When the calendar hits December first every year, it’s common for many of us to change our regular radio stations and begin blasting Christmas music. Suddenly, our cars resound with classic carols, and our homes are filled with festive melodies as we prepare for Christmas day. One such carol that many of us know by heart is “O Come, All Ye Faithful.” “O come, all ye faithful,” we sing, “joyful and triumphant…O come, let us adore Him!” Whether you’re listening to a jazzy version by Nat King Cole or jamming to the Pentatonix adaptation, this familiar carol has a reminder for us this season: to approach the Lord with adoration.
Worthy Of Our Praise
Take a moment to read Psalm 95:1-2: “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!” Psalm 95 is a call for us to worship God. We are called to sing, make a joyful noise, give thanks, and come into His presence with a song of praise. Why? Because God is our Rock. He is our foundation, the immovable part of our salvation. In the Bible, salvation means to be saved from the enemy, and we know our ultimate enemy to be sin and death. In our sin, we were separated from God, and we all deserved death, but Jesus came so that we could be brought into His family again. Jesus came in a manger but died on a cross for our salvation. He was born in a cave and buried in a cave so that He would be the Rock, the cornerstone, the foundation of a saved people. This is the good news of the gospel, and the good news of the gospel is worthy of our shouts of praise.
Worthy Of Our Adoration
Continue in Psalm 95, and look at verses 3-5: “For the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.” We see here that God is over every ruler and power. There’s a Christian song for kids called “My God is So Big,” and the lyrics reflect this very idea: “My God is so big, so strong and so mighty…the mountains are his, the rivers are his, the skies are his handy works, too.” Colossians 1:16-17 also states: “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominion or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Simply put, we adore God because He is over it all.
Worthy Of Our Worship
Verses 6-8 in Psalm 95 continue: “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts…” Here the Psalmist calls for the exact thing we sing at Christmastime: “Oh come, all ye faithful!” The faithful are called to bring their adoration in worship, bowing, and kneeling. The faithful are called to bend their knees and pay homage to their King. We are not called to worship simply because God is the King. It’s more beautiful, personal, and intimate than that. Psalm 95 states that we are sheep from His pasture. God isn’t just the King but our Shepherd King. He isn’t a hired hand who runs from our sins or our messy situations. He cares for us deeply and watches over us. He is guiding our path to a glorious end with Him in heaven for eternity. For that reason, do not harden your hearts against Him today!
He Alone Is Worthy
God is worthy of our worship, allegiance, and adoration. If we don’t adore God, we will adore smaller things that aren’t worthy. When we refuse to adore God, our hearts begin an endless search, and we will set our hope on relationships, money, possessions, status, or health. Has this year shown you this? When God isn’t adored, we will find something else to pursue ultimately, trust for deep joy, and lean on for security.
I remember back when our church turned two. On our second birthday, we broke 1,000 in attendance, and I was thrilled! God was moving beyond what I could have thought or imagined, just like I had asked Him to. But I remember thinking, “Brother, if you can’t be content with a church of 100, you will never be content with a church of 1,000.” I realized that I couldn’t look to Mercy Hill to give me identity, success, or security. I knew that every new milestone would bring another milestone into view, and I had to find contentment in Him alone. I wasn’t built to adore the success of the church. I was built to adore the King because He alone is worthy.
O Come, All Ye Faithful
This Christmas, what is your ultimate hope? What is the source of your joy? What in this life gets your highest praise and adoration? If your answer is not God, then the solution for you today is to come and adore the adorable One. It looks like confessing your sin and believing that Jesus came in a manger and died on a cross—not for His sin but to cancel yours. It means inviting Him to take over your life and committing to follow Him wherever He leads.
If you’re already a believer, I would call you to this: Adore Christ in your heart and home this Christmas. Don’t open gifts with your kids before talking about Jesus and thanking God for the greatest gift. Let’s be generous this Christmas considering what we’ve received in the gospel. “Oh come, all ye faithful” should be our anthem. “Let us adore him” together!
– Andrew Hopper (Lead Pastor)
