As of late, we here at South Cobb have been trying to help and aid our worship to God by changing a few things. For example, we have placed the announcements at the beginning of the service in the hopes that if we all know who is sick, then we will pray for them during times of prayer. We have had a class to encourage all of our men to get actively involved in the worship of the church, and beginning this Sunday we will incorporate Scripture reading back into our worship to God (this is exemplified in Nehemiah 8:4ff when Ezra read the Scripture and discoursed upon it). And, if God wills, we will be doing more to encourage our singing and praying as we continue to train others to get involved in the worship of God.
One of the things that people look for in a church is its friendliness and love, but also how the members worship God. If the church service is dull and boring, or if the members act like they are forced to attend (instead of wanting to be there), then it adversely affects all who attend. If the service is upbeat and thankful, then that is noticed. Our attitude toward worship is reflected in every aspect of our worship—our singing, giving, prayer, Bible teaching and partaking of the Lord’s Supper. If we are glad to assemble with the saints and worship the Lord, it will be evident to all. If we don’t want to be there, that will be evident as well.
The early church met daily to have fellowship, and, I believe, engage in worship to God. We read that they met specifically on Sundays (the first day of the week—Acts 20:7) to partake of the Lord’s Supper in commemoration of His death, burial and resurrection. As we partake, Paul tells us that we have communion with Christ and with one another (1 Corinthians 10). He is in our midst, observing us and our attitude about worship to Him. While we may “fool” the preacher, elders or even our own family, we have to be honest and know that God knows our hearts as we worship Him.
We don’t read in the New Testament that the early church met twice on Sundays. It is probable that they met once, but stayed together and worshipped as long as they needed to worship God effectively. If the account of Acts 20:7ff tells us anything, it is suggested that they worshipped and listened to Paul’s sermon for as long as six hours (assuming they met at 6 p.m., and Paul continued his speech until midnight). No one was in a hurry to get home or get to a restaurant to eat. Worshipping God was paramount on their minds and hearts, and such should be with us. Due to the fact that we are communing with God—should we place time restraints and restrictions on our worship? Are we in such a hurry to leave that we can’t spend extra time with our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus? Have we become so spiritual that we don’t need the extra time with God?
Some visiting preachers have commented on the fact that we do not have a clock in the auditorium here at South Cobb. That is done on purpose! I pray to God that all of us would check our watches and cell phones at the door as we come together to worship, so we will not allow the world to intrude upon this holy and sacred time. And I pray for the day that all of us, myself included, would not be so time conscious that we neglect this important aspect of our spiritual growth to God! We should not rush our worship, because anything rushed is something that lends itself to not being done well! WORSHIP SHOULD BE DONE WELL!