Worship

"Nothing makes God more supreme and central in worship than when a people are utterly persuaded that nothing -- not money or prestige or leisure or family or job or health or sports or toys or friends -- nothing is going to bring satisfaction to their sinful, guilty, aching hearts besides God. This convictioin breeds a people who go hard after God on Sunday morning. They are not confused about why they are in worship service. They do not view songs and prayers and sermons as mere traditions or mere duties. They see them as means of getting to God or God getting to them for more of his fullness -- no matter how painful that may be for sinners in the short run.

If the focus in corporate worship shifts onto our giving to God, one result I have seen again and again is that subtly it is not God that remains at the center but the quality of our giving. ... And little by little the focus shifts off the utter indispensability of the Lord himself onto the quality of our performances. ... Nothing keeps God at the center of worship like the Biblical conviction that the essence of worship is deep, heartfelt satisfaction in him, and the conviction that the trembling pursuit of that satisfaction is why we are together.

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But, in fact, for thousands of people, and for many pastors, the event of "worship" on Sunday morning is conceived as a means to accomplish something other than worship. We "worship" to raise money; we "worship" to attract crowds; we "worship" to heal human hurts; to recruit workers; to improve church morale; to give talented musicians an opportunity to fulfill their calling; to teach our children the way of righteousness; to help marriages stay together; to evangelize the lost; to motivate people for service projects; to give our churches a family feeling.

In all this we bear witness that we do not know what true worship is. Genuine affections for God are an end in themselves."

John Piper, God's Passion for His Glory