Who's Serving Whom?

Who's serving whom? We call our worship at Atonement "services." Our first thought might be to think of our service to God. At church, we offer God "songs, hymns and spiritual songs" (Ephesians 5:19 ESV). We give our offerings to him to promote his work at Atonement and in the world. We say our prayers to him.

More importantly, in the service, God serves us. Now, perhaps that sounds strange. It doesn't mean God is our servant who has to do everything we ask him. But, think of what King David says in Psalm 23:5, "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies." How incredible! The God of all, Creator of the universe stoops down to serve a feast for our faith. He feeds us with his Word which is "sweeter than honey" to our mouths (Psalm 119:103). This Word tells us how Jesus, the Son of God, made himself a servant to save us from sin (2 Corinthians 8:9; Philippians 2:6-8). He strengthens us through his body and blood in the Lord's Supper. He offers us the forgiveness of sins. He reminds us of our eternal hope in heaven.

When God has served us, we then respond with service to him. We offer up our hymns of praise for all his glorious works. We offer our offerings to him out of thankfulness for saving us from sin and death. We say prayers to him because we know through Christ he listens to us. Truly, he deserves our service for all the ways he has taken care of us.

So, who's serving whom? God serves us at worship. We respond with service of our own. Knowing this, worship is not an obligation, but a blessing. We come to worship before our Father who brings all good things to us.