Are you bored with Worship?
By: Derek E. Long

 Have you ever heard someone use the phrase “Worship is boring?”  It has been documented that some people feel excused from Worship because they find it boring.  They may be right by saying that the songs are too slow, or the prayers are too long, but is that really a cause for them not to attend.  While we may understand that some people in the pews benefit from Worship we need to understand that Worship is for the Lord.  A better thought to think about would be, “Is the Lord bored with our Worship?”

I.  Perhaps we may understand that the Lord is bored with the complainer.  Complaining seems to be a problem in many congregations.  These are the folks that never seem to be satisfied and always have something on their mind that they think needs to be changed.  No matter what others may think on the subject, they are the only ones to have the right answer.  We are taught about such people in the Bible as those who murmur.

First Corinthians 10:10 reads, “Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the Destroyer.”

Philippians 2:14, “Do all things without murmuring and disputing.”

James 5:9, “Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the
Judge standeth before the door.”

First Peter 4:9, “Use hospitality one to another without grudging.”

 Murmuring happens so often that I think we may find that the Lord is bored with our Worship.  It is one thing for someone to be bored with worship, but I think we must seriously think about the Lord being bored with ours. 

II.  Maybe the Lord is bored with the wandering minds in worship.  As I began to preach a lesson at a small congregation just outside of town, I could hear in the audience the chattering voices of conversation having nothing to do with worship or the lesson.  I have seen notes being passed, children being entertained, and, as I stated above, just outright open talking.  I know of others who had their thoughts on the afternoon football game, or the cookout with friends this afternoon where they plan to consume more alcohol than really needed.  Consider all of this while the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, the Holy One, the Maker and Sustainer of all life sits on his throne unattended.  Is He not deserving of our full attention and obedience of all that is involved in Worship?

III.  And last but not least, maybe the Lord is bored with the hypocrites.  We have those who in Worship sing, pray, study, give, and take the Lord’s Supper as attentively as anyone else, but when those church doors open, the world seems to come out in them. 

Jesus had this to say in Matthew 23:27-28, “Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.  Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”  Sometimes, Christians are unable to see the hypocrites, but we can rest assure that what we are unable to see, the Lord is able!  Do you think that the Lord might be bored with hearing the praise from the hypocrites in Worship?

 As a preacher and as a Christian, I am not too much worried about whether someone thinks the worship is boring.  You may find that the reason for boredom in worship is due to the fact that they still are not worshiping in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:24).