Many feel that right across the spectrum of all denominations and assemblies there has been a watering down of the holy fear, the awe and wonder of God. This shift is a transition from "holy dread" to a more casual, "buddy-like" relationship with the Divine It is a central theme in modern theological critique. Many scholars argue that in an effort to make God "accessible," the Church has occasionally sacrificed the awe, wonder and fear of the Lord.
There is evidence of the Decline in "Holy Fear". While "awe" is subjective, social and liturgical trends provide significant evidence of this shift.
In many modern worship songs and sermons, the vocabulary of majesty (Sovereign, Almighty, Holy) has been largely replaced by the vocabulary of intimacy (Friend, Daddy, Lover). While scripturally valid, the imbalance can lead to a domesticating of God.
When the church service is designed primarily to be "seeker-friendly" or entertaining, the focus shifts from the Creator to the consumer. If the goal is to make the attendee feel "comfortable," the "uncomfortable" weight of God's holiness (‘Kavod’ in Hebrew, meaning "heaviness") is often sidelined.
There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that a return to reverence is exactly what a significant portion of the population is seeking, specifically because the rest of their lives are so saturated with the casual and the common.
Interestingly, it is often the younger generations (Gen Z and Millennials) who are driving a return to more reverent liturgies. Having grown up in a world of high-speed digital noise and "casual" everything, they often find "rock concert" church services to be just more noise.
When the church looks and feels exactly like an entertainment experience or a cinema, it loses its "brand differentiation." If there is nothing "holy" (set apart) about the experience, people eventually stop seeing the point of attending. There is a documented move toward high-church traditions (Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Traditional Catholic) precisely because these spaces don't try to be "cool." They offer a sense of continuity, mystery, and a God who doesn't need to be marketed.
It helps to view the Church through the lens of the Temple model. It is to move away from the "lecture hall" or "concert venue" mindset and toward the concept of Sacred Space. The Temple was not a place for people to meet; it was a place for God to dwell. When the Church adopts this model, the focus shifts from human comfort to divine presence.
In the Old Testament, the centre of the Temple was the Altar. In many modern churches, the centre is the Stage. When the "stage" dominates, the congregation becomes an audience. When the "altar" (the sacrifice of praise and the remembrance of Christ) is the focal point, the congregation becomes a priesthood. As 1 Peter 2:5 says, we are a "holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices."
The "Awe" is actually greater in the New Testament model. Hebrews 12:22-24 says that when we gather, we aren't just in a building; we have come to "Mount Zion, to the city of the living God... to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly."
If we actually believed the room was filled with angels and the literal Presence of the Risen Christ, would we still be worried about being "comfortable," or would we be face-down in wonder?
To restore the "Awe and Wonder" of God and align with the Temple model, certain modern habits of mind and practice must be systematically blotted out. These are the "mental idols" that have crept into the sanctuary, replacing the weight of God’s holiness with the lightness of human preference.
Here are the specific ideas that need to be removed to make room for reverence:
Blot Out the "God as Peer" Myth.
We must erase the notion that God is a "divine assistant" or a "buddy" who exists to affirm our lifestyle. While God is intimate, He is never "common." We must blot out the casualness that forgets the Creator-Creature distinction. In the Temple, even the High Priest entered with trembling. We must remove the idea that we can "hang out" with God without also "bowing before" Him.
Blot Out the Consumerist Mindset.
The idea that the church member is a "customer" and the church is a "service provider" must be destroyed. In the Temple model, the focus is God-ward, not audience-ward. We must blot out the question, "What did I get out of the service?" and replace it with, "What did I bring to the King?" If a service is judged by how "good it made me feel," the Altar has been replaced by the Mirror.
Blot Out the "Stage" Mentality
We must remove the architectural and psychological idea that the front of the church is a place for "performance." When we see a stage, we instinctively act like an audience—we sit back, we evaluate, and we wait to be entertained. We must blot out the "show" and restore the Sacred Space. The leaders are not performers; they are fellow priests leading the charge into the Presence.
Blot Out the "Therapeutic" Gospel
We must erase the belief that the primary goal of a gathering is "stress management" or "self-improvement." A Gospel that only makes you feel comfortable is a Gospel that cannot save you from yourself. We must blot out the "itching ears" theology that avoids the "heavy" attributes of God (His wrath, His justice, His consuming fire).
Ultimately, what needs to be blotted out is the Self as the centre. In the presence of the Omnipotent God, the "Self" should shrink until it is rightly ordered under His sovereignty. As John the Baptist said: "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). When we blot out our own demand for comfort, we finally find the "Awe and Wonder" we were created for.
To support the restoration of "Awe and Wonder" and the systematic "blotting out" of casualness, the following scriptures provide a theological foundation. They emphasize the distinction between the Creator and the created, the necessity of sacred boundaries, and the weight of God's glory (“Kavod”).
Supporting the "Blotting Out" of the "God as Peer" Myth
These verses reinforce the Creator-Creature distinction and the necessity of a humble posture.
"Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools... Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few." Ecclesiastes 5:1–2
“In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than all who surround him." Psalm 89:7
"The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him." Habakkuk 2:20
Supporting the "Blotting Out" of the Consumerist Mindset
These verses shift the focus from what we receive (the "Mirror") to what we offer (the "Altar").
"Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts. Worship the Lord in the splendour of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth." Psalm 96:8–9
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship." Romans 12:1
"Those who sacrifice thank offerings honour me, and to the blameless I will show my salvation." Psalm 50:23
Supporting the "Blotting Out" of the "Stage" Mentality
Scripture indicates that the gathering is for a Royal Priesthood, not a passive audience.
"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." 1 Peter 2:9
"And the Lord said to Moses, 'Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow... because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.'" (The people had to prepare themselves; they were participants in the event, not spectators).” Exodus 19:10–11
Supporting the "Blotting Out" of the "Therapeutic" Gospel
These verses address the "itching ears" and the reality of God as a "Consuming Fire."
"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our 'God is a consuming fire.'"
Hebrews 12:28–29
"For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." 2 Timothy 4:3–4
"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips... and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty." (Isaiah’s response to God was not "comfort," but a deep awareness of his own need for holiness). Isaiah 6:5
The Ultimate Goal: The Decrease of Self
"He must become greater; I must become less." John 3:30
"Then he said to them all: 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.'" Luke 9:23
"The twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: 'You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power...'" Revelation 4:10–11
This prayer is composed to reflect the weight of God’s holiness and a commitment to move from a consumerist mindset to a sacrificial one.
A Prayer for the Restoration of Holy Awe
Almighty and Everlasting God,
We come before You today acknowledging that You are in Heaven and we are on earth. We pause at the threshold of Your presence, taking off the sandals of our worldly distractions, for the ground where You dwell is Holy. We confess that we have often treated Your courts as common and Your name as ordinary. We have sought comfort when we should have sought Your Face; we have desired to be entertained when we should have been prostrate in wonder.
Lord, blot out from our hearts the spirit of the age.
Strip away the "God as Peer" myth that has domesticated Your majesty. Forgive us for the times we have treated the King of Kings as a mere assistant to our own desires. We reject the consumerist mindset that asks what we can get from You, and we choose instead to ask what we may bring to You. We move from the mirror of self-interest to the altar of sacrifice, offering our lives as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing in Your sight.
Holy Spirit, restore the "Kavod"—the weight of Your Glory—to our assemblies.
Remove the "stage" from our minds and replace it with a sense of Your Throne. May we no longer be an audience watching a performance, but a Royal Priesthood offering up the sacrifice of praise. Guard our steps as we enter Your house and let our words be few in the light of Your infinite wisdom. We desire the sound doctrine that challenges us, rather than the comfortable words that satisfy "itching ears."
Finally, Lord, let us decrease that You may increase.
We lay our crowns at Your feet. You alone are worthy to receive glory and honour and power. May our worship be acceptable, filled with the reverence and awe that You are due. Let us leave Your presence changed—not merely comforted, but consecrated—for the sake of Your Holy Name.
Amen.