Acknowledging God As The Audience

In more so-called "progressive" churches of Christ today, some members think that worship to God should take on the aura of an entertainment spectacle, rather than an humble, respectful, and solemn worship to our Creator.

In the April 22, 1958 edition of the Firm Foundation publication, brother Frank Pack made the following observation about our worship:

"Many people regard going to church as they would attending a play on the stage. Because they are so man-centered, they think of themselves as spectators, with the preacher as the main performer, and if God is anywhere in the production, He is on the sidelines. How unfortunate and how different from true worship! God is the audience, the congregation is the actor, and the preacher should be only a prompter to help all to draw closer to Him from whom all blessings come (James 1:17; cf. John 3:27). Worship for the Christian is offered to God the Father through Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit."

Dear reader, when we offer our worship to God, do we realize our part in the service to God that we are rendering, or do we consider the service as we would a common lecture, or concert?

Do we not realize that when we meet with God, we should consider the ground whereon we stand as "holy ground"? (Exodus 3:1-5; Joshua 5:13-15; cf. Acts 7:30-32).

If we are among those members who have the mindset that our worship to God is just something "common" that we offer, let's be willing to change our mindset, acknowledging God as the audience instead of ourselves (cf. Psalm 95:1-7; Acts 17:24-29).

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets