During Advent this year, we at the Rock will be focusing on Returning to the Heart of Worship. Yes it is a song and I will refer to the song at another time but most importantly the heart of Worship is this. Luke 10:27 Jesus answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.” This is what the Christian life is all about. The premise of this writing is that the church is not where it should be concerning the heart of worship. That means something is wrong with the heartbeat of the church. I believe this issue is nation wide, affecting most churches. For us to return to the heart of worship, we must humble ourselves before God and admit the condition of the church is in appalling shape and needs to be revived. 2 Chronicles 7:14  “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” We will go nowhere if we do not repent. Becoming aware of ones situation is crucial for healing. These next few verses will help us understand our desperate need to return to the heart of worship. John 5:42 “but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts.” Isaiah 29:13 “The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.” Mark 7:6 “He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”  This is strong but really these verses require us to check the condition of our hearts and make the necessary changes. Many Christians have confused what we do on Sunday morning with the heart of worship. True worship is 24/7 and Sunday is just a small portion, 1 -1½ hours a week. Yes Sunday is supposed to help us grow but we must learn to worship all the time. “Worship is much more than a song.”

Prayer: that you will have a change of heart. 2 Chronicles 6:37 “and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong and acted wickedly’; 38 and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity where they were taken, and pray toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and toward the temple I have built for your Name; 39 then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you.”