When Did Church Become About Us?

When did church and worship become centered around man?

We sit during 'Sunday' (whatever day you have it) church and it’s become a program. Lots of noise and distraction. So many things happening. So many people talking. By the time we get to the message, the congregation is already tired from information overload and overstimulation. The message is the last one in, and it’s a sad thing that leaders feel the need to decorate Sunday worship with entertainment.

Don’t get me wrong. Announcements. Fun segments. Entertainment. Connecting points. These are all important for fellowship. Just too many. And one after another. Shouldn't we finish our main business first? And that is to hear from God. And then after, we can hear from each other.

Why has God’s voice become the last item? In a day and age when attention spans have shrunk so much, this is not a good thing.

The Real Way to “Liven Up” Church

Leaders think of ways to liven up the church and come up with a lot of diversions and inserts between worship singing and the message. The best way to “liven up” church is to make sure that the messenger studies the Word diligently and delivers the Word faithfully.

Not speaking his mind, but the mind of God. Not making Scripture fit his message, but ensuring that his words stay true to the meaning and intent of Scripture.

The power of a gathering is not in how creative the inserts are. It is in how faithfully God is declared.

The Word of God is living, and it will work in the hearts of the listeners. It convicts where conviction is needed, comforts where comfort is needed, and corrects where correction is needed. It awakens people to truth, exposes sin, and draws them to repentance and faith. It is not dead information. It is God speaking.

Hebrews 4:12 says:

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

And God Himself makes this promise about His Word:

Isaiah 55:11 says:

“So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

We don’t have to hype it or embellish it. It is alive and powerful. It can handle its own tasks. It doesn’t need our help.

So if a service feels dry, the answer isn’t more distractions. The answer is more of the Word, rightly handled.

The problem is we have too many lazy messengers who think of what they want to say instead of what God wants to say. Some prepare for less than an hour and even brag about how fast they can create a message, when they should be ashamed of that.

Handle the Word reverently. In Revelation, God gives a serious warning about tampering with His Word:

Revelation 22:18 to 19 says:

“For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”

In the same way, we must not put our own spin on God’s message. We don’t get to edit Scripture to fit our opinions. We must stay faithful to the text as His steward.

Christ Must Be Central

Acts 6:4 says:

“But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

This wasn’t a small preference in the early church. It was a priority.

Paul says we preach Christ, and that’s the mission in every gathering. We don’t come with a focus on people, catering to their preferences, making them feel good and accepted. We preach God. We declare who He is, what He has done, and what He can do.

2 Corinthians 4:5 says:

“For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord…”

And this is where we often misunderstand what people truly need.

Many people come to church wanting to feel better. They want peace. They want reassurance. They want a sense of belonging. They want their lives to improve. And those desires are real. But the mistake of today’s gospel is that we start building the entire service around those desires, as though a better life is man’s primary need.

Man’s first and primary need is God. Not self-improvement. Not a more comfortable life. Not a better version of ourselves. We need God for redemption. We need rescue. We need salvation from our condemned end as sinners who, by nature, have opposed Him.

Goodness and change come when we encounter the Good God who changes us. When God is declared clearly and Christ is preached faithfully, that is when everything begins to make sense. That is when people begin to feel the weight of sin, the beauty of grace, and the reality of God’s mercy. That is when true peace comes, not because life has been dressed up, but because the soul has been brought back to its Maker.

This is why Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” The order matters. We do not come to God primarily for a changed life. We come to God for salvation. And when He saves, He changes.

The Gospel Cannot Be Replaced

Yes, people are loved. Yes, God loves them. But first and foremost, they need to know that God is grieved with sin, and sin has separated them from His love. He longs to be reconciled with us, but we need to understand that we can’t be reconciled on our terms. We need Jesus. We must ask Him to save us, and the atoning sacrifice of Christ will redeem us from our destructive end in hell.

And this is exactly why the gospel must not be softened to keep people comfortable.

We must stop crafting every service to appeal to people. The church is not called to build a service around what people want. The church is called to lift up God. Focus on Him, His person, because time is not enough to declare Him. Prioritize exalting Him over affirming people’s worth.

So preach God. Boldly. Unapologetically. Preach Him without delay, no reservations. Share the undiluted message of the gospel. Go directly to the heart of worship. No frills. No agenda. No detours. God the center. God the object. God the means and the end.

Let His Word be the center, not man’s dialogues. Do that and the right people, hungry for God, will come back next Sunday.

People will come. God is able to bring them to Him. And He does that when He is declared. When He is allowed to speak to them. Let the Word of God speak and let His people respond with reverent silence and attention.

Final Thoughts

The church needs to simplify and zero in on the essentials. It’s time to come back to the heart of worship. You don’t need to dress up Sunday church. Let’s come to lift God up and listen to Him speak.

Let His people commune with Him through heartfelt songs and let God communicate with us through His unfiltered, untainted Word.

Habakkuk 2:20 says:

“But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him.”

Psalm 46:10 says:

“Be still, and know that I am God…”