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“For you have not come to what could be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, gloom, and storm, [19] to the blast of a trumpet, and the sound of words. (Those who heard it begged that not another word be spoken to them, [20] for they could not bear what was commanded: And if even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned! [21] And the appearance was so terrifying that Moses said, I am terrified and trembling.) [22] Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God (the heavenly Jerusalem), to myriads of angels in festive gathering, [23] to the assembly of the firstborn whose names have been written in heaven, to God who is the judge of all, to the spirits of righteous people made perfect, [24] to Jesus (mediator of a new covenant), and to the sprinkled blood, which says better things than the [blood] of Abel. [25] See that you do not reject the One who speaks; for if they did not escape when they rejected Him who warned them on earth, even less will we if we turn away from Him who warns us from heaven. [26] His voice shook the earth at that time, but now He has promised, Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also heaven. [27] Now this expression, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what is not shaken might remain. [28] Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us hold on to grace. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe; [29] for our God is a consuming fire.” (HCSB) 

 In a recent study of 727 randomly selected adults who identified themselves as “Christians,” 601 senior pastors, and 69 worship leaders, pollster George Barna found that one in three adult regular attendees reported they had never experienced God’s presence while in a church. Two in three were not able to describe to the survey-takers what worship is. Less than half of the participants reported worship was a top priority in their lives, and only one in four described worship as something people do for God.

 The most alarming thing to me about this data is the number of people who’ve never experienced God’s presence in a Worship service.  Matthew 18:20 says, "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst."  (NASB)  If God doesn’t attend a church, it must be because the people aren’t coming in His name.

 Barna says, “Americans make worship services a self-centered activity. Of the reasons given to researchers on why they go to church, 47 percent were self-focused, 29 percent were God-focused, and 2 percent had no focus at all.” Barna adds, “We view ourselves first and foremost as consumers, Americans are always looking for a deal, or what’s in it for them.”
(http://www.freshministry.org/illustrations.html)

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