“Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.” Ecclesiastes 5:1  

There are many things in life that we do, and enjoy them without any preparation. Things like watching a football game, cycling race, or watching a movie come to mind when I think about things we don’t need to go through a time of preparation for. And the reason why we don’t need to prepare ourselves for them prior to enjoying them is that we just want to be entertained by them. Things like that are designed for our entertainment and temporal amusement in life.

However, the worship of God is not one of them. An act of religious worship by the people of God requires a solemn and sincere preparation by the worshipers before the actual worship service in God’s house.  

Unfortunately, in most churches, today worship is viewed and treated as a means of entertainment to the people in attendance.  Its ultimate purpose is to make the people feel good about their life, with the music played in the service and by what the preacher says to the people from the pulpit. And because of that distorted understanding of worship, many people come to Church on Sunday unprepared and only as spectators.  

They come to the worship of the almighty God with a similar attitude that people have toward going to see a sport event. They go, but they go with their hearts saying, “Entertain me, move me, show me something amazing, or if you are a lousy preacher you will make me suffer.” That is the general attitude that people have towards worship today. Worship is about them, about what they need and what makes them feel excited and happy.

 Is that how you understand and treat worship, my friend? With no preparation at all or with an attitude that says, “Because it is my tradition to go to church on Sunday I will go, and I will go to be entertained by what goes on at the service, but if things become boring I will endure.”? Does this sound familiar to you from your own experience and how you observe people talking about their opinion on religious worship?

The above attitudes to worship should never be the characteristics of true worshipers of the God of the Bible. As you, my friend, join me in thinking and reflecting on how to prepare for worship through this pastoral article, the first principle of Christian worship that I want you to keep in mind and be convinced of is that Christian worship is regulated by God Himself, not man.

It is God who sets the rule for how He must be worshiped in the gathering of His people in the church, not the people who have been created by Him in order to be under His sovereign power and subjection.  Where do we see that? What is our ground for that? In the Bible, which is our only source of authority and rule for doctrine and practice.

It is in the Bible that we see God not only commanding his people whom He created and delivered to worship Him, but also to come to His worship prepared.  And there are many verses in both the Old Testament and the New Testament that attests to that, but the two main portions of the Scripture that I have chosen to show you God instructing His people on preparation for worship are:

1. Exodus 19:1-20, from that section the two main instructions that I would like to point out are:  Vs 4-6 “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”  Then Vs 13-14, “When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain. So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people, and they washed their garments.”

In the first instruction that the Lord gave to the people of Israel on how to approach His presence in worship, you should notice two important reminders:

1. The God to whom God’s people come in worship is the God who delivered His people from the power of sin in Egypt, the nation in the Old Testament that represents sin. In worship, the God who saved Israel (and you) is praised and glorified. For worshipers to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation for God means for God’s people to consecrate themselves for God or separate themselves from things that entangle believers in sin in order to worship the holy God aright.
2. Because worship is a meeting between a holy God and sinful people who have been redeemed and forgiven by the blood of Jesus Christ, the people who come to the presence of God in worship go to the throne of God in prayer prior to the day of worship to ask God the Holy Spirit to sanctify their hearts, minds, and motive to offer a pleasing worship to the Lord.

   This is the reason why Moses gives us the picture of the Israelites washing their garments before their meeting with God, as an outward symbol of the inside washing away of our sins by the blood of Jesus Christ and the cleansing of our Christian consciences by the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 9:14, 10:22).

• Romans 12: 1-2, “I appeal to you therefore brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”  

In the second instruction that Paul gives to believers about worship and the importance of preparing ourselves for the worship of God, the Apostle describes the Christian life as both God’s work of mercy and as worshipful.  This means before we even think that the Christian life has everything to do with being merciful to people, we need to realize that it has everything to do with being worshipful toward God.  Do you see Paul exactly doing that? “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” By this Paul is showing you that before you give yourself away in mercy to other people, God first desires and requires you to give your whole being to Him in worship.  And for you to present your bodies, minds and hearts as a living and pleasing sacrifice to God who is holy and perfect, you need to wash the garments of your heart before you come to the sanctuary on Sunday to worship the Lord.

And how do you prepare your heart for worship before Sunday? What are the things (depending on the enabling grace and spirit of God) that you need to do prior to Sunday worship, in order to worship God according to His terms, not yours?  There are things that will liberate you from becoming a mere spectator in the assembly of God’s people for worship and help you to participate in worship using the elements of the Order of Worship in your hand (written on the Church Bulletin). Let me share them with you.

1. Prepare to meet with God: Many make a great mistake by viewing the Sunday Worship as an occasion for people who belong to one local congregation to meet on a weekly basis to just sing praises to God, hear a preacher teach and preach the Word of God and use the opportunity to meet friends in the Church.  Now bear with me, I am not saying that the things that I just mentioned above are not or should not be part of our Sunday Worship. But I am saying that the primary meaning and purpose of Sunday Worship is “a meeting/encounter between God and His redeemed people”. And people who enter into the presence of a holy God should do some preparation before they come to their maker and deliverer for worship.  Every time we receive an invitation to a wedding reception or an inauguration of a high rank official to a special office, we prepare ourselves ahead of time with what to wear for the occasion and how to appear before the one who invited us. We do all our preparation having the person who invited us in view. We start thinking about what pleases or might disappoint our host ahead of time. Frankly speaking, we take preparation for a reception or party very seriously. All that for an earthly invitation or encounter with a human host!  What about the invitation of a heavenly host? An invitation, not for a temporal earthly enjoyment, but a blessed encounter with the Maker of heaven and earth, to bless us with His presence, favor, spiritual food, hope, joy, and guidance for the future? I believe we should do much more preparation for such an invitation from our God. Especially when we keep God in view—His majesty, holiness, lovingkindness, forgiveness, eternal word, provisions in the means of grace (the sacrament of the Lord Supper), and power to protect and guide— we will be more encouraged and motivated to prepare ourselves to meet with our God. So pray beforehand that God would give you all that you need to meet with Him in a worthy manner (Romans 12:1-2).

• Prepare to listen: One of the distinguishing characteristics of God’s children is listening to the voice of Christ His son (John 10:27). In worship, God speaks to His people through the call to worship, the Scripture reading of the day and the preaching of the Word of God by the one who proclaims His word to the people. When God speaks to you through these means (His Word) you need to prepare yourself to listen to His voice humbly and eagerly. As the Lord’s Day approaches, you need to pray to God to enable you to listen to Him. And as you do that, go to the church’s website and read the selected Scripture Reading and Sermon text for the following Sunday prayerfully. That will help you to come to God’s Worship to listen to your God (Proverbs 2:1-5).

• Prepare to participate:  Christian worship is participatory. In the worship of God, worshipers are not passive, but must participate in the act of worship actively. How do you do that? You do that being led by the Holy Spirit and aided by the elements of worship that the Church puts for you on the Order of Worship. What you see on the Order of Worship every Sunday is prescribed for you by God in the Scripture.  The Call to Worship, Prayer, Scripture Reading, Confession of Faith, Singing, the preaching of the gospel, Offerings, the Sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, Fellowship and Benediction, are Scriptural (Psalm 100:1-2, Philippians 4:6-7, Acts 2:42-47, Ephesians 5:18-20, Romans 10:17, Malachi 3:10, Psalm 32:1, Hebrews 10:25, Numbers 6:24-26). And all the elements of worship are for you to participate in the worship of God by listening, praying, reading, confessing, praising God in singing, heeding to the preaching of God’s word, giving to the work of God’s kingdom locally and beyond, benefiting from the Sacraments, and receiving God’s benediction. If you come to Worship being prepared to participate in these elements of Worship you will not be passive, or a church-goer who comes to be entertained, but a joyful and active worshiper.  Prior to Sunday, pray that the Lord would bless you with a participatory heart in Worship (John 4:23-24).

•  Prepare to receive: Before Sunday you need to prepare your heart to receive God’s blessings humbly and instructively. Yes, we worship God because of who He is and what He already has done for us in a saving manner, not to get things that we want from Him.  Nevertheless, God also has promised to bless those who will worship Him aright and with a right motive (Isaiah 58:13-14, Matthew 11:28-30). In worship, God blesses you with His presence, guidance, instruction, joy of salvation, assurance, exhortation, and spiritual nourishment. You need to come prepared to receive all these things from God humbly and with a desire to grow spiritually (Romans 8:32).

• Prepare to give: The worship of God gives you an opportunity to obey and please God in giving from what the Lord gives you to the work of Christ’s church in the form of offerings, tithes and diaconal gifts (1 Chronicles 29:9, 1 Corinthians 9:7, Acts 20:35). Thus, before Sunday, prepare your heart and hands to participate in God’s worship through giving a portion from what the Lord has given you to support the Church’s work of evangelism and shepherding.

• Prepare to fellowship: Worship also gives you an opportunity to spend your time with your fellow believers in the body of Christ for the purpose of mutual encouragement and edification (Hebrews 13:1-2, Romans 16:16, Acts 2: 42-45). The greeting that believers exchange with one another after worshiping together, conversations that carry on among worshipers in the sanctuary following worship, the fellowship meal, and providing hospitality to worshipers at your home after worship are part of participating in the ministry of encouraging and edifying God’s children (Colossians 3:16).

You see, beloved, Sabbath worship is not a time that you attend church to watch one or two men performing religious rituals. But it is a public gathering of God’s people. You are to be part of it to praise and glorify God through active preparation and participation of the above aspects of Christian worship.

These qualities of true worship will help you in fulfilling Ecclesiastes 5:1, which calls you as a worshiper of God to guard your steps before you go to the house of the Lord for worship, so that you will not offer the sacrifice of fools to God.  In the love of Christ, I encourage you, my dear brothers and sisters, in Christ to use these things that I shared with you regarding preparing your heart for worship before Sunday arrives, so that you continue to grow in how you worship and exalt the Lord each Sunday.

In the love of the great Shepherd,

Zecharias