What are
Churches For?

 I. The Church is like a temple, where you give gifts to God.

Psalm 96:8 “Bring an offering and come into His courts.”

Back in the days of the Old Testament, when those who loved God would come to worship Him in the magnificent temple in Jerusalem, they would always bring a “gift” to God. A present to say, “I love you Lord!” It seems strange to us, but they usually brought gifts that were “on the hoof”- goats, oxen, and bulls to be sacrificed on the altar. Exodus 34:20 says, “No one is to appear before Me empty-handed.” They knew that giving gifts to God was very important ... to Him!

Today often you hear it said, “I just don’t get much out of church, “ or “it just didn’t do much for me today.” Maybe this is because we’ve forgotten something. Worship is primarily a gift you bring to Him!

Church is not about entertainment (although worship is often fun). It’s not primarily about evangelism (although those who don’t know Jesus learn what it means to know Him, watching The Church at worship). Church service is about giving- giving to God worship!

What are the gifts God is waiting to unwrap from you? The people of the Old Testament brought animals. The wise men brought gold, frankincense and myrrh. What should we bring?

I.A. Worship is giving the gift of praise

Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name."

“Worship” is actually an old Anglo-Saxon word. It means, literally, “worth-ship,” or, “recognizing the worth of.” Many of the words used in the Bible for worship teach us that worship involves expressing to God our appreciation and gratitude for all He is and does. One word for worship- the Greek word, “proskunein”- combines the idea of bowing down with that of kissing! Worship is like kissing Jesus’ feet, like a woman once did to the surprise of those present (Luke 7:38)! Worship is telling Him we love Him.

The words of praise in the Old Testament, like “hallel” (from which “hallelujah” comes), “barak” (to bless), “yada” (to give thanks), and “ranan” (to sing), teach us that praise means coming together to let God know, with songs and voices, that we appreciate Him. Together (and in the Bible, praise is always something you do together!) we recognize His “worth-ship.” We come together to give the gift of praise!

I.B. Worship is giving the gift of ourselves

Romans 12:1 “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God..."

Back in the Old Testament when a person brought the gift of an animal to God in worship, it was a way of saying, “Lord, this animal represents me. By laying this goat (or bull, or whatever) on the altar, I’m saying I give myself to You.”

In Romans 12, Paul takes this a step further. He tells us that, in the light of the amazing mercy that God has shown to us, we ought to “present ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.” When the Old Testament priest would take the goat from the giver to present it on the blazing hot altar, between the priest’s knife and the altar’s fire, it didn’t stay on all fours for long! But we are to be a “living sacrifice.” Because God has done so much for us, Paul says you ought to give the rest of your life to Him!

He goes on to say in Romans 12:4-8, God has a special job for you to do. Some are encouragers. Some have the job of helping others. Some are the ones who teach. Some will be good at reaching out to others. Others will help organize things. God has something for you to do! And He also gives you the power to do it. When, by the power God gives, you do the jobs God gives you to do in building His kingdom, that’s worship!

I.C. Worship is giving financial support

Paul was in jail ... again! This time he was in Rome. And he was in need. He was under “house arrest,” which meant he couldn’t go anywhere, and yet he had to provide for many of the things he needed to live. Back in Philippi, the believers heard of this, and because they owed so much to him, and because they loved the Lord Jesus so much, Whom Paul had introduced to them, they sent him a gift of money. In his “thank you” note to them, he explained that this gift of money was “ a fragrant offering, and acceptable sacrifice, ‘pleasing to God’ (Philippians 4:18). In giving to meet the needs of God’s work, they were really giving to Him! Speaking of those same Philippian Christians, Paul says that their giving and generosity was an expression of “overflowing joy,” having given “themselves first to God” (2 Corinthians 8:3-5). If worship is “giving gifts to God,” as we’ve been saying, giving to support what the church is doing, is worship!