Scripture Matters Podcast — S2E8 — Worship Matters

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It's Sunday morning and the chaos ensues.
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Somebody won't wake up.
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Somebody can't find their shoes.
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Somebody else is taking far too long in the shower.
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Coffee is poured.
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Breakfast is rushed.
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Clothes are ironed and children are getting dressed.
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Somebody is looking for a Bible that was right there just five minutes ago.
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Then somebody looks at their watch and suddenly everybody needs to move a little bit faster.
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Come on, we're gonna be late.
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Everybody piles into the car, but now somebody's irritated.
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Somebody else is frustrated because they believe the reason everybody is late is sitting right next to them in that car.
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Maybe there's a few words exchanged on the way.
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But then the car turns into the parking lot.
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Everybody gets out, and sometimes a little Sunday morning miracle happens.
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Everybody smiles.
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Mom and dad look happy.
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The kids look happy.
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Nobody walking by would ever know that five minutes earlier the car sounded like a family counseling session.
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So we straighten ourselves up, we walk to the door saying, Good morning.
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It's great to see you.
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As though the ride over was filled with gospel hymns and harmony.
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And somehow we made it.
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We made it, but did we?
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Well, our bodies made it into the building.
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But did our hearts ever arrive?
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Because think about everything we prepared for that morning.
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Yeah, we prepared our clothes, we prepared the children, we even prepared breakfast.
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We loaded the car, we checked the time, we even made sure we had everything we thought we needed.
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And then we walked into an assembly of God's people to do something extraordinary.
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Yeah, we came to worship the Almighty God.
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And maybe the one thing we forgot to prepare was ourselves.
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Then the first song begins, the prayers offered, the scripture is read, the Lord's Supper is placed before us.
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But mentally, maybe good folks, we're still sitting in the car, still thinking about that argument we had, still checking tomorrow's schedule, still replaying what happened yesterday, even still thinking about hey, what are we gonna eat after church?
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We're physically present, but spiritually we're distracted.
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And that raises a question that I'm not sure we ask ourselves often enough before we walk through those doors.
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What exactly am I about to do?
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Because worship is not simply another event on Sunday's schedule.
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No, think about it.
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We are approaching the God who created us, the God who sustains us, the God who redeemed us.
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So perhaps Sunday morning preparation should involve something far more than getting everybody dressed and arriving before the opening song.
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Hey, maybe before asking, did we make it to worship?
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We ought to be asking, good folks, did we prepare ourselves to worship before we got there?
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Yeah, because it's possible to occupy a seat in an assembly.
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And never truly consider the one before whom we've gathered.
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And if something this sacred has become ordinary.
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Perhaps, good folks, it's time for us to rediscover why.
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Worship matters.
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Right here on the Scripture Matters Podcast.
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You've tuned in to the Scripture Matters Podcast, produced and published in cooperation with the Waters Road Church of Christ.
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Looking for a church home in the Houston area that lovingly stands upon God's Word?
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Waters Road is the place where you belong.
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If you need more information about the Waters Road Church of Christ, check out their website at www.wrc.org.
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We'd like to thank each of you who helped make this podcast possible, especially the prayerful support of our wives and families.
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And now, good folks, let's get back to another episode of the Scripture Matters Podcast.
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It's Friday afternoon, good folks, and welcome back once again to the Scripture Matters Podcast.
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My name is Jonathan Sanford.
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I'm blessed to serve as the pulpit minister for the Waters Road Church of Christ.
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And across the screen from me at this time, as always, is my good friend and brother in Christ, Cliff Thompson.
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I'm blessed to serve as one of the shepherds here at Waters Road and teaching our adult Bible class program.
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Let me begin today by sharing with you just how glad we are that you have set aside this time to join our conversation this afternoon.
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Yes, we really are.
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And whether you tune in each and every week or you just happened to cross today's episode, we want you to know that the Scripture Matters podcast, as Cliff just mentioned, is truly a conversation.
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So if something Cliff or I were to say today gets your gears turning, well, folks, let us know by reaching out using the contact info you see right now on your screen.
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And right now, while you have a few moments, please do us a huge favor and click that like, follow, and subscribe button if you've not done so.
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And folks, you can really help support the Scripture Matters podcast if you share today's episode.
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Because by doing so, you really can help these conversations reach people we otherwise may never reach.
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And to those who've been doing exactly those things throughout the season, two words for you.
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Thank you.
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We're now into the second half.
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Hard to believe, Cliff, the second half of season number two of the Scripture Matters podcast.
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And the response that you continue to give this program is truly humbling.
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Yeah, last week's episode was entitled Prayer Matters.
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And during our conversation, Jonathan and I talked about what prayer is accomplishing even when we cannot see anything changing.
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Also, why some prayers seem to remain unanswered, and how prayer ought to shape our very relationship with God.
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And today we move into another part of that relationship, one that is deeply personal, but also something that God's people experience together each and every Lord's Day.
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Yeah, worship.
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And Cliff, I think one of the reasons why this conversation needs to take place this season is because worship can become so familiar to us that maybe we stop feeling the weight of what we're actually doing.
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Yeah, you know, we know what time the assembly begins.
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We know when and where we normally sit.
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We know the song, the prayer, the Lord's Supper, even the sermon.
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It can all become part of uh the rhythm of Sunday.
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And listen, there's nothing wrong with familiarity.
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But there is something wrong, however, if familiarity breeds thoughtlessness.
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It's an awful thought that we could approach the worship of Almighty God with no more preparation of the heart that we would give to just about any other appointment that's on our calendar.
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Yeah, especially when we remember who the worship is for.
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Amen to that.
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So today we want to talk about what worship really is.
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Who gets to determine how God is worshipped and whether worship can become about more the worshiper than the one being worshipped.
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And finally, what should be happening in our hearts before the first song is ever sung.
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And maybe that last question is the best place to begin, Jonathan.
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Yeah, Cliff, I think it is because there's a sentence I heard almost every Sunday morning growing up, a sentence that I did not appreciate near as much then as I do today.
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What was it?
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We get to go to worship this morning.
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Cliff, I heard those words from my mother, Lijay Mae Sanford, more Sunday mornings than I could even begin to count.
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Here's how it would go.
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She would open the door to my bedroom, and in that cheerful voice of hers, she would say, It's time to get out of the bed, Jonathan.
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We get to go to worship this morning.
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Now, I wish I could tell everyone here today watching that Jonathan Sanford threw those covers back and gleefully said, Praise the Lord, Mother, what a privilege.
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Um, but that's not exactly what would happen.
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You know, Jonathan, I had a teenage son not too many years ago.
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So if you were anything at all like my tray, I'm having a hard time picturing a joyful Jonathan response.
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I'm uh I'm guessing your mother probably heard something from underneath those covers that sounded a whole lot less spiritual.
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Oh, absolutely, Cliff.
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There were those mornings that she probably got nothing more from me than a grunt.
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I'm just being honest.
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I was tired.
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I wanted to go back to sleep.
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I knew someday meant Bible class and worship and coming home and then going back again that evening.
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But all these many years later, folks, there is one little word in what my mother would say that means now far more to me uh than it ever did then.
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She never said to me, Jonathan, we've got to go to worship.
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No, she would always say, We get to go.
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And you know, Jonathan, those two phrases may describe two completely different ways of looking at worship.
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We've got to go, sounds something on a schedule that has to be checked.
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However, we get to go recognizes that we have actually been given a privilege.
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Yeah, I think you're exactly right.
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And listen, Cliff, I'm not suggesting that everybody has to jump out of that bed on Sunday morning singing gospel hymns, okay?
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I mean, let's think about it.
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There are tired parents, difficult mornings, difficult children think about grief, stress.
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No, the the reality is real life does not stop just because it's a Sunday.
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No, and sometimes just getting everybody dressed and into the car feels like an accomplishment.
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But, you know, I'm thinking the question is what lies underneath all of that, Jonathan?
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Even on the difficult mornings, do we still understand why we're going?
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That's it, Cliff.
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And I wonder really how much of that ever truly gets communicated through the language that we use at home.
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Language like this come on, we gotta go to church.
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Or how about this one?
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Hurry up, we gotta be late.
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Like, or even this one, hey, we gotta go back tonight.
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Now, we may not mean anything by those phrases, brother, but our children, the reality is they are soaking them up.
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And trust me, they are hearing much more than just words being exchanged, they're watching our attitude.
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Yes, sir.
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I mean, if mom and dad consistently treat worship like an interruption to the weekend, eventually the children may begin to see it that way too.
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Yeah, I think that's something that uh we as parents need to think seriously about, my brother.
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Are our children growing up um believing that worship is something that we as Christians endure because God requires it, or are they learning that God's people uh gathering together and honoring him is something worth looking forward to.
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And Jonathan, that really connects with what we acted out in the code opening.
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You know, when when we can spend all morning getting ready for worship without ever actually getting ready to worship.
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Yeah, exactly.
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You think about it this way our clothes are ready, our kids are ready, our Bible is ready, our car is warmed up.
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But what about our hearts?
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And what about preparing the heart to actually look like?
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I mean, because I think somebody listening might say, okay, I understand the idea, but what am I supposed to do differently on Sunday morning?
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And I don't think that there is one ritual that everybody has to follow, but maybe I take a few minutes to remember what I'm about to do.
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Maybe parents ask something to their children about, hey, why are we gathering?
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Or maybe I turn down some of that noise and give my mind a chance to move toward God before I ever begin to walk through those doors.
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Yeah, I like that, Jonathan, because preparation does not have to be complicated to be intentional.
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No, it may simply mean refusing to let worship catch us spiritually off guard every Sunday.
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No, I think you're right.
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Because think about what we're about to participate in.
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We're going to sing praises to God with our brothers and sisters.
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We're going to pray together.
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We're going to remember the body and the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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We're going to hear God's word and encourage one another.
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You know, when you say it that way, Jonathan, it does carry some weight.
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You we can become so accustomed to doing things every week that familiarity starts taking away some of the awe.
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Yeah, and and I want you to think with me for just a moment.
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Maybe, maybe that's why Hebrews 12, 28 and 29 grabs me.
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Think about these words.
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Let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
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Now, you and I both know, brother, those are not casual words.
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Two words really stick out: reverence and awe.
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And notice that worship is being offered to God.
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That already tells me something about the attitude I should bring with me, Jonathan.
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I'm not walking into the assembly primarily asking, what am I going to get out of this?
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Hey, that's where this conversation, I believe, starts turning a little corner.
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Think about it this way.
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I am coming to offer something to God.
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And if we think about it that way, then worship cannot begin and end with whether I enjoyed it.
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And it also means God cannot simply be an afterthought once we arrive.
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If he is the reason we have gathered, then preparation begins by placing him back at the center before worship ever starts.
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Which makes me today hear my mother's words in a much different light.
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Now, teenage Jonathan heard get out of bed, okay?
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Adult Jonathan hears you've been given uh another opportunity to come before God.
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Not we have to, we get to, and once we understand that worship is a privilege being offered to God, another question becomes unavoidable, Jonathan.
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If this worship is truly for him, then who gets to decide what this worship ought to be?
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Jonathan, that question you just asked really does get to the heart of it.
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Because if I give someone a gift, I get to choose what I want to give them.
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But worship is different.
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I'm approaching God to honor him, and surely the one being worship has the right to determine what honors him.
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Oh, absolutely, brother.
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And I think we lose something important the very moment we begin treating worship as though God is simply expected to accept whatever we decide to bring him.
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Colossians chapter 3 and verse 17 tells us, and whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
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If I am claiming to act in his name, then his authority has to matter far more than my preference.
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And yet, preference has become a pretty powerful force in the way people talk about worship.
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We, you know, we hear things like, I like this kind of worship, I don't like that style.
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That church really does worship the way I enjoy it.
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Well, before long, we're talking almost like customers is comparing products.
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That's right.
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Consumerism, right?
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That is exactly what bothers me with this, Cliff.
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One of the most common things that you hear after an assembly is hey, I just didn't get anything out of worship today.
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And I understand what people mean often when they say words like that.
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Maybe that morning the sermon just didn't touch their heart.
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Maybe the song leader struggle, the singing was not quite as powerful as maybe it was in weeks past.
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Maybe somebody leading worship that day wasn't as prepared as they usually are.
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Those things can matter.
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I'm agreeing, those things can matter, but I still want to ask: was getting something out of it, getting something out of worship the primary reason why I came?
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Because there are blessings we receive when we worship together.
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We are taught, we're encouraged, we're reminded, and strengthened.
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Scripture certainly does not deny that, Jonathan.
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No, not at all.
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And I expect worship to affect me, but there's a tremendous difference between being blessed by worship and believing worship exists primarily for my satisfaction.
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One keeps God at the center, the other quietly puts me in the center.
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And once I put myself in the center, then I become the evaluator.
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Did I like the song?
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Was the sermon too long?
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Was the sermon too short?
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Was the room comfortable?
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Did I enjoy the way everything was done?
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No, you're right, brother.
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And before long, the worshiper has become the customer and the assembly has become the product.
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Then congregations um can begin asking, Well, hey, what will people enjoy long before they ever ask?
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What has God actually asked of us?
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And Jonathan, those are not necessarily the same question.
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No, they are not.
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First Corinthians chapter 10, verse 31 says, So whatever you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
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Now that should, those words should completely reorient our thinking.
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The ultimate question cannot be, did this glorify Jonathan or did this satisfy Jonathan?
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No.
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The question ought to be Did this ultimately glorify God?
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But Jonathan, now, if you don't mind, I want to push back on that just a little bit.
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All right.
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Somebody out there today could be hearing us emphasizing authority and say, well.
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Well, there you go.
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Worship is just about following the correct rules.
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Jonathan, surely we're not saying that either, are we?
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No, sir, absolutely not.
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And this is where Jesus' conversation, John chapter four, is important without turning it into a checklist.
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Okay.
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Jesus said that our Father God is seeking people who will worship him in spirit and truth.
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We've heard that thousands of times, right, brother?
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And then he says that those who worship him must worship him that way.
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God cares about what we bring him, but brother, he also cares about the heart that brings it.
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So what I'm hearing you say, Jonathan, is sincerity does matter.
00:22:54.400 --> 00:22:56.160
Oh, tremendously matters.
00:22:56.400 --> 00:23:04.240
But sincerity by itself does not give me the authority to redesign worship around what I want.
00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:05.279
No, exactly.
00:23:05.519 --> 00:23:21.119
And on the other side of that, doing everything outwardly according to scripture, brother, that does not excuse a heart that is cold and completely disconnected from God.
00:23:21.759 --> 00:23:26.799
Jesus does not let us choose between spirit or truth.
00:23:26.960 --> 00:23:31.599
No, God desires both spirit and truth.
00:23:31.759 --> 00:23:36.880
And Jonathan, that is important because sometimes those two things get separated.
00:23:37.119 --> 00:23:40.319
One person says, Our worship is biblical.
00:23:40.559 --> 00:23:48.160
Another person says, Our worship is heartfelt, as those ought to be competing ideas.
00:23:48.480 --> 00:23:51.359
And they should never be in competition.
00:24:01.759 --> 00:24:02.559
I don't want that.
00:24:02.640 --> 00:24:14.559
And I don't want something, on the other hand, emotionally powerful, and expect that to become my justification for doing something that God never asked me to do.
00:24:14.960 --> 00:24:19.200
So maybe the question is not simply, did worship move me?
00:24:19.440 --> 00:24:22.480
Right, because plenty of things can move me emotionally.
00:24:22.559 --> 00:24:24.960
And I'm sure it's the same way for you, brother.
00:24:25.279 --> 00:24:28.640
Music moves me in so many ways.
00:24:29.039 --> 00:24:30.640
Movies move us.
00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:33.119
A sporting event can move me.
00:24:33.359 --> 00:24:34.960
I know that quite well.
00:24:35.279 --> 00:24:41.279
Emotion is real, and emotion does belong in our worship.
00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:44.559
But emotion cannot become our authority.
00:24:44.799 --> 00:24:47.279
And neither can tradition, Jonathan.
00:24:47.440 --> 00:24:53.119
We've always done it this way, does not automatically make something right.
00:24:53.359 --> 00:24:55.440
And nor does the opposite.
00:24:55.599 --> 00:24:58.400
Hey, nobody's ever done it this way before.
00:24:58.559 --> 00:25:00.079
So let's try it.
00:25:00.240 --> 00:25:03.680
No, the question remains the same.
00:25:03.839 --> 00:25:06.640
It's always, what does God desire?
00:25:07.359 --> 00:25:12.000
Which really changes the way we walk into an assembly, Jonathan.
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We're not customers entering a business waiting to see whether the experience earns a good review.
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No, God is not the invited guest at our worship service.
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We are the ones who have been granted the privilege of coming before God.
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And once I understand that, then I'll stop asking worship to revolve around my taste and my comfort and my schedule and my preferences.
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And maybe I also stop thinking only about myself once I get there.
00:25:50.559 --> 00:26:00.799
And that's exactly, brother, where we want to go next in this conversation because wow, there is another side of this consumer mentality.
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Think about it this way: a customer asks, hey, what am I getting?
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But scripture gives me a responsibility toward the people who are sitting around me.
00:26:15.039 --> 00:26:24.000
Which means my presence in the assembly may matter for reasons much bigger than simply what I receive from being there.
00:26:24.240 --> 00:26:25.279
Absolutely, Cliff.
00:26:25.440 --> 00:26:32.960
And that raises, I think, another question that we need to have the courage to discuss here today.
00:26:33.599 --> 00:26:42.240
When I repeatedly choose not to assemble with God's people, am I only affecting myself?
00:26:42.880 --> 00:26:44.240
No, no, Jonathan.
00:26:44.319 --> 00:26:46.799
I don't think we are only affecting ourselves.
00:26:46.960 --> 00:26:50.000
And Hebrews 10 makes that pretty clear.
00:26:50.240 --> 00:26:53.359
We usually go immediately to verse 25.
00:26:53.440 --> 00:26:53.519
Yes.
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And not neglecting to meet together.
00:26:56.960 --> 00:26:59.359
But Jonathan, verse 24 comes first.
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Sure does.
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Let us consider how we stir one another to do what?
00:27:05.839 --> 00:27:07.839
Love and good works.
00:27:08.160 --> 00:27:13.200
You know, when I realized that a few years ago, it really became a game changer.
00:27:13.440 --> 00:27:14.799
It's a game changer.
00:27:14.880 --> 00:27:21.200
When you think about this verse, my brother, it completely changes our perspective.
00:27:21.519 --> 00:27:25.759
We often talk about what I miss when I'm not there.
00:27:26.240 --> 00:27:31.119
And certainly I think I miss something when I'm not at my uh gathering of God's people.
00:27:31.279 --> 00:27:43.839
But scripture also makes me consider what my brothers and sisters may miss because I was not present there amongst them to encourage them.
00:27:44.160 --> 00:27:47.759
Yeah, somebody may need to hear your voice singing beside them.
00:27:47.839 --> 00:27:53.680
You know, somebody may need the conversation you have with them before worship even begins.
00:27:54.000 --> 00:28:00.880
Your presence, your example, and your encouragement, folks, those things matter.
00:28:01.359 --> 00:28:10.799
Yeah, especially when you consider that worship was never designed to center around me as a consumer.
00:28:11.039 --> 00:28:15.039
I don't assemble uh merely to receive.
00:28:15.599 --> 00:28:27.599
Part of my responsibility on a Lord's Day is to help stir up my brothers and sisters, as you said from the scripture, to love and good works.
00:28:27.839 --> 00:28:31.119
And we ought to make an important distinction here, Jonathan.
00:28:31.359 --> 00:28:36.559
We're not talking about the person who is sick, physically unable to attend.
00:28:36.720 --> 00:28:42.720
Maybe they're caring for someone, or maybe they're dealing with circumstances genuinely beyond their own control.
00:28:42.960 --> 00:28:43.759
No, absolutely not.
00:28:43.839 --> 00:28:46.079
And I'm so thankful that you brought that up.
00:28:46.240 --> 00:29:04.079
We're talking about today someone who can assemble with God's people, but this person repeatedly and willfully chooses not to do so because, hey, something else always seems to matter more.
00:29:04.640 --> 00:29:17.440
You know, if worship truly matters to God, I cannot treat gathering with his people as optional and convenience myself that my relationship with him remains unaffected.
00:29:17.680 --> 00:29:21.839
Eventually, Jonathan, our choice reveals what we value.
00:29:22.160 --> 00:29:23.920
Yeah, certainly they do.
00:29:24.160 --> 00:29:27.359
And I hope we're not convinced of that that within ourselves.
00:29:27.519 --> 00:29:31.920
Cliff, that brings me back to my mother for just a moment.
00:29:32.720 --> 00:29:39.119
She's been gone now since 2017, but I can still hear her voice.
00:29:39.359 --> 00:29:47.680
Um, I can still remember those mornings hearing that door open and my mother's voice ringing out.
00:29:47.839 --> 00:29:54.480
Jonathan, it's time to get out of the bed, and we get to go to worship this morning.
00:29:55.359 --> 00:29:59.359
Teenage Jonathan heard, I have to get up.
00:30:00.160 --> 00:30:07.599
I wish I could go to my mom right now and tell her how differently those words ring to me.
00:30:07.839 --> 00:30:13.519
Yeah, brother, because now you understand what she meant by we get to.
00:30:13.759 --> 00:30:14.559
Yeah, I sure do.
00:30:14.640 --> 00:30:18.240
And here's something else that I understand now.
00:30:19.359 --> 00:30:27.920
One Sunday I will assemble with my brothers and my sisters for the final time on this earth.
00:30:28.079 --> 00:30:34.799
That's a reality, and I probably won't know uh at that time that it's my final time.
00:30:35.039 --> 00:30:49.680
Yeah, there will be a last song, a last time I gather around the Lord's table, a last prayer with the church, a last sermon I hear, or perhaps the last one I ever preach.
00:30:50.160 --> 00:31:00.160
And when I think about that, I mean, wow, brother, worship then starts to feel a whole lot less ordinary.
00:31:00.480 --> 00:31:02.640
It becomes a privilege again.
00:31:02.880 --> 00:31:03.599
No, exactly.
00:31:03.759 --> 00:31:13.039
Good folks, please, please listen to what Cliff and I have to say for these last few moments of today's conversation.
00:31:13.519 --> 00:31:28.640
We get to gather with God's people, we get to encourage one another, we get to remember Jesus Christ, we get to lift our voices, we get to bow our heads and open his word.
00:31:29.200 --> 00:31:38.480
And because the worship, folks, it belongs to him, then he deserves so much more than my leftovers.
00:31:38.799 --> 00:31:40.559
Uh, do you agree with that, Cliff?
00:31:40.720 --> 00:31:41.519
Oh, yes, sir.
00:31:41.759 --> 00:31:43.519
A hundred percent, Jonathan.
00:31:43.839 --> 00:31:50.160
God deserves more than my convenience, more than my preferences.
00:31:50.480 --> 00:32:00.079
He deserves to have a heart that has been prepared to honor him and worship him according to his will.
00:32:00.480 --> 00:32:07.039
That's why worship should never become merely another item on Sunday's schedule.
00:32:07.279 --> 00:32:14.480
And it should never become something that is centered just about what I want.
00:32:15.039 --> 00:32:20.640
The privilege is ours, yes, but the glory belongs to only one.
00:32:21.599 --> 00:32:22.240
Amen.
00:32:22.480 --> 00:32:26.880
Amen, Jonathan, because worship matters.
00:32:27.279 --> 00:32:30.400
Well, with that, folks, we are out of time.
00:32:30.720 --> 00:32:35.680
But thank you, good folks, for spending this time with us in today's conversation.
00:32:35.839 --> 00:32:44.160
Again, if today's conversation has challenged you or encouraged you, please, please share this with somebody else.
00:32:44.319 --> 00:32:52.079
And be sure to like, follow, and subscribe so that you can continue with us throughout season number two.
00:32:52.319 --> 00:32:59.599
And as always, folks, we appreciate every one of you who help make these conversations reach beyond this table.
00:32:59.920 --> 00:33:04.640
So until next time, this has been a privilege of ours to gather with you.
00:33:04.720 --> 00:33:06.799
My name is Jonathan Sanford.
00:33:06.960 --> 00:33:11.599
And I am Cliff Thompson, reminding each and every one of you out there to stay focused.
00:33:11.839 --> 00:33:13.680
Folks, stay grounded.
00:33:13.920 --> 00:33:17.680
And remember, good folks, Scripture Matters.
00:33:18.000 --> 00:33:19.359
Goodbye, everybody.
00:33:19.599 --> 00:33:23.920
Thanks for spending part of your day with us on the Scripture Matters Podcast.
00:33:24.319 --> 00:33:28.319
We'll be back with a new conversation every Friday at 3.30 p.m.
00:33:28.640 --> 00:33:32.640
on YouTube, Facebook, and all major podcast platforms.
00:33:33.359 --> 00:33:36.799
Until then, may the word guide you and your week.
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And as always, remember Scripture Matters.