I must confess that I can be a bit SELFISH when it comes to my worship habits. I often walk into a “worship service” hoping for a little “pick-me-up”.  Ya know, a cathartic experience that soothes MY frazzled nerves, calms MY soul and gets ME motivated again. (I also wouldn’t mind if we could wrap things up in about an hour…I have things to do.)  I have even sometimes left the service disappointed that I really couldn’t “get into it”. That is clearly the fault of those leading worship right?
 
Well…no.  The above paragraph assumes that WORSHIP IS ABOUT ME, what I want and what I am willing to drive downtown for.      

IT ISN’T!!!    WORSHIP IS ABOUT GOD!  
 
I will be the first to say that deep, sincere spontaneous worship can be the most soothing, calming, motivational experience of your life…it can also be  among the most “gut wrenching”, convicting and emotionally painful experiences you will ever endure. Either way, THE FOCUS IS ON WORSHIPPING GOD…not on what I want.

Hebrews 13:15  ThroughHim then, let us continually offer up a SACRIFICE of PRAISE, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.

The word SACRIFICE means that we set aside our wants, needs and desires on someone else’s behalf. In worship, that someone else is God.

A. W. Tozer called worship the “missing jewel of the church”.