The Building Blocks of Worship

The seventh chapter of Luke paints one of the most beautiful pictures of worship and adoration found in the Scriptures. If we look closely we find some essential building blocks for a worshiping church.

Simon, the Pharisee, must have been excited and a little nervous that Jesus had accepted his invitation to come to his house for dinner. The fact that someone of Jesus’ stature and fame would be visiting with him would not go unnoticed by the religious community. The real payoff, though, would come from the common people who followed the miraculous. Their recognition would insure Simon’s influence in the city.

Jesus arrived and all seemed to be going well as dinner and conversation flowed at a leisurely pace until the arrival of an uninvited guest. A woman “who had lived a sinful life” somehow found her way into the house and stood behind Jesus (7). At first no one noticed her, but then she knelt at Jesus’ feet and began crying.

Suddenly, she broke open a jar of perfume and began pouring it on Jesus’ feet and wiping them with her hair before starting to kiss them. Simon couldn’t believe Jesus was allowing her to touch him like that. And it almost appeared as if Jesus was enjoying it! Just then, Jesus broke through Simon’s uneasiness and said, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” Jesus proceeded to tell a story about two men who had debts canceled by a moneylender. One man had a large debt and the other a small one. Jesus finished with a question, “Now which of them will love him more?”

Jesus looked directly at Simon. “Simon, do you see this woman?” he asked. Jesus described for Simon and everyone else in the room one of the secrets of honest, heart-felt, and life giving worship. It was right there for all of them to see, but the passion of the moment was distracting for them. The Woman had done something so beautiful for Jesus, and the only one who recognized the beauty of it was Jesus. Simon and the others were hung up on protocol and religious behavior. They hadn’t considered the deeper meaning of her heart or the significance of her actions. These matters went unnoticed by the dinner crowd, but Jesus was about to reveal the hearts of everyone in the room.

Desperation

When the Woman knelt down at Jesus’ feet she did it out of desperation. Hers was a desperation that drove her to do something out of the ordinary, something that no one else at that dinner was willing to do. Everyone in that room was with Jesus, but only one was attending Him. Only one was worshiping.

Desperation forces us to go outside of the norm, to do things we would not typically do. Desperate people risk more, live on the edge, and are more passionate in their pursuit. They achieve different results than those who play it safe. Yes, it can be more messy and uncomfortable than the well-traveled road, but those who choose desperation over self-sufficiency, find God. And when they find Him, they find that He is pleased with their desperate hearts.

Of course, the trick is to be desperate when you don’t need to be desperate. Crises always lead us back to a passionate pursuit of God, because we realize in moments of vulnerability that we cannot make it on our own. We are genuinely desperate. But consider for a moment what would happen in your life, your family, and your church if you found a way to be desperate for Him without having to face the crisis. Simon wasn’t desperate for anything that Jesus had. As a result, his love was little.

Gratitude

Simon’s attitude conveyed that he had no great need of forgiveness. As a Pharisee, he relied on his own piety and knowledge of the Scriptures to gain God’s favor. Sometimes this self-reliance shows up in our worship services. No one is overwhelmed by the Lord. Most are not in awe of Him as they sing and lift their hands. Appreciation is cursory, affection is mild, weeping is non-existent.

Jesus was not highlighting the significance of the Woman’s sin with this story. He was zeroing in on Simon’s thankless response for God’s love and forgiveness. If there is no great need for Christ then there is no great gratitude for the things he can do for you.

Some churches struggle because they are driven by an overly intense ministry style. Everyone seems to feel the pressure of doing more, giving more and reaching for more, while rarely acknowledging the blessings God has given. The result is overblown, high-pressure worship that’s focused on them. Other churches are permeated with a poverty mentality and seem to never get enough. They’re always short-handed for Sunday school, and the worship team struggles with commitment. The pastor and the people feel discouraged, and so forget to be grateful for what they have. Gratitude just fades into the background. This results in weak worship that isn’t focused on God.

Gratitude is the fuel for life-giving worship because it keeps us focused on the favor and mercy that our God has poured out on our lives. The Woman had a revelation of who Jesus was and what he had done. An extravagant show of gratitude was her response.

Humility

Jesus contrasted the Woman’s actions with Simon’s in Luke 44-46, “You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.” Could it be that Simon did not welcome Jesus into his home properly because he was consumed with himself instead of his guest? At the same time he was embarrassed by the show of affection and devotion that the Woman displayed.

Humility is inherent in genuine worship. The very nature of worship is the exaltation of Christ and the humbling of self. The Woman was not afraid to humble herself before our Lord in front of others, nor was she bound by the risk of embarrassment.

Our own pride is the enemy of worship. Arrogance or high mindedness inhibits our expression of worship. Any embarrassment that we might feel in worship is pride sneaking up on us. If our worship ministries are consumed with anything besides Him, a prideful spirit will not be far off. Music, rehearsals, song selection, even our own biblical expression of praise can become a self-absorbed trap where the focus is on us rather than on Him. The Woman was not concerned about the opinions of others, she simply surrendered to Jesus and made him the focus of her worship. Her worship was simply all about Him.

Desperation, gratitude, and humility are three heart postures that can transform your worship and your church. You can’t approach the Lord unless you’re willing to empty yourself of yourself. You can’t enter His gates with thanksgiving unless you understand what a miracle forgiveness is. And there will be no great display of devotion without a sense of desperation. These are three powerful building blocks for a strong foundation in our worship ministries and our churches.