How ‘bout Them Packers?

Jeremiah Burroughs writes, “The God whom we come to worship is a great and glorious God and, having to deal with such an infinite, glorious, dreadful Majesty, it is fitting that we should make preparation when we come nigh unto Him.”(GW pg. 56 – yellow) This statement coupled with the Reformed Approach to worship “Read the Bible, preach the Bible, pray the Bible, sing the Bible, and see the Bible” (GPTG pg. 65) concludes that the reformers and puritans if nothing else were exceedingly intentional in their worship. Can the same be ascribed to today’s worship?

            Suppose Joe, a good Christian who wants to please God, spends time to prepare himself for worship. Every Sunday Joe comes to church in awe of God rather then expecting to be lead to awe of God. However during Joe’s church service the youth pastor gets up for the call to worship and talks about the local football team, the worship leader forgets to capo his guitar for the congregational favorite “Jesus is the Bomb,” and the pastor insists on telling three stories during his sermon not because they have a point, but because he thought they were funny and made him personable. How can Joe possibly remain with his spirit focused on God when the church is doing their best to distract him?

            How much better it would be if Joe came to church and from beginning to end the theme was God’s glory. Imagine if the songs revealed God’s character and the congregation then responded.  Imagine if the scripture that was read shared God’s heart and then in prayer the church asked God to reveal their own. Imagine if the sermon exposited the Word and the people conformed to it. At that point Joe’s preparation would not have been in vain.

When in doubt of what means and methods to use, perhaps we should follow the acronym K.I.S.S – Keep It Simple Stupid. God has ordained the method in which he will be glorified, how dare man think that his own ways are better. Where were we when God laid the foundations of the earth? Let us keep it simple and follow the Bible.