Today we live in what one writer called “one of the most sacrilegious and blasphemous church cultures in the history of Christianity.” We hear sermon titles like “What Would Jesus Say To Bart Simpson?” Or a 7 week sermon series titled “Everything I Needed To Know I Learned From Andy Griffith.” We live in a day of specialists, and it has made its way into the church world so that we have “specialized churches” for various special interest groups. We have cowboy churches, motorcyclist churches, etc. I’m waiting for the day they come up with the the Procrastinator’s Church for those who are going to church “someday,” or even a “non-attenders church” for those who don’t want to go to church anyway. (That may be the online church.) Today churches are struggling with what constitutes worship that is acceptable to God. Young people things to be more “contemporary.” “We’re tired of singing those old hymns,” some say. You will learn more about the Word of God, about His love, and about Christ’s sacrifice singing “those old hymns” than you will ever learn singing (or chanting) some “Kum-by-ya” type chorus over and over and over. Older folks, for the most part, desire a more traditional” worship. ome (none here that I know of) would even oppose the use of modern technology – video projectors, live streaming, etc. -- in the worship and the presentation of the Gospel. God has allowed us to have this technology. The world will use it to get its message out, so the Lord’s churches should take advantage of it in our worship and witness. You know what I want? I just want scriptural, biblical worship that is pleasing to God. So, the question arises, “Can we just decide to worship God any old way we want?” There is a growing trend, especially in America, to say just any form of “worship” is acceptable to God. They say what is important is just to “worship” (which, they say, is better than not worshipping). Are we intolerant, then, to say that not everything that men call worship is acceptable to God? Let’s just look at a couple of Scripture references -- Isaiah 1:10-18 ; John 4:24. Since it is God who is to be worshipped, He gets to decide what is acceptable and what is not. Opinion: I believe a great deal of the confusion over what is and what isn’t acceptable worship comes from a simple ignorance of God’s Word and a failure to understand the holiness of God. And, there is a huge difference between just attending church and coming to worship. Mankind was created to worship, and he will worship . . . something . . . daily. “How do I know what I worship?” (I think we know. We may just not want to admit it.) Worship is our response to whatever we value the most. Whatever is worth the most to us is what we worship (family, friends, money, fame, etc.). Just follow the trail of your time, your affection, your energy, your (yes) money, and your allegiance. At the end of that trail you will find a throne, and on that throne will be what or who you worship! The worship of God has, in our society, become a matter of God’s serving us on our terms instead of us serving Him on His terms. Question: If you received nothing for it (no blessings, no promises, not even daily needs) would you still serve God? I have heard people say to those who were serving God, “I can’t see that it has helped you out any.” (These were looking for some promise of material benefit for their faithfulness.) Matthew Henry wrote: “When we are in the house of God, in solemn assemblies for religious worship, we are in a special manner before God and in his presence, there where he has promised to meet his people, where his eye is upon us and ours ought to be unto him.” Solomon's design, in showing us the world’s vanity, is to drive us to away from it and to God and to our duty” as His children. Our disappointments with this present world (and if you are not disappointed with it, I will pray for you) should cause us to turn our eyes upon our Creator. They should turn us to the word of God and to His throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16). “In the word and prayer there is a balm for every wound.” If there is anything that is to be held as special and God-centered today, it ought to be our worship. Let’s see what the Preacher says. We see:

I. OUR APPROACH TO WORSHIP – VV. 1-2.

II. OUR ATTITUDE IN WORSHIP – VV. 4-6.

III. OUR ATTENTION IN WORSHIP – VS. 7.