“Worship ought to be seen as a spiritual discipline, where I’ve got my heart fully set on Christ, and my mind is tuned in to what the Word of God could teach us today.”

It might feel strange, even inappropriate, to think of worship as a discipline. But when we live in a culture that is constantly distracting us, we too easily take our focus off of God and let our minds wander. Training ourselves to focus on Christ during church gatherings is essential for our personal growth.

Dr. Philip Nation takes it one step further. In his book Habits for Our Holiness, he shares how worship is not just about our faith, but about the faith of those around us. When we gather for church, we can prepare our hearts and settle in to be spiritually fed. But we also need to be aware of what’s going on around us.

Worship is part of our daily routines, but when it happens in corporate gatherings, it can strengthen us in a particular way. For those who are called to lead worship through music, preaching, or prayer, Philip has a few words of advice.

“Worship leaders, bands, and even pastors have to acknowledge that when people walk into the room, when they walk onto the campus of the church, they are carrying baggage. They’re carrying weight. Somebody just got an unexpected diagnosis; other people are just in survival mode.”

While worship leaders and pastors are ready to participate in passionate worship, the people sitting in front of them may be barely hanging on.  Philip encourages pastors to be patient, and let God lead them. Their broken hearts need prayers, not judgment.

Philip quotes a pastor friend who says,

“If you will preach to people’s brokenness you’ll never want for a crowd.”

Our ministry needs to be done with the hearts of the listeners in mind. In a world that sees God as irrelevant and stuffy, the message of the Gospel is more important and more unique than ever before.

“People need to know that the message of Scripture addresses the pain points of their lives.”

Corporate worship is a chance to come together, in view of unbelievers, and choose to focus on God instead of our pain. When we train our minds to think on God in church gatherings – and indeed, in all of life – we set a powerful witness and further our spiritual growth.

Key Scriptures: Hosea 14:4; 2 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 4:1-7

Featured Songs: No One Like Our God by Matt Redman; At the Cross by Chris Tomlin; Deeper by Meredith Andrews

Highlight : The discipline of worship

Habits for our holiness