Not all worship is pleasing to God.
Proverbs confronts us with a truth our age desperately avoids: God does not accept worship simply because it is offered. He weighs hearts, judges motives, and rejects worship that flows from unrepentant, self-ruled lives. In this sermon, we see that worship is never self-defined or creatively constructed by man. It is covenantal, prescribed by God, and rooted in the fear of the LORD.

But this leaves us with a devastating question: How can sinful people ever worship a holy God in a way He actually accepts? Proverbs exposes the impossibility of producing true worship from corrupt hearts, driving us to the only hope we have. Jesus Christ did not merely teach us how to worship. He lived, offered, and fulfilled perfect worship in our place, bearing the judgment our false worship deserved.

This message strips away religious confidence, destroys performance-based faith, and lifts our eyes to the Gospel where acceptance is secured not by the quality of our worship, but by the perfection of Christ’s.