Returning to the Heart of Worship

 
Returning to the Heart of Worship
 

Modern Christianity often asks us to feel before it asks us to kneel.

But worship was never meant to start with our emotions.
It starts with surrender.

Worship is not self-expression.
It is not inspiration.
It is not an experience we consume.

Biblically, worship is rightly ordered love — God in His rightful place, and us gladly beneath Him.

“You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.” (Matthew 4:10)

God does not ask for our performance.
He asks for our obedience.

“To obey is better than sacrifice.” (1 Samuel 15:22)

Real worship costs something.
It costs pride.
It costs preferences.
Sometimes it costs comfort.

Jesus didn’t say, “Take up your preferences and follow Me.”
He said, “Take up your cross.” (Luke 9:23)

Walk into many churches today and you can see the shift.

The center is often a stage.
Lights. Screens. Atmosphere. Engagement.

None of those things are evil.
But we must ask an honest question:

Is this arranged for worship — or for performance?

An altar exists for sacrifice.
A stage exists for an audience.

At an altar, God is the focus.
On a stage, we are.

The early Church didn’t gather to consume worship.
They gathered to offer themselves — sometimes at the cost of their freedom, even their lives.

Today we’re tempted to evaluate church the way we evaluate a concert:
Did I like it?
Did it move me?
Did it meet my needs?

But worship was never about meeting our needs.

It was always about meeting God.

Sometimes true worship doesn’t feel uplifting at all.
Sometimes it confronts.
Sometimes it humbles.
Sometimes it calls us to repent.

The cross wasn’t comfortable either — but it is still the center of our faith.

If church exists to make us feel good, we’ve quietly made ourselves the object of worship.

If it exists to glorify God, then comfort becomes secondary to conversion.

“Those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24)

Somewhere along the way, worship became something we consume rather than something we offer.

Which is why that old song still hits home like a confession.

The Heart of Worship by Matt Redman says it plainly:

“I’m coming back to the heart of worship…
and it’s all about You, Jesus.”

Not a performance.
A repentance.

“Lord, I’m sorry for the thing I’ve made it.”

The Gospel never promised fulfillment without sacrifice or belief without obedience.

It offers something better — and harder:

Union with Christ.

He calls us not to be spectators, but disciples.
Not consumers, but offerings.

“Present your bodies as a living sacrifice.” (Romans 12:1)

So when everything else is stripped away —
the lights, the music, the preferences, the expectations —

may we still kneel.

And may our lives say what our lips sometimes forget:

It’s all about You, Jesus.

Walk in faith, rest in grace, and trust the One who walks beside you.
In His love and grace,

ray mileur

Helping believers walk closer to Jesus, one day at a time.
www.raymileurministries.com