How is Your Worship Experience?

Take the following quiz:

1. Do you look forward to going to church?

2. Do you sing along with the hymns or worship songs?

3. Do you remember the sermon topic 2 days later?

4. Do you recognize any real differences in your week?

Let's be honest; most of us would probably answer at least two if not all of these questions with a resounding “no”. Why is that? Well, we could come up with lots of excuses or place the blame on others, but I believe a lot of it has to do with us, and I believe these questions reveal four key elements that can help us enhance our worship experience.

In the Bible, David said, “I was glad when they said unto me; Let us go into the house of the Lord.” A lot of us would replace the word “glad” with “sad” or even the word “mad”. We may see going to church as an obligation, or something we “have to” do. In other words, there is not sense of expectation , and that is the first thing we have to rediscover to enhance our worship experience.

The Psalms tell us, “Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget none of His benefits.” There are benefits to worshipping God and studying the Bible with other Christians. Have we forgotten them? There is peace, joy, wisdom, forgiveness, encouragement, understanding, a sense of belonging, and purpose. I thought about the things that I look forward to outside of church. They all have one thing in common; that I am going to get some benefit out of it. We need to remember the benefits of worship and come with a sense of “expectation”. Come curious and come expecting!

My pastor always says there are two types of people in every service: spectators and participators . He goes on to say that worship was never intended to be a spectator sport! In every church there are always those who refuse to stand up when everyone is standing, sing when everyone is singing, or bow in silence when everyone is praying. They are spectators instead of participators.

Another Psalm says, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” That tells me that everyone should participate. It does not say everyone who has talent or everyone who has reached a certain maturity level. It says “everything (everyone) that has breath”! I have heard all the excuses: “I cannot sing well, I don't know all the words; I don't know how to pray, etc.” I have a revelation for you: the value is not in your talent level, but rather in your “participation” in the process. Take the challenge that next time you are in church you will be a participator and not just be a spectator.

In addition to expectation and participation, there is a third element of concentration . This has to do specifically with listening to the sermon. I have witnessed a gross lack of concentration in many congregations when the pastor is preaching the sermon. People will read over the bulletin, pass notes back and forth to each other (by texting these days), dig in their purses, balance their check books, and even go to sleep. It is no wonder we cannot remember anything from the sermon!

I have another challenge for you. Whenever you listen to a sermon, take out a paper and pen and see if you can reproduce the pastor's sermon outline. This will demand close concentration. Write down every scripture reference and write down key words that will remind you of his illustrations and stories. One of two things will happen: you may discover that your pastor needs a class in homiletics, or you will start remembering and appreciating more from what he or she shared that morning. Keep this paper somewhere handy and pull it out during the week to help you with a daily devotional.

One of the most common reasons people give for not going to church is that they do not see any connection or meaning with the rest of their lives. They have to go to work the following Monday and deal with the problems of everyday life, and somehow they have drawn a line separating “church” from “real life”. The key element that is missing is dedication. In every service, we should take time to reflect and ask the question, “What am I going to do or how am I going to be different this week?”

The point is that what happens in church on Sunday morning should indeed affect what happens in our lives the following Monday through Saturday. We may not be able to control what happens, but we can certainly control how we react to what happens. After careful reflection, we can “dedicate” ourselves to be more sensitive to others' needs, more forgiving of their mistakes, and more encouraging and positive in general. We should ask the question, “What is God asking of me, “and then we should pray a prayer of dedication that we are going to follow through with it. I have heard a lot of people say they do not get anything out of church; a more accurate statement might be that they do not “take” anything out of church!

Expectation, participation, concentration, and dedication are four elements that can enhance many parts of our lives. Just think what you would have gotten out of your education experience if you would have gone into it with these attitudes! It may be too late to change that, but you still have the opportunity to change your experience in church. Expect and anticipate good things, be a participator and not a spectator, concentrate instead of letting your mind wander, and dedicate yourself to taking something away from the service to apply to everyday life. God bless you!