“Church is boring”—this is the most oft-stated reason why people stay away from church. It raises some important questions. How is it possible that an encounter with a majestic, awesome, living God could ever be considered boring by anyone? God is not dull. If worship is boring to us, it is not because God is boring. Sermons can be boring and liturgies can be boring, but God simply cannot be boring. The problem, I think, is with the setting, the style, and the content of our worship.
The New Testament gives us little information about proper Christian worship. It establishes some guidelines, but does not offer much content. In contrast, the Old Testament provides a panorama of worship information. This poses some dangers, as well as some vital clues, for worship. We cannot simply reinstate the elements of Old Testament worship, because many of them are clearly fulfilled once and for all with the finished work of Christ in His offering of the perfect sacrifice.
The Old Testament does provide a key to elements involved in worship. We see, for example, that the mind must be engaged in worship. The centrality of preaching underscores the crucial role of the Word. Full worship, however, is both verbal and nonverbal. The whole person is addressed and involved in a worship experience. We note that in the Old Testament, worship intimately involved all five senses: sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste.
Coram Deo: Is church boring to you? What do you think might be the reason? Spend some time in prayer asking God to show you how to become a true worshiper.
Psalm 132:7: “Let us go into His tabernacle; let us worship at His footstool.”
Psalm 86:9: “All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, and shall glorify Your name.”
Psalm 29:2: “Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”
By R.C. Sproul Ligonier Blog
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