A Wholesome Atmosphere For Worship

A Wholesome Atmosphere For Worship

For man to survive he must have a healthy atmosphere in which to live. Too little oxygen or too much carbon dioxide make human life impossible. So it is with worship. To worship effectively and successfully, the atmosphere must be favorable.

It would impossible to worship God while sitting amid 50,000 screaming fans at a ball game or concert. Thus God tells us, "Be still and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10). It would be most difficult to worship in a noisy factory with the sound of pounding machinery. You could not conduct worship in a room where people are watching and listening to a television broadcast. You cannot worship while carrying on a phone conversation with someone. An individual cannot worship effectively if he is so tired that he has fallen asleep.

There are things that hinder congregational worship, by disrupting the atmosphere for worship.

Cell-phones ringing in the midst of worship.

People wandering in and out of the assembly.

Whispering and conversation during worship.

Children who are allowed to misbehave during worship.

Complaining and criticizing the efforts of other worshipers.

When the services are not conducted in an smooth and organized way.

When things not related to God's worship are injected into the service. Personal observations and asides that have nothing to do with worship can be distracting.

Jokes and funny comments interfere with the atmosphere of worship.

Songs the congregation do not know or cannot sing effectively hinder the worship.

For our congregational worship to be most effective and beneficial

All need to be present and in their seats a few moments before the service begins. This eliminates confusion.

There must be a quiet and peaceful environment in the assembly.

There must be reverence in each heart.

There should be an air of expectation as those present eagerly anticipate receiving a wonderful blessing.

Those present must pay attention to what is transpiring and concentrate on hearing God's word and learning the lesson of the hour.

There must be participation in the songs and prayers by all those present.

Good worship is well-planned and supervised so that each segment flows smoothly without distraction.

Those who lead in worship must be well-prepared to do their part.

While prayers are spontaneous and not read from a book of prayers, those expressing them should give prior thought to what they will say and how to express themselves.'

Songs should be selected from those we know and rehearsed ahead of time so they will go smoothly and without failure.

Words and thoughts expressed by those who lead should be directly related to the worship of God and designed to edify all who are present.

There is no greater joy or blessing than to worship Jehovah in the beauty of holiness (Ps. 29:2 KJV). But it is a disappointment than to go to God's house for worship and find the atmosphere such that worship is hindered or disrupted.

Sincerely,

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