Recently I had was blessed to discuss with some brothers the evangelistic power found in a church that truly worships. In recent decades, seeker-churches had "dumbed-down" their worship services to try to appeal to the world. They even used secular songs, skits and drama, stand-up comedians and so forth to try to communicate the gospel to non-believers who attended their Sunday worship.
The problems with such a worship service are numerous. For one, worship on the Lord's Day should edify the saints not entertain the lost. Christians meet on the Lord's Day to worship not to put on a show or "do" evangelism. Secondly, such tactics actually cloud the truth of the Gospel rather than effectively communicate it. "Worldly" worship services ultimately fail to communicate the transcendence and holiness of God, remove any message of "transformation" from the Gospel, and turn the church into a community just like the world rather than a community of faith.
But with that said, I truly believe that if we lead our churches into true biblical worship then the Gospel will be powerfully communicated to all unbelievers who are present in the congregation. There is nothing more redemptively powerful than a transcendent, holy God meeting with people. We should design our worship services to exalt God and edify His people. And while we worship we should be so gracious as to explain the elements of our worship that all who are in attendance may fully understand the Gospel in our worship. When God's people worship sinners should be converted. Listen here to a short MP3 of D.A. Carson for further explanation.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
When God's People Worship, Sinners are Converted
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