journal and local newspapers and has written a children's book.