Sunday Service - 29 Sep 1953

It is my purpose during these morning services to share with you some thoughts on ‘Worship’. Let me remind you of the points of my preliminary talk given last Sunday. What is worship? “Worship’ is man’s acknowledgement of the ‘worthship’ of God with every part of his being. Primarily, it consists of acts of praise and love. In worship, our thoughts are centred round God and not ourselves.

Why do we worship God? Man worships God because he cannot help it. Man is made in the image of God. He is a child of God called to an eternal destiny God’s kingdom. In such a relationship to God it is natural and normal for man to worship God. The people who have no desire for worship are those who have suppressed or killed their natural desire for worship by neglect or disuse.

Then I spoke about the general tendency among people to lose sight of the main object of worship and think of some of the results of worship or the by products of worship as matters of primary importance in worship. Worship is looked upon as a means to an end rather than an end in itself.

I gave two examples. Many of us come to worship with the idea of getting favours from God - material blessings for themselves and their families. This is worship at a low level. Then there are those at a higher level who think that the aim of worship is to stir the worshipper to a higher standard of ethical conduct. No doubt, moral perfection is a result or by product of regular worship, but it is not the main object of worship. In continuation of what I said last Sunday, let me give some more instances of a wrong emphasis in our conception of worship. Some of us come here week by week regularly at this hour. What is it that brings us here? What is the motive behind our keenness and regularity?

Some may say that by coming to church regularly we show that we are on the side of God. It is like giving our vote for God in a world where God is widely ignored. It is a way of witnessing for our faith. The Church is in need of such support from all who believe in its cause. By coming to church regularly we take our place in the fellowship of the church. When we keep away from the fellowship we weaken the corporate effort of all believers. By regular attendance I do my duty by the members of the fellowship to which I belong. This is no doubt one of the benefits of regular habits of worship, but we will be putting the emphasis on the wrong place if we look upon this as our main object of worship.

Some others look upon this hour of worship as an occasion which provides an inspiration for Christian living during the six days ahead. This is often true, but only if we are not primary seeking that inspiration and are engaged upon some less self regarding activity. If we come to church deliberately seeking edification and moral inspiration above all things, the chances are not in favour of success. One of the benefits of regular habits of worship is that it is an inspiration to our Christian living, and that it brings guidance and strength to our work, but we get that benefit only if we keep our minds fixed on the true nature and aim of worship which is to glorify God.

Worship is man’s acknowledgment of the ‘worship’ of God with every part of his being