Monthly Archives: April 2021

Putting Zeal Back Into Our Worship

Let it be understood at the outset that the worship I am contemplating here is scriptural worship. Jesus said that those who worship God must do so in truth (John 4:24). By this He meant it must be scriptural or according to the revealed pattern (Heb. 8:4,5). Anything less than this is already vain worship (Matt. 15:9). If you are engaging in unscriptural worship practices, you may feel satisfied, at least for now, but God is neither glorified nor pleased. That is not even under consideration here. We are dealing here only with scriptural worship.

Having said that, another aspect of true worship about which Jesus spoke is worshiping in spirit. To worship in spirit is to worship with the right moral attitude and with the proper emotional response. In the worship of Jehovah, the heart and spirit must be actively engaged. Sometimes in the courses of our lives, we may grow calloused and our worship may become commonplace to us or mundane. It may become old hat or just a matter of going through the motions. It is then that we must try to rekindle the fire of our first love (Rev. 2:4).

In this article, let me presume to make some practical suggestions that may rekindle the fiery flame of zeal in our worship.

Get a good night’s rest
I think I would list this as the most important thing you can do individually to maximize your own worship. So many times people come to worship and Bible study only to use it as a place to sleep. (I confess that I have struggled with this problem at times.) I realize that in our day and age we become so exhausted because of work and family activities. But we need to make a very serious and conscious effort to find a way to truly rest and sleep before coming to worship.

I know how hard it is sometimes to stay awake, especially if the speaker is flat or dry. But while a gifted speaker will try and make his sermon interesting, as long as he is speaking the truth, that is the most important thing and deserves to be heard. I also know many people have medical problems that could affect their ability to stay awake. Even taking a short nap just before coming to services would help greatly in staying awake and lucid. A lot of the time, however, the attitude of the listener affects the way the speaker is heard. The listener often prejudges the speaker and shuts down emotionally and cognitively before the lesson is even had a chance to develop.

On one occasion, the apostles Peter, James and John fell asleep when Jesus asked them in His most trying hour to watch with Him. When He came back and found them asleep, He asked them this pertinent question: “What, could ye not watch with Me one hour” (Matt. 26:40)? That is a question we should ask ourselves. It would do well to remember Paul’s admonition: “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed” (Romans 13:11). Many places stand to sing the song just before the sermon. This helps to get the blood flowing and rejuvenates the worshiper some before sitting to hear a sermon.

Let Your Devotion Be Centered On God and Not Yourself
Worship services are not for our entertainment. God did not command worship so that we could be amused or awestruck by the activities. Worshiping God means offering our praise and adoration of Him. It is a solemn, holy occasion. David said, “But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple” (Psalm 5:7). Again, David wrote, “Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness” (Psalm 29:2). And again, “Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy (Psalm 99:5). Worship is not about us. It is all about God.

Make sure there are no hindrances to your worshiping God
Another problem we sometimes face is that we bring the rest of our problems with us when we come to worship and they preoccupy our minds so that we cannot concentrate clearly. Are you thinking about what you will have to eat later? Are you thinking about work, friends, your upcoming vacation, etc.? Does a problem with a brother or sister cloud your thinking during worship? Take care of this problem first before you come to worship lest your worship be hindered (Matt. 5:23,24).

Get your wardrobe ready the night before
This has been a practice of mine for many years. Instead of waiting till Sunday morning to rush around to try to find matching clothes that are not in the laundry, find your clothes the night before and have them ready. This will save a lot of time and will allow to think about expressing your attitude in worship with the way you dress. If we think about dressing appropriate to the occasion, perhaps the Lord will not ask “Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless” (Matthew 22:12).

Have your lessons ready for Bible class
If you take the time to go through your Bible class lesson, it will greatly aid you in being mentally prepared as you study God’s word. This will also carry over into the worship service. It will allow you to be prepared to ask or answer questions that may arise during the study. By studying the lesson, whether it just be reading the assigned Text or reading a prescribed reading or answering questions, you will be a workman that will not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (II Tim. 2:15).

Immerse Yourself in Spiritual Things and Surround With Godly People
If you just have to listen to the news that morning, make it brief. Just look at the headlines and then view them only through the lens of a biblical world view. Don’t let the affairs of this life entangle your mind and distract you (II Tim. 2:2). Stop listening to screaming, lying denominational preachers. If you must listen to anything at all, listen to sound gospel lessons before you go to worship.

Talk to your brethren about scriptural matters. I was privileged as a youth to be guided by two or three older brethren in the congregation. I would generally get to the building thirty minutes early and we would discuss matters of doctrine and brotherhood concerns. In effect, we had already had a Bible class even before services began. My mind had already been tuned to spiritual matters by the company I kept.

Spiritual, zealous worship is no one’s responsibility but your own. The Lord’s supper may go through the same actions every week. Those who lead prayers may say the same thing week in and week out. The song leader might not sing in key and often lead the same songs over and over. The preaching might be dull. But ultimately, effectual worship is your own responsibility. These are just a few, simple ideas that I think are helpful. There are of course many other things that could probably be said more specifically, but I hope these help in putting zeal back into our worship.

Eric L. Padgett

We Are In Trouble

People’s attitudes are different now than when I was growing up. I’m not really that old, though I have passed my life’s mid-century mark, but I remember a time when people conducted themselves in a much more dignified, decorous and decent manner. People were generally more conscientious about their appearance, were more polite, showed respect to others, especially their elders, were not offended by every little thing, could laugh at themselves, did not feel that the world owed them anything, felt a sense of self-reliance and felt embarrassed if they had to depend on someone else, especially the government, to support them.

Of course there have always been problems. There were broken homes then, too, but there was also an understanding and an appreciation of the fact that the family was the moral center of society. I don’t think many people today own that view. Marriage was held up as a sacred institution and divorce was frowned upon and considered a failure. There was no question about the nature of marriage, as to who could marry another. Marriage was by definition–and understood by everyone–to be only between a man and a woman. Period.

Homosexuality may have been practiced, but it was hidden, for the most part. In fact, it wasn’t until 1973 that the American Psychiatric Association voted to downgrade homosexuality in its official list of mental disorders to a “sexual disturbance.” It wasn’t until 1987 that it was removed completely from it’s official list of mental disorders. Today, however, if you suggest in any way that homosexuality is sinful or irrational behavior, you are considered to be the one with a mental problem. To top it all off, we now have a man who thinks he is a woman acting as the assistant health secretary in the United States who has indicated he intends to go after those holding the traditional views of marriage.

People’s attitudes have changed with regard to modesty. People then dressed with dignity, especially the older generation. Men wore hats and doffed them to women out of respect. People wore their best dress clothes when going to a function like worship or a funeral, again, out of respect. Today it is not unusual to see people dress in very inappropriate and sloppy attire when attending these functions. All of this indicates a general lack of respect for others and for traditional customs and values.

Now, the younger generation back then, my generation, was already on it’s way to wearing less modest clothing. But my dad’s generation and his dad’s generation continued to wear modest, respectful attire and my dad and mom always saw that their children dressed with respect and for the occasion when we went somewhere. We were poor, but we were always taught to wear our best in public and be modestly dressed. Some people may respond that times and styles change. That is true, but while styles may change, modesty is timeless.

Another area where you can see a change in the attitudes of people is speech. It used to be that people were taught to be respectful, to say “Yes sir” and “No sir” and “yes Ma’am” and “No Ma’am” and to say “Thank you” and “You’re welcome.” I am sure there are still young people being taught to do this, but I don’t think it is all that common. Many young people I meet today, and even a lot of the adults I come across, carry themselves without a true sense of humility and it shows in their speech.

There has always been a generation gap. There was one when I was a boy. I know from history that in various other ages the younger generation often did not connect with their parent’s generation. Yet the attitude of the young today toward the older generation is even more alarming. It is not just one of disconnect, but of disdain. This younger generation has been brought up, it seems, to hate the older generation. We see certain segments of our society brutally attacking older, defenseless Americans by punching them in the face. It has also manifested itself in an attack on those who are in authority, like the police, for instance. Groups of young, restless, hateful terrorists take over portions of our cities and we just let them do it. In fact, they are glorified by the left. Those who would try to bring peace and order are the ones who are condemned.

We are in trouble, very deep trouble, as a society. The world has been turned upside down and no one has the courage, perhaps even no one has the power, to set it right. The reason for all of this is nothing more than that we have left the moral compass of God’s will. Our society does not believe in much less glorify God. We have turned coldly materialistic except when some false, man-made idol can be concocted and worshiped. We kill innocent babies and let the elderly die because they drain financial resources with no return because we no longer believe all life is sacred. We fund those who mutilate their bodies because they have the delusion they “identify” as something other than what they are biologically because they reject the order of God’s creation. This horrendous list could go on with stories that literally would make your skin crawl.

I pray for our nation and the world. We are spiraling out of control into the depths of perdition and damnation. The momentum of the moral direction we are falling may not be able to be stopped in any short period of time, if at all. As time goes on, things may grow considerably worse for the Christian. We must be prepared for the worse, pray for the best and never lose our faith in God.

Eric L. Padgett