We don't just roll out of bed and show up at church for the show hoping we can get blessed! Some believers go to see what they can get out of the worship and complain when they get nothing or aren't blessed. We go to church to corporately worship God and it is a serious business. Would you go to see the president dressed casually or as nice as you can? Of course, it depends on how well you know the president! But we are to worship God in holy array ("Worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness," says Psalm 29:2b) and this is an inward attitude, not our outward appearance--"Man looks on the outward appearance, God looks on the heart" (1 Sam. 16:7). Come as you are (God won't let you stay that way, though), God will change you from the inside out and make you a neater person or one that dresses to please others, and not just yourself.
Worship is not a performance we go to see, but it involves our effort and input as we become sensitized to the Spirit's message to us. Unconfessed sin can get us out of fellowship and is a hindrance to worship--we must realize that sin is a barrier that must be overcome by confession and repentance. Discover the power of praise and get your eyes off of yourself and onto Jesus--"looking unto Jesus." It is depressing to get our eyes off of Jesus and focused on ourselves or the world.
We get into the spirit of worship or some may say the mood by entering His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise (a friend of mine says he gets into the mood at Bible study when they sing the hymns)--we just do it and if we are in fellowship with no unconfessed sin (cf. 1 John 1:9) it is God's pleasure to bless His children as they worship Him.
We must be patient and not go by feeling but wait on the Lord. For me the best preparation is to read the Bible and let God speak to me--O how I love the Word--it is a vital part of my walk and fellowship (from the Greek koinonia, meaning sharing things in common). Case in point: "When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight" (Jer. 15:16).
Note that fellowship is not only vertical but horizontal--we prepare by making sure we don't have any unholy relationships and by fellowshipping with our brethren--that's why it is a good idea to show up early for worship and let the Lord lead you and enjoy the fellowship of believers in the Spirit and see why the apostles were so devoted to it (cf. Acts 2:42). Soli Deo Gloria!
Worship is not a performance we go to see, but it involves our effort and input as we become sensitized to the Spirit's message to us. Unconfessed sin can get us out of fellowship and is a hindrance to worship--we must realize that sin is a barrier that must be overcome by confession and repentance. Discover the power of praise and get your eyes off of yourself and onto Jesus--"looking unto Jesus." It is depressing to get our eyes off of Jesus and focused on ourselves or the world.
We get into the spirit of worship or some may say the mood by entering His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise (a friend of mine says he gets into the mood at Bible study when they sing the hymns)--we just do it and if we are in fellowship with no unconfessed sin (cf. 1 John 1:9) it is God's pleasure to bless His children as they worship Him.
We must be patient and not go by feeling but wait on the Lord. For me the best preparation is to read the Bible and let God speak to me--O how I love the Word--it is a vital part of my walk and fellowship (from the Greek koinonia, meaning sharing things in common). Case in point: "When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight" (Jer. 15:16).
Note that fellowship is not only vertical but horizontal--we prepare by making sure we don't have any unholy relationships and by fellowshipping with our brethren--that's why it is a good idea to show up early for worship and let the Lord lead you and enjoy the fellowship of believers in the Spirit and see why the apostles were so devoted to it (cf. Acts 2:42). Soli Deo Gloria!
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