Years ago I attended worship with my parents, after moving away. I commented that the new pastor’s sermon was harder to listen to than the pastor we’d had previously. My dad said, “Actually, this pastor’s sermons are less flashy, but I learn more.”

From that day on, I started listening to see if I agreed. And, sure enough! My dad was right. I was college age at the time, and I can honestly say, I have never fallen asleep during a sermon since.

No, I’m not patting myself on the back. I’m just sharing with you the secret my dad shared with me: It’s all about content. I don’t attend worship to be entertained. Doesn’t the idea of “entertainment” during worship seem out of place, when you think about it?

So why do we attend worship?

For one thing, we worship God to say we’re sorry for our sins and ask for forgiveness. I can’t say that’s exciting, but neither is it boring. It can’t fit into categories like that at all, when you really think about it.

We also listen to the Word to learn more about God. It’s true, we’ve all had teachers who were more captivating than others. But then, going to class is really about mastering the material. Whether I passed or failed a class in school, it was mostly about me, the student – how hard I worked, how well I paid attention. And don’t we want to learn about God? It’s a pretty important subject to master!

But a worship service is about more than putting knowledge into our heads, it’s also about getting food for our souls. When it comes to feeding your body, certainly some foods are more exciting than others. A juicy cheeseburger thrills me! Green beans…not so much. I eat both, but fortunately I eat more beans than I do burgers. Why? Because in the long run, it’s a lot healthier for my heart (and waistline)!

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17

The same is true of the spiritual food I so desperately need. I need to hear from God that I have sinned. Even more, I need to hear from God what my Savior has done for me, and that through faith in Jesus I am forgiven. I need to be built back up spiritually after a bruising week. I also need to be equipped to face the coming week’s challenges.

Saying church is boring, is kind of like saying talking to mom and getting a hug from her is boring. Doesn’t that adjective seem out of place? Excitement is for Friday night. Forgiveness and Jesus’ love are what hearing the message of Christ is all about.