2 Corinthians 4:5/ For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6/ For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

In the above verses Paul established the necessity of making Jesus Christ the central focus in transformational worship.  In such worship we profess our belief in the Good News that the Almighty God is Alive.  God reigns throughout the entire universe, and God has made provisions through God’s only beloved Son for us to be in fellowship and in conversation with God. 

Countless people throughout the world do not know that God loves them.  They do not know that they can hold a conversation with God; and they do not know that the alienation and separation they feel from God has been overcome by the miraculous resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave.  While we sometimes blame other world religions for the declining influence of the Christian Gospel, the truth is that many don’t know about Jesus Christ because so many churches—of all denominations and persuasions, shapes and sizes, liberal and conservative—don’t faithfully proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

One of the greatest impediments to the promotion of the Gospel globally is culturally bound Christians who argue for the particular moral and social issues we care about without ever bothering to proclaim that God so loved the world that God gave Jesus Christ, that whoever believes in him should have eternal life (John 3:16).

So long as this Good News remains covered up by whatever we cover it up with…and we constantly find new and creative ways to cover up and conceal the Gospel: We conceal the Gospel underneath isms and schisms in the body of Christ. The Gospel also remains veiled underneath moral disputes, ideological disagreements, outright arguments about the meaning of the Scriptures, denominational and congregational conflicts; disagreements about business affairs, calendar matters and budgets; conflicts over worship times and worship styles.

When all these various skirmishes are over we find ourselves with little energy left for transformational worship. Paul says, we need to get over ourselves and begin to once again proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord.  When Christ is central to our proclamation and worship then the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness” will begin to exhibit God’s purposes, strength, provisions, and God’s favor in our lives.  So many Christians and so many churches go without God’s provisions, meandering along without clear direction and focus, and struggling to make the ends meet for failure to practice transformational worship which proclaims the Lordship of Jesus Christ who gives light to the whole world.

When we worship Christ as though we believe the story, our lives will be changed, our church will be changed, and the community surrounding our church will be changed.  Let us worship from this moment forward as believers in Jesus Christ and His Good News.  Let us lead lives of obedience, service and stewardship which are convincing to the world around us that we are believers in Christ.  When we live according to our faith, and then worship with boldness, joy, faith, and anticipation, new things will begin to happen in us, through us, and because of us.  Do you believe this?