Public worship is the public assembly of God's saints, meeting together to worship God publicly through the preaching of the word, public prayer, and public praise. Public worship is just as important as private worship. It is so important that Christ Himself gives the promise of His special presence and blessing only to public worship. (Matt. 18:20). "Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them." One who says "I don't need to worship God publicly, I can worship just as well on my own," is nothing more than a religious hypocrite. One who does not worship God publicly in reality does not worship God privately either. Public worship, the coming together as a church to hear the Gospel preached is of utmost importance to the child of God. If a person can willingly and habitually absent themselves from public worship, one of two things is true. (1) They are in a serious, spiritually sick condition. When one is physically sick they lose their appetite. When one is spiritually sick they lose their appetite for the Word preached. (2) They are lost.
The true child of God delights in public worship, because true worship does something for him. True worship will draw us closer to Christ in communion, faith, love and obedience. It shows us Christ, it shuts us up to Christ, and it leaves us looking to Christ. If that is not the case we have not truly worshipped. God uses public worship to cause us to grow in grace and the knowledge of Christ. It always inspires, increases, and enlarges the faith, submission. By Todd Nibert
