A Zeal for "God's House"

How Do We

‘Go to Church’

to the Glory of God?

Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God! –

1 Corinthians 10:31

His disciples remembered that it was written, “ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME.” (John 2:17)

But in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household (or house) of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. (1 Timothy 3:15)

For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” (Matthew 18:20)

Why do you go to church? Is what happens in the worship service something to look forward to? Something to prepare for? Unfortunately, many believers don’t expect much when they gather with their local church in worship.

Unfortunately many people see church attendance like the little boy who was looking at pictures of men in the foyer of his church and asked a deacon, “Who are these men?” And the deacon replied, “They are men who died in the service.” The little boy thought a minute and then asked, “Which one? The morning or evening service?”

The Puritans encouraged us to see the weekly gathering of believers in worship as profoundly significant and important for our spiritual lives.

That the saints love public worship is a constant Puritan theme. Why their delight in it? Because in worship the saints do not merely seek God; they also find Him. Worship is not only an expression of gratitude but also a means of grace, whereby the hungry are fed so that the empty are sent away rich. For ‘there is in worship an approach of God to man.’ ‘God’s presence is in his ordinances’ is a reality; God is essentially present in the world, graciously present in his church. … And men honour God most when they come to worship hungry and expectant, con-scious of need and looking to God to meet them and supply it. (J.I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness)

So what can we do to make the most of every time we ‘go to church’ to gather with believers for worship?

1. Pray for God: Pray for God to be there when you get there. (Exodus 33:14-16)

God is everywhere. But He manifests His presence selectively. We prepare for the church service by asking God to manifest Himself in His love and power and truth so that we are changed as we see His manifest glory through the display of the truth.

2. Pray for Man: Pray for those leading and listening. (1Timothy 4:14-16)

God uses people to speak to people. So pray for those leading in song, Scripture reading, prayer and preaching that they would do so according to God’s Word from their hearts and pray for all to hear with teachable and humble hearts to receive the truth.

3. Deal with Sin and Broken Relationships: Confess sin to God and others and pursue reconciliation as needed. (Matthew 5:23-24)

Before we go to worship, we should confess our sins to God and trust Christ anew for forgiveness. We may need to go to those we have offended, confess our sins and ask for their forgiveness. We cannot make them forgive us, but we must try to be at peace with all men as much as possible. Some issues take much time and effort to resolve, but if we are beginning to attempt to resolve it then we can still attend worship in good conscience.

4. Start the Night Before: We need to begin preparing to go to church the night before. (Exodus 19:10-11)

The worship of God with the local church is worthy of proper preparation: mentally, spiritually, relationally and spiritually. We should seek to be ready for church and to do so before Sunday gets here. We should make sure we get enough sleep so we can participate at full strength in such an important gathering. We should prepare what we need the night before and get up in plenty of time. We should get to the church service before it begins and try to avoid quarreling on the way.

5. Come to Participate and Rejoice: Remember that God is the Audience and the Speaker, we are the participants and the hearers and He loves us. (1 Corinthians 14:26)

We must remember that we are not simply spectators when we go to a church service. We are to attend to participate: to listen care-fully, to sing, to pray, to share, to write down things to remember, and to hear the Word of God as if it was a matter of “life and death” (and it is).

6. Come to Get: We go to church to get: to encounter God. (Mark 1:32-34)

If God is with us as we worship and we pray for Him to manifest Himself to us in deeper and richer ways and if He is the great Speaker we are there to hear, then we dishonor God if we do not go to a church service to get: to get a life-changing, soul-satisfying, circumstance-comforting revelation of God Himself to the eyes of our hearts.

7. Come to Give: We go to church to give: to minister to others. (Hebrews 10:23-25)

We go to church to get and to give: to stimulate others to love and good deeds, to comfort the grieving, to encourage the discouraged, to admonish the disobedient, to strengthen the weak, and to minister our gifts in whatever way we can for the upbuilding of the church in faith and love.

8. Worship With Others: We should worship with other believers in the service. (1 Corinthians 11:18)

There is something about being with other believers in a church service which is dedicated to the true worship of the living God that should not be minimized. And therefore, we should not sit outside or wander around outside for no good reason.

9. Prepare to Stay: We should prepare to stay in the service the whole time. (Revelation 2:7)

There are times when we have to leave a church service. But this should be the exception rather than the rule. Often we either have not planned to be in the service the whole time (and haven’t gone to the bathroom beforehand or done other things prior to the service) or we don’t want to sit the whole time. The issue here is not physical, but spiritual. It may be time to check your heart for the things of God and repent so you can sit.

10. Pay Attention: We should pay attention, teach our children to pay attention and help others to pay attention. (Hebrews 2:1)

We honor God by giving Him our undivided attention. We will have to train our children at home to sit and listen quietly so they can hear God’s Word and not distract us and others. We will have to minimize our getting up and down. We may want to also take notes as God speaks to us.

11. Pray and Talk: We should pray about and talk about what we’ve heard. (Matthew 13:36)

One way to help to make sure that we are processing rather than forget-ting what we hear is to try to put into words what we’ve just heard and to talk it over with someone. This we can do in fellowship right after church, on the ride home, and during the week. Certainly the most important Person to talk it over with is God in our times of prayer.

12. Review: We should review and apply what we’ve heard. (James 1:22)

The point is that we can easily be “sermon tasters” who listen and enjoy (or don’t enjoy) what we hear but never take the time to think further about it. We need to be doers of the Word, not hearers only. We might ask ourselves at the end of each service, “What is one thing I could do differently this week in light of the truth I’ve heard today?”

13. Pass It On: We should teach and make disciples in light of what we’ve heard. (2 Timothy 2:2)

What we hear each week in the worship service is meant to help us to grow and to help equip us to help others to grow. Maybe we should ask questions like, “How can I use what I’ve heard today in my speaking the truth to unbelievers?” and “How can I use what I’ve heard today to encourage and equip my fellow believers?”

What do men come to hear the Word of God for? What do they pray for? What do they expect to receive from him? Do they come unto God as the eternal fountain of living waters? As the God of all grace, peace and consolation? Or do they come unto his worship without any design as unto a dry and empty show? … Or do they think they bring something unto God, but receive nothing from him? … To receive anything from him they expect not, nor do ever examine themselves whether they have done so or no? … It is not for persons who walk in such ways, ever to attain a due delight in the ordinances of divine worship … they do not rightly fix their faith on this truth, namely that these holy administrations and duties are appointed of God in the first place, as the way and means of conveying his love and sense of it unto our souls. From hence springs all that lukewarmness, coldness and indifferency unto the duties of holy worship, that are growing among us. (John Owen, Works)

Note: It is understood that Biblically the “church” is the people of God, not the building or the worship service. But it is in popular usage to speak of “going to church” and that is reflected here.

Note: In the OT the "house" of God was the temple, but in the NT, the people of God are the "house" or "temple" of God. To have a 'zeal for God's house' now is to have a zeal for God's people and for God's people 'assembled' for worship. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 1 Peter 2:5)

Note: The Scripture references attached to each practical suggestion may, at best, only suggest the spirit of the practice encouraged.

Note: This focuses on some of the practical issues of 'going to church' but we recognize that the most important thing is to approach God through faith in the Person and work of Jesus Christ as our all-sufficient Savior (our righteousness - pardon and perfection) and in glad submission to Him as Lord of our lives and the satisfaction of our souls (our LIFE - Help and Happiness). (Romans 1:16-17; Romans 4:4-5; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 2:8-10)