A Case for Reverence (Unabridged‪)‬

I heard the youth pastor say, "God, you studly gentleman" in his prayer for our meal. It felt very uncomfortable to refer to the Almighty God and Creator of all as a "studly gentleman," particularly from someone claiming to be a spiritual leader of teens.

People have visited our church and commented, "The services were nice, but we haven't sung those hymns in a long time." Or, "We might have been a little under-dressed."

Casual is all the rage in today's culture, but is it really how church should be? A Case for Reverence is a simple look at why we choose to conduct our services with a more reverent atmosphere than many other churches do today. If God is to be honored, worshiped and revered for who He is, our church services ought to reflect the same reverence.

We are reverent at funerals and other occasions that demand reverence. Is a weekly gathering to worship God less important than any other gathering? We think not. Listen to A Case for Reverence for compelling arguments against the modern church's philosophy to "come as you are." God is worthy of our all, including our comfort levels at church.