Worship, according to the Bible, is to be a joyful and happy experience. The Psalmist speaks of going up to the house of God with joy. In many churches today joy is often the missing jewel. Often worship is lifeless and depressing and we wonder why attendances are declining and evangelistic efforts prove so ineffective. More often than not the problem lies within our ourselves. David Robertson wrote these thought provoking lines some time ago, “When people are offered the water of life and only see death in those who claim to have it, is it any surprise they refuse to partake?”¹ Let's be honest, we could apply this sentiment to many of the churches in our land today. So often we meet Christians with long sad faces instead of happy people who claim to know the joy of salvation, peace with God and the hope of heaven in their lives.

Dead worship will ultimately lead to the burial of a congregation; living worship will lead the people of God into a thriving and growing fellowship who desire to know God better, who have a concern for the lost and who seek nothing but the glory of God and the extension of his kingdom. How do we define joyful worship?

The Praise we Sing⤒🔗

When we sing we offer praise unto God. “Worthy is the Lamb” describes the worship of the redeemed in heaven as they exalt God and Jesus Christ. Down through the centuries however, praise unto God has led to serious disharmony and conflict among the people of God. Raymond Brown has written, “It is tragic when the joyous adoration of God becomes a source of painful schism.”² We must not become preoccupied with psalms and hymns old or new, rather in our praise we are to rejoice and be glad at the worthiness of the Lord God and adore the matchless beauty of Christ. There is nothing sacrosanct about tunes and poetry of previous generations. Our praise is to be an expression of our debt to God and our love to the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us. Whether we sing old or modern songs of praise the real issue is, do we offer praise unto God? Singing songs full of rich doctrine will enable us to respond with thankful and joyful hearts.

The Prayers we Offer←⤒🔗

Read through the great prayers of the Bible – of Moses, David or Nehemiah, for example, and learn how they come into the presence of God with worship and adoration. As the Puritans often said, “pray until you pray”. Let us capture the glory and magnificence of God as we pray. Too often we hurry out to worship without any preparation or thought that we are coming into the presence of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Don Carson asks the question, “What is the most urgent need in the church of the western world today?”³ Devotion to the ministry of prayer is his answer. Evangelism, church planting and spiritual development will all prove powerless without the discipline of a regulated prayer life. Communion with God will lead to real and lasting joy.

The Preaching we Hear←⤒🔗

Paul reminds us in Romans that preaching is the primary means by which people come to faith in Christ. “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” J I Packer points out, "not every discourse that fills the appointed 20-30 minute slot in public worship is actual preaching, however much it is called by that name."⁴

Preaching is revelation, it reveals God to mankind and brings a true message from God. When the preacher says “Let us hear the Word of God” we should pay diligent attention to the reading of the Scriptures. God is speaking to his people and making himself known through the Bible. God has given his Word to us for instruction, correction, and rebuke that the people of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16-17)

We should come to church with a sense of anticipation that God speaks through his Word as we worship. The preacher must be mindful of his awesome responsibility to bring the Word of God and to feed the flock with the finest of the wheat. “Reheated sermons” are often lukewarm and unpalatable! The flock will still be hungry. J I Packer has commented that “sermons are often composed and delivered on wrong principles.”⁵ The preacher’s opinions rather than the message from God fall short of Biblical preaching. Preaching that teaches and applies the Word as it reveals the authority of God and his grace to us in Christ Jesus should thrill our souls and cause us to sing “Joyful, joyful we adore thee, God of glory, God of grace.”

The People we Produce←⤒🔗

When worship has become routine and going to church is something to do on Sunday then the joy of true worship has gone. What do visitors to our congregations think of our worship? Is it vibrant, joyful and glorifying unto God? Or does it look like something that is on a life support machine? Too much of our thinking can be caught up with the mechanics of worship that we miss the true object of our worship.

True worship should exalt God to his rightful place in our lives so that we might be excited at the prospect of our next time of worship. John MacArthur has said, “If worship does not change us it has not been worship.” Worship that is centred on God’s Word and driven by God’s Word will result in a thankful, joyful and obedient people.