The Worshiper’s Responsibility: Are You Preparing Your Heart For Sunday?

I can count on one hand the amount of weekends in the last 5 years where I simply “attended” church with my family.

I’m always on the worship team, leading people.

And I love it. I wouldn’t have it any other way. But occasionally it’s refreshing to simply come and worship.

The only problem is I have a hard time worshiping. I’d rather judge, critique, compare, and find my identity in the fact that I’m better than the worship leader I’m watching.

It’s not a new phenomenon to judge the worship team. We all do it all the time.

• I don’t like that song
• This music is too loud
• The pastor’s message isn’t expository enough
• My head hurts from those drums
• Why are those lights flashing?
• I would do things better if I was leading

And that’s understandable. We all do it. It’s a room full of people, with eyes on the stage. It’s bound to happen.

But what I want to present in this post is a challenge. You, child of the living God, have a responsibility on Sunday morning. It’s not just the pastor, emcee’s, and worship team who do. It’s the worshiper’s responsibility.

Consider Psalm 96:8:

“Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come into his courts.
Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth.”

Church isn’t about the “professionals” entertaining the attendees.

We all need to bring something – to come ready.

Worship is my responsibility. It’s your responsibility.

An Apology

Please forgive we worship leaders and pastors for communicating that this is a show. It’s never our intention to simply entertain the room like a Friday night concert.

We face a tension every week between glorifying God, reaching our culture, and creating a place for believers to be transformed into the image of Christ. We haven’t always done the best job.

But more than ever, I believe we needed to be reminded that we’re all on the worship team. You have a responsibility to worship. I have a responsibility to worship.

I get it. Preferences abound in the room. And for a consumer activity, that is perfectly fine.

When I go on vacation, I have preferences for how I want my hotel. No cockroaches in the bed. A hot tub somewhere in the building. An exercise room that is larger than my bathroom.

When I go to Chipotle, I don’t want them to serve me whatever they want. It’s my burrito bowl…my way, right?

There’s a place in life to demand your preferences – to get what you “pay” for.

What if Every Worshiper Did This?

But the gathered church isn’t a place to consume. In a sense, it’s a place where we are to be consumed by God – to get lost in seeing His glory, shouting His praise, treasuring His Word, hearing His voice, and loving His people.

We’re too quick to judge, too prone to close our hearts before God has a chance to show us anything.

Consider a few questions:

• What if your decision to worship on Sunday was unaffected by the songs that were played?
• What if you continued to cry out to God in between songs?
• What if you prayed and prepared yourself for worship before coming to church?
• What if you lead the way with your desperation for God?

Think about it. What would our worship services look like if we all showed up like this?

Sure, the worship team still has an important responsibility to do their part in leading singable, engaging worship. But you know what? They need your love and encouragement more than your criticisms and complaints.

And even if the worship doesn’t suit your preferences, are you just going to watch or tune out?

Even if you don’t know a song you can still treasure Christ as you listen, ponder, pray, and believe the lyrics.

Even if a song is hard for you to sing, you can still allow its truth to stir your affections for Jesus.

This is what I am challenged to do as a worshiper. We worship leaders are sorry for serving ourselves. We are hungry for God and want to create a clear path into His presence. We will keep working to get better at that.

But we all have a responsibility to prepare our hearts and come ready to worship.

Are you in?

Question: What would it look like if you prepared your heart to worship God every Sunday? What if you made a decision to not depend on a song, style, worship leader, or band to lead you? How would that change the worship at your church? Let us know in the comments.

[ois skin=”Beyond Sunday 2″]