Thursday, July 20, 2017

The Characteristics Of The Soft Prosperity Gospel, Part 4

The Style of Worship

Let’s be honest, in one sense, the Lord’s Day gatherings for the church are very unspectacular. We sing, read, and respond to God’s Word together. We probably don’t walk out of church like we walk out of a movie saying, “Wow! That was spectacular! I can’t believe how it ended! I never saw that coming.” No, we do the same thing every week with some variation of songs or Scripture. We do this because God tells us to do it; He says it is good for us (Heb. 10:25). We trust Him. But sometimes we want a little more.   So churches have gone to feeding the people at every service, providing them with coffee, snacks, and pastries.  It is as if we are telling them, “We know you won’t be truly satisfied with just singing about Jesus and hearing His Word taught, you need something more. We will do what we can to make it as comfortable for you and as entertaining so you can keep coming back.   Because to tell you the truth, we don’t think singing about Jesus and hearing His words preach is enough to keep the staff employed.”

Dissatisfied by preaching, prayer, and singing, we want worship to be a little more “our style” and to fit “our tastes.” Soon, we find ourselves looking for that perfect place for us rather than the faithful place to God. Somehow it becomes our show. This subtle shift shows that we are at least susceptible to soft prosperity thinking, if not fully on board with it.


End of Part 4

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