Preparation for worship

It's good to see Christian bloggers addressing the issue of worship--what it really is and who it's really for. I'm afraid I don't remember all the articles I've read, but one that got my attention recently is from Dr. Mike Russell at Eternal Perspectives. Mike, as others have done, points out that worship is not synonymous with singing. In fact, Christians today have a very different idea of worship from what was found in the first-century church:

If you were to ask a person who lived during biblical times what comes to mind when they think of the word “worship,” you might be surprised both by what they say and what they don’t say. What they likely would not say is singing or music; what they might say would be things like animals, sacrifice, smoke, and blood. During the times recorded in the Bible, worship was about death and loss and not about having a good time.

Mike then refers to Rom. 12:1-2 -- the verses, you might say, on which this blog is founded.

Worship begins - and ends - with the sacrifice of our lives. It is not something that occupies us just on Sunday mornings, but throughout the week as well. It encompasses the totality of our being and affects everything that we do. It includes singing on Sunday morning, but also giving our money, listening to the sermon, working during the week, living with our families. It’s about how we drive, talk, treat strangers, vote, pray, study, think, blog, and anything else you can think of.

If we really believe the Bible - that is, if we actually want to do the things we know - we will not relegate worship to an hour or so on a particular morning of the week. We will understand that every breath we take is preparation for worship.

Amen.