The Ideal Church Service!

I can't believe it! Right smack in the middle of the Old Testament is a picture of the perfect church service! This is odd because "the church" hasn't even been born yet. This is a gathering of Jews getting together to hear the Torah reading from the Scribe Ezra. But, as i look over everything that followed, i can't help but think that this would be the desire of every pastor or church leader on the planet! Truly, everything right came together and made for an amazing day of ministry!

Before we take a look at the ingredients found in this ideal service...let's take a look at what was produced in the end. Sometimes we need some incentive to keep us reading on...So, what was end result? V. 12 says that "the people of God left the service celebrating with great joy because they had heard God's Words and understood them!" Does this sound like a good goal for every pastor/church leader? Does this sound like something we all desire to have happen when we leave church ourselves?

That ought be the goal of every single ministry on the face of the planet! That God's people would come Saturday/Sunday to worship service with whatever going on in their lives on the front side, but leave having been moved by the teaching of the Word in such a way that they are filled with joy over the way in which they understood the Word of God that day! Nobody confused, nobody bored, nobody with more questions than answers, nobody weighted down with guilt and heavy burdens...everyone equipped and encouraged in God! So, what happened? If the end was so great and so desirable, then how did this happen?

First, v.1 says that all the people came to the assembly with the unified purpose to hear from God through "pastor Ezra"! This is key to any moving church service, isn't it? If the people don't come to hear from God, then no matter what the pastor shares, it may fall on deaf ears. The people all came with one desire...they wanted to hear the Word of the Lord! A good question to ask ourselves before any given Sunday morning is, "Am i coming to church to hear from the Word of God?" If so, then i will have "ears to hear" as Jesus often mentioned being a key to understanding His teaching. We must come ready and wanting to hear from God.

But also, v.2 gives us a key, which can be easily overlooked, to having a great church service. It says that those who were included in the assembly were those "old enough to understand". I don't know what the age limit was, but needless to say, the little ones were not present. And that makes sense because we all know that for little kids, listening to someone read ANYTHING for 1 or more hours will not go over well! Kids need to be in an environment where they can learn the things of God on their level. But, these people knew that having the little ones among them would only be a distraction...and, that is the last thing that they wanted. So, if a child could understand what was being taught, they were able to come and listen with the adults...if not, they needed a different environment. It's better for everyone, really. This enabled the end of v.3 to read the way it does..."All the people listened closely to the Book of the Law." Amen!

So, we have a people assembled to listen to the Word and we have an age appropriate assembly. And, v. 4 reveals another insight into what made this service so great, it says, "When the people saw Ezra open the Book, they all rose to their feet." Could you imagine if every time the pastor began to read from the Word, all the people assembled rose to their feet? Of course, some churches ask their people to do this on occasion...but, what if the people had such a high view of God's Word that they did it of their own volition? Something that was taught within the Hebrew culture, which we have lost within our contemporary Western (even Christian) culture is a respect for the Word of God. Now, we know that there is nothing sacred in and of the Book alone...it's just leather, paper and ink. God is not bound up in His Word like He was the Ark of the Covenant in the OT. But, culturally we have gone to an extreme of treating His Word very casually and making something miraculous and life-changing very much common and base. So, this practice of the Hebrew people standing when the Word of God was read is one that could be re-instituted in our assemblies today! It may do our people well to have a higher regard of the Scriptures, as it may help people to listen and obey with more reverence. Just a thought...

Next, we find worship happening! v.6 says that "Ezra praised the Lord, and all the people chanted, "Amen! Amen!" as they lifted their hands and then bowed down with their faces to the ground"! Hello! Sound like a worship service that you would like to be a part of? This is very similar to many modern worship services today, and thankfully so. We find God's people with lifted hands, responding to worship leader as he praises our great God. We find the people singing/chanting, and we find the people bowing down with faces to the ground! Basically every part of their body is engaged in the worship of God! This is very different from many worship services we have all attended where the people sit or stand with hands in pockets, mumbling (if anything) with minds on what restaurant to eat lunch at! Again, worship for these people involved every part of their body...mouths, hands, posture, mind and heart. This is a good thought...does my body reflect my heart condition? Am i in awe of God? Then bow down on the ground! Am i thankful or in great need of Him? Lift hands in worship! Do i believe that He is great and mighty and worthy to be praised? Then sing or speak to Him about it!

Next, we find in v. 7-8 that after worship, the Word was read and helpfully explained! This is key and this is another overlooked practice in our modern church services. The pastor doesn't always read from the Word of God, and if he does, he doesn't always helpfully explain what is being said. This is really the heart of teaching...to simply explain what is being said so that people can understand it. And, although some may say, "I teach the Word brother...boy do i teach it!" What they often do is either teach over peoples heads, or preach their opinions on this or that which have nothing to do with the context or application of the text. This very simple practice of reading the Word and helpfully explaining the text is missing in many, many churches today! But, these are the churches that are growing today, as this is a key to transformation in the lives of people...read and teach the Word to people!

What is the result of the reading and teaching of the Word? v. 9 says that "the people had all been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law." When pastors simply unleash the power of the Word and help people understand it's meaning, it is powerful what God then does in response. The people got it that morning and they recognized that they needed to change. This is the goal of all good teaching/preaching...people "getting it" and recognizing that we've been wrong and we need to change. This is a sign of repentance...and repentance is necessary for true spiritual change to take place!

So, the people come ready to hear the Word, the people are gathered in age appropriate environments, the people are fully engaged in the worship of God, the Word of God is read and helpfully explained, and then the people respond in anguish and repentance in desire to align themselves with Him! This ought to be the goal of every church leader! But, this isn't the end. One more thing happens here that is important to see. Rather than let the people leave mourning and weeping over their sin, Nehemiah and the other leaders went around encouraging the people not to leave dejected and sad! Although that was a proper response to the Word of God where it was not being obeyed or lived out in their lives...this was not how they wanted the people to leave the service and go home! Rather, Nehemiah said, "For the joy of the Lord is your strength!" While anguish and weeping are appropriate for repentance, God doesn't want his children to stay sad and dejected because He knows that "HIS JOY IS OUR STRENGTH"! So, joy...do our people leave our services having met with God through worship and His Word, and even if they do need to weep and repent, do we help them to leave knowing that they are forgiven and loved enough to celebrate? This is also a good question to ask of our church services...

So, in the end we've had an amazing Sunday morning service, haven't we? Let's do what we can to help make this kind of service a reality in our local fellowships. We can all play a part. If you are a church leader, here is a great model to follow and run our ministries through!
If you are a lay person, it starts with the way we come to church. Do you come ready to hear from God's Word? Do you come ready to fully engage in worship? Do you encourage the pastor in his reading and helpful explaining of Scripture?
There is something for everyone here in God's Word! I love it!

Created over 1 year ago