Title: Greatness Through Worship (5)
Series: Greatness - Just Live It
Author: Jeff Strite
Text: John 4:19-24
OPEN: A few years ago, Scott (our Family Minister) and I heard that a church building over by High School was for sale and Scott thought it would be a great place for a youth outreach program (Scott's a genius at lining up grants for things like that). Obviously, we didn't purchase it ... but we did go for tour. And, as I was opening the closet door just off stage something surprised me: There on the floor of the closet was A SMOKE MACHINE! And on the shelf above it was a DISCO BALL.
Why on earth would a church own a smoke machine and a disco ball? Well, because some churches like to enhance worship experience of their members - and so, they have fog machines and disco balls. And some churches work hard to develop lighting effects and have special props on stage that emphasize the sermon series they're preaching. What they're doing is trying to create an "atmosphere", so people will feel they've REALLY WORSHIPPED on Sunday. And so they add a lot of bells and whistles to how they worship.
Now, I'm not sure God is necessarily bothered by these things. But I do wonder if these activities can become distractions. Because all that stuff really ISN'T worship!
The real problem with enhancing worship & creating an atmosphere, is that a lot of churches do that to please their audience. They believe that the more impressive and awe-inspiring the service, the more people are likely to come and then come back again.
ILLUS: But that kind of thinking can be deceptive. It's kind of like the preacher that asked his daughter: "How many kids would come to your birthday party if all we offered was cake. No games, no entertainment. They could come to the house to spend time with you and bring gifts because they like you. But that's all we'd offer. How many of your friends do you think would show up?" She thought for a minute and said "Maybe just a couple. ...
Series: Greatness - Just Live It
Author: Jeff Strite
Text: John 4:19-24
OPEN: A few years ago, Scott (our Family Minister) and I heard that a church building over by High School was for sale and Scott thought it would be a great place for a youth outreach program (Scott's a genius at lining up grants for things like that). Obviously, we didn't purchase it ... but we did go for tour. And, as I was opening the closet door just off stage something surprised me: There on the floor of the closet was A SMOKE MACHINE! And on the shelf above it was a DISCO BALL.
Why on earth would a church own a smoke machine and a disco ball? Well, because some churches like to enhance worship experience of their members - and so, they have fog machines and disco balls. And some churches work hard to develop lighting effects and have special props on stage that emphasize the sermon series they're preaching. What they're doing is trying to create an "atmosphere", so people will feel they've REALLY WORSHIPPED on Sunday. And so they add a lot of bells and whistles to how they worship.
Now, I'm not sure God is necessarily bothered by these things. But I do wonder if these activities can become distractions. Because all that stuff really ISN'T worship!
The real problem with enhancing worship & creating an atmosphere, is that a lot of churches do that to please their audience. They believe that the more impressive and awe-inspiring the service, the more people are likely to come and then come back again.
ILLUS: But that kind of thinking can be deceptive. It's kind of like the preacher that asked his daughter: "How many kids would come to your birthday party if all we offered was cake. No games, no entertainment. They could come to the house to spend time with you and bring gifts because they like you. But that's all we'd offer. How many of your friends do you think would show up?" She thought for a minute and said "Maybe just a couple. ...
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