“Distracted from Worship”

Week 10
Main Point and Overview:   

If we are not careful, we can begin to “forget” why we gather on Sundays. If we are not careful, we can begin to become a social club more than a “spiritual house.” For the Corinthians, they were still “doing the things,” but their motivations had become corrupted. They lost sight of true worship where God is to be supremely glorified, and the Gospel is to be proclaimed. In the 1st century church, the “Lord’s Supper” was often preceded by a meal together. As the Corinthians began to gather, they turned the fellowship into frivolous over-indulgence. Instead of “eating together,” they became “cliques” where the poor were ignored. They ate so much and drank so much that they became “intoxicated” missing the whole point of the fellowship meal. The Apostle Paul was infuriated! He aggressively reminded them of the original purpose of the “Lord’s Supper” which was to remember the greatest sacrifice in the history of the world and to look forward to the imminent return of Christ. They were to take this “ordinance” seriously, but instead, they disrespected it with their trite attitudes. How many times do we “show up for church” with all the wrong motives? We race over to our group of friends by passing the first-time visitor. We go get our cup of coffee and talk in the lobby as the worship music has already begun. We sit through a sermon looking at our watches repeatedly anticipating lunch. We even take the “Lord’s Supper” because to be honest…that’s what we have always done. It’s rare if ever we even really contemplate what Jesus went through for us. This is the danger of idolatry. Suddenly, everything around the Gospel of Jesus Christ is more important to us than Jesus himself. Oh, we would never say that this is true, but our actions prove that it is. In Paul’s day, God actually took some disciples to heaven over their flippancy. Would he do that in today’s day and age? To be honest, it’s not even the point. Our Christian lives should be characterized by “desire” not “duty!” In other words, we should be passionately and emotionally driven to worship God in the ways that he deserves! Maybe it’s time that we do some evaluating of our motives. Our corporate worship MUST be about loving God and others and learning the Word!