Worship or Entertainment? Rediscovering Reverence and Awe

Worship is meant to be the most God-centered act of the Christian life — the moment when the people of God gather to exalt His glory, confess their need, and delight in His holiness. But in our age of spectacle and performance, something subtle yet serious has happened: worship has begun to resemble entertainment. The stage has replaced the altar, the spotlight replaces the Spirit, and the congregation becomes an audience.

This shift is not always intentional. Many leaders simply want to create engaging, relevant services. Yet when the focus drifts from the glory of God to the experience of man, worship loses its center. What was meant to lift our eyes heavenward instead loops inward, reinforcing the consumer habits of the culture around us.

So what does it mean to rediscover reverence and awe? To answer that, we must first understand the difference between entertainment and worship.

Entertainment vs. Worship

Entertainment aims to please people. Its measure of success is how much we enjoy it. It thrives on novelty, excitement, and emotional highs — things that make us feel something, often without requiring transformation. In entertainment, the audience is sovereign. If they are pleased, the performance has succeeded.

Worship, on the other hand, exists to honor God. Its measure of success is whether He is pleased. It calls for truth, reverence, humility, and awe. It is less about stimulation and more about submission. In worship, God is sovereign — and the congregation are participants, not spectators.

When the church borrows the tools and logic of entertainment, it begins to reshape worship in its image. Lights, music, and atmosphere are not inherently wrong, but they easily become substitutes for the real presence and power of God. A service can feel moving yet be spiritually hollow if it centers on creating an experience rather than exalting the Exalted One.

Biblical Worship: Trembling and Wonder

True worship, as Scripture shows, is characterized by reverence and awe — not casual familiarity. Consider Isaiah’s vision in Isaiah 6. The prophet sees the Lord “high and lifted up,” the train of His robe filling the temple, seraphim crying “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.” Isaiah’s immediate response is not delight in the ambiance but terror at his own unworthiness: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips.” Only after cleansing does he stand ready to serve.

In Revelation 4 and 5, John is taken into the heavenly throne room. There is no band, no stage, no mood lighting — only blazing holiness. The 24 elders fall down before the Lamb, casting their crowns at His feet. The worship of heaven is not driven by emotional manipulation but by the sheer majesty of God revealed in His splendor and sacrifice.

Both Isaiah and John encounter the same pattern: a revelation of God’s holiness, a recognition of man’s unworthiness, and a response of humble adoration. That is biblical worship. It does not entertain; it transforms. It does not seek emotional high points for their own sake, but awe-filled surrender to the reality of who God is.

How We Lost Reverence

In a culture dominated by consumerism, churches began to feel pressure to “meet people where they are” — often meaning, to make church appealing. The music grew louder and the lights more dynamic. The language of marketing entered ministry: audience engagement, felt needs.

Again, these are not inherently evil, but they subtly reshape the goal. When success is measured by how many people attend or how moved they feel, we have crossed a line from worship to performance. Reverence gives way to relevance; holiness to hype.

The danger is not that we use modern tools — God can be glorified through guitars as well as organs — but that we forget why we gather. We come not to be entertained but to bow down before the living God, to confess our sin, to receive His Word, and to declare His worthiness above all else.

Recovering Reverence and Awe

Rediscovering reverence in worship does not mean becoming cold, formal, or joyless. Biblical awe always leads to joy — but joy that springs from holiness, not hype. Here are a few ways churches and believers can move back toward God-centered worship:

1. Return to the Word.

Let Scripture shape the service — from calls to worship and confessions to songs and sermons. When the Word of God frames the gathering, it naturally draws attention to Him rather than us.

2. Reclaim Silence and Simplicity.

True awe often grows in quiet, not noise. Space for reflection, confession, and prayer cultivates awareness of God’s presence beyond the noise of production.

3. Recenter on the Cross.

Every song, prayer, and sermon should point to the Lamb who was slain. Worship that exalts Christ crucified will never become self-centered entertainment.

4. Teach the People.

Reverence is learned. Pastors and worship leaders can teach what worship truly means — not emotional catharsis but encountering God in truth and spirit (John 4:23–24).

5. Prioritize Participation over Performance.

Congregational singing, communal prayer, and Scripture reading remind us we are participants in worship, not an audience at a show.

6. Pray for the Fear of the Lord.

Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Ask God to restore a holy fear — a reverent love that trembles before His greatness yet draws near in gratitude for His grace.

The Beauty of Holy Awe

When worship regains reverence, it regains power. The goal is not to make people feel something artificial, but to help them see Someone real. Awe cannot be manufactured, but it can be awakened — when God’s holiness, majesty, and mercy are set before His people.

Entertainment fades as soon as the lights go out. Awe endures because it flows from truth. And the church that recovers reverence will find that what truly draws people is not spectacle, but the glory of God Himself — the One before whom every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Rooted in Jesus Grace,

Mara Wellspring