“… if the Sunday service aims primarily at evangelism, it will bore the saints. If it aims primarily at education, it will confuse unbelievers. But if it aims at praising the God who saves by grace, it will both instruct insiders and challenge outsiders. Good corporate worship will naturally be evangelistic.”
— Tim Keller, “Reformed Worship In The Global City” essay, in Worship By The Book.
- Does your Sunday worship service planning aim primarily for an evangelistic appeal?
- Does your worship service planning aim for instruction, like a “class room for believers”?
The evangelism of the lost and the doctrinal education of the believer are both worthy goals. Don’t eliminate them — transcend them. When our goal is to fervently worship God, through the Son, in the power of the Spirit, acknowledging the cross as the means by which we can boldly come before God’s throne, then God equips and edifies the church even as he draws the outsider. In short, true worship is worship “In Spirit and in truth.”