![Another celebration of the Resurrection has come and gone. Easter Sunday 2025 was wonderful! God’s people gather to worship Him, our only Saviour and Redeemer. Yet, the message of the resurrection abides forever. In a very real sense, every Sunday is a celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord and His sacrifice and victory for us, His people. Mark quotes these words of Jesus: “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” [Mark 10:45, ESV]. Those words summarize for us the entire mission, ministry, and purpose of the Incarnation, God becoming man. Jesus came to earth. He, very God of very God, the Second Person of the blessed and holy Trinity, became man. He lived a perfect life, a life without sin. He died a perfect death – the Holy for the unholy, the Just for the unjust, the Righteous for the unrighteous. He died for you and me and eternally paid the price for our sins. Then, Jesus rose from the dead, showed Himself to over 500, He ascended to the right hand of the Father, and He has promised to come again to take us to be where He is. This is the message of the Gospel, the good news of God’s grace, the forgiveness of our sins, and our one true hope in life and death. Following His resurrection from the tomb and His victory over Satan, sin, death, and the grave, Jesus called His followers together and commanded them to make disciples of all nations [Matthew 28:18-20]. Today, we are His disciples. As members of His church, you and I are His followers, His disciples in this day and time. In this article we turn our attention to the importance of worship. In Hebrews 10:23-25, ESV, we read, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” The author speaks of “meet[ing] together,” and with those words he is referring to corporate worship. According to the Westminster Shorter Catechism, the chief purpose of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. The Ten Commandments require that we “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy” [Exodus 20:8-11]. This is a command to worship God as He desires and deserves. It is a commitment to worship at least once a week, but what is this thing we call worship? Worship is a commandment of God. It is a Divine commandment. It is a command for the creature to honour the Creator. A seminary graduate on his way to his first pastorate asked his professor what he should preach about. The wise professor replied, “Every Sunday, preach about God and preach about twenty minutes. If you do this, you will be just fine.” Worship is all about God. In weekly worship, we meet with God and more importantly, He meets with us. When the woman at the well met Jesus, as recorded in John 4, they entered into a discussion about her life and then they began to discuss spiritual matters. The woman wanted to argue with Jesus, but Jesus replied, “God is a spirit, and they that worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” Jesus cut to the core. Worship is all about God. It is about who He is, who we are, and what He has done, is doing, and will do for us. Worship is never about us and our needs. Worship isn’t about what motivates us or what we can get from God. Worship is about what we give to God. Perhaps every Sunday when we leave the church building, we should ask ourselves this question: “Was God pleased with my worship?” Too often we say things like, “Well, I didn’t get very much out of worship today”; that is when we need to remember that worship is not about us. Worship is about God and what He demands and desires of us. Worship is about God and Him alone! Do you remember the words of Isaiah, Chapter Six? The prophet wrote, “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory’” [Isaiah 6:1-3, ESV]. To truly and properly worship is to honour God alone. In worship, we are to bow down before the Almighty God. In worship, we are to say to Him who created, loves, and redeemed us, “You are my God. You are altogether holy, righteous, just, compassionate, loving, and glorious. You alone are worthy of my worship, my praise, and my devotion.” The movie Places in the Heart begins in a church with people singing, “This is my story, this is my song, praising my Saviour, all the day long.” It ends in the same church with people singing the same song. Edna Spalding, played by Sally Field, has a family to raise and a farm to maintain in the midst of the Great Depression in Texas. In between the opening and closing of the movie, Edna’s husband is killed, her hired man is beaten and driven away, she nearly loses her farm – but in the end, they are back in the little church singing, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh what a foretaste of glory divine!” Worship, true Biblical worship, is not entertainment. It is not a motivational lecture. It is not giving advice for living a better moral life. Biblical worship reminds us that God is the high King of Heaven and He is the sovereign Ruler over all things in heaven and on earth. He has created us for His purpose and for His glory. He has bestowed upon us the gift of life and the gift of His One and Only Son who gave Himself for us. To worship God “in spirit and in truth” is to trust Him in the good times and in the dark times of life; to remain always focused on Him. Robert Weber said, “Worship is a verb, not a passive verb, but an active verb. It’s not something done for us; it is something we do.” In real worship, the actors and actresses are the whole congregation, and the audience is God. Take a moment to think about those words again. “In real worship the actors and actresses are the whole congregation, and the audience is God.” Truly, worship is the foundation upon which we build our lives to the honour and glory of God, our Heavenly Father. So, you see, when it comes to Biblical worship, the question is not, Did the worship service please me? The question is, Did my worship please God? As the followers of Jesus Christ, as His modern-day disciples, our discipleship begins with a proper relationship in worship. In the words of John 4:23, let us, “worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him.” Blessings in the Easter Season, Pastor Jim](images/u21626-35.png?crc=461354303)
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