Quantifying God In Worship

Check out our latest “PonderCast” here:

How do we appropriately quantify God in our worship?
What does that look like?
How does that feel?

<<A transcript of today’s Pondercast is listed below:

I wonder sometimes whether or not we put limits on God in how we worship, within the structures of our worship?  Jesus states over and over again that He is present with us everywhere, yet almost always we ask Him to just show up in our services, well…what about our service in every day life?  Do we expect Him to show up there?  Is this a part of our relationship to Him?  Do we attempt to say to God, “You stay over here in this church, I’ll see you on Sundays…” and then we walk away?  I mean is God really honored in our lives when we do that?

It’s like having a relationship with somebody but never introducing that person who means so much to you to anyone else, including your parents and friends.  But instead you say to that girl friend or boy friend, you stay over here and I’ll come back and visit you.  I mean does that make any sense at all?  Do you think that kind of relationship is healthy let alone will it last?  NO… So why do we attempt to do that with God?

Something else that kind of bugs me is how we actually worship on Sundays.
Have you ever gone into some of those old cathedrals?  I mean they are immense structures, some have taken over a hundred years or more to build, and as you walk into these massive doors you look up and you see this vaulted ceiling which juts up hundreds of feet, and there’s stained glass everywhere and the colors are vibrant and the gold is shining in the opaqued windows.  Usually the first words upon seeing this sight for the first time is “WOW!”  And perhaps your jaw hits the ground and you have to pick it back up…and there’s sort of embarrassing scrapping noise…and everyone turns to look at the newbie in the back that just yelled “Wow” in a very sacred space…

The builders of these monoliths that are cathedrals knew what they were doing.  They wanted the worshiper to  catch a slight glimpse of heaven as they entered, or better yet what would be waiting for them when they eventually entered eternity.  God’s glory was to shine.

Now despite all of the rituals and things one might get stuck on when going to a denomination like this, I have to wonder, within the context of my denomination – have we sort of lost that glory of God in our very practical worship halls?  Does it matter?  Or is this a thing of the past and we shouldn’t worry with it at all?  But I would counter that with – are we missing out on something because of it?   Are we inadvertently attempting to quantify who God is within our timed out and perfect bulletins and services on Sunday mornings?

I’m not saying that any of the types of worship formats are wrong, but have we left the mystery of God and the awe of God behind?  Have we exchanged the imported marble and the gold for cheap dollar knock-offs?  You see when Solomon built the temple of God, no expense was spared.  It was built to strict specifications and there was no skimping on any of it.

I must be careful today as I say this because it truly is not about how ostentatious and grandiose your worship hall is or isn’t, it is first and foremost a deep matter of the heart of the worshiper.  How we approach worship in and out of church matters.  How we come to the Almighty in and out of church matters.  How we quantify or leave a mystery about God matters.  God doesn’t reside in a box that is our church buildings.  God is present everywhere with us.

So let me ask you today, How is your heart?
What matters to you most about worshiping God?  How your church is perceived or how you are perceived by God in or out of true adoration and worship?  Does it matter to you how you present yourself?  Do you offer the most expensive side of you or are you offering the cheap dollar store knock-off leftovers?

God is some much greater and bigger than we ever give Him credit for…and I think it’s about time we recognize this in our hearts and minds.  It begins with you and me!  What are you going to do about it?