Do Protestants Really Worship God?

There's no such thing as "Protestant worship," since there are huge variations in how Protestants approach Sunday services. But one area upon which Protestants are nearly unanimous is in their denial of the sacrificial nature of the Mass. But what does omitting sacrifice from Sunday do to our ability to call Protestant services "worship"?

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[AttackDog]

As a Protestant, you bring forward an interesting argument worth chewing on. Your title was admittedly quite inflammatory to me and I came in expecting a massive strawman, but having heard your argument, I think it's an interesting thought. What does worship look like is a good question to ask.

[Stygard]

I converted to Catholicism a little over 5 years ago. I was a Baptist Minister before that. The first path for me was the issue of Authority and Sola Scriptura connected to the idea of Apostolic succession and the place of Sacred Tradition along side the magisterium and Sacred Scripture. But the understanding of the Eucharist as the real presence, the Body blood, soul, and divinity tied to the Sacrifice of the Mass was what awoken my desire to come home to the Catholic church.

I have found that this understanding of Sacrifice and its connection to worship is so foreign to most protestants that in conversations with my family members and other friends they have no frame of reference to grasp it and they are not interested in the long explanation and putting the pieces together to get to the Eucharist as a sacrifice.

It is also so hard to talk about this because I don’t want to seem like I am attacking or discounting their experience and relationship with Jesus. Most are offended by and put off by claiming they are lacking something at their church. I was pretty pushy mostly talking about Sola Scriptura when I was first converting and at times was harsh with my criticisms so I am patiently waiting, praying for humility, for an open door to evangelize.

I deeply long for my family members to come home to Catholicism, to experience the joy and love I have gained by becoming Catholic.

[ToddJambon]

Father Mike Schmitz had a show about why and how we worship. He talked about how on Mother's Day, he and his siblings asked their mom what she wanted and she said she just wanted them to get along and do their chores. They weren't interested in that and all came up with different gifts for her. At the end of the day, she acknowledged that while the gifts were good, they weren't what she asked for. That seems to be the gist here: at some point, some Protestant groups decided they would do their own, non-biblical services that don't include worship. And while most are good, they aren't what God asked of us. Also, sacrifice is possibly the best type of worship because it shows you trust in God. Old-Testament folks could have made a lot of money off the Paschal lamb or a fattened calf, but would instead sacrifice it to God, trusting He would provide them that money in some other way.

[tomcha]

Born and raised Catholic. Poorly Catechised. Drifted away from the faith in high school, then lived a shameful life during the university years. Sort of came back and got married in the Church (mostly for cultural and family reasons). Wandered through various Protestant churches, but couldn't shake the feeling something was missing through all the songs, shouting, crying, sermons, etc... Came back to the Catholic Church and it hit me. It was the Eucharist. Cried like a baby.

[HumanDignity]

“Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist “ by Brant Pitre is an excellent book, it gave me chills several times. It’s hard for me to understand how Protestants can claim Catholics don’t prioritize Jesus when we’re the ones with the huge crucifixes front and center in our churches, and receiving His body and blood, as He instructed, is central to every Mass.

[PolymorphicPenguin]

You've made some very persuasive arguments, Joe. If I listen to your podcast enough, I may eventually become Catholic. It will take a while, though, because Protestant churches are all I've known. I wish that Catholics and Protestants were closer in love and friendship. We have so much tension between us. Jesus told us to love our enemies, but we're falling down on the job.

[joshuas]

Protestant here. This is the best handling of this topic i have ever seen. You gave me a ton to think about and I already believed in real presence prior to watching this. I'll be checking out more of your content.

[jessebrennan]

I came across your channel because I am a non-denominational Christian wanting to look into converting to Catholicism.
The 'Worship' part of our service comes before the sermon where we sing praise and worship songs.
This is always been my understanding of worship.
But you've made it so clear that worship is so much more than that. What we should just be plainly called Praise...
Thank you so much for this very informative video! I will continue to watch more of your videos and learn all i can.

[J-PLeigh]

The truth of the Eucharist was absolutely the main reason I came home to Catholicism & only about a year ago, as true worship is sacrifice, we are called to be partakers of the divine nature through the holy sacrament, always abiding in our Lord Jesus Christ

[JosephHeschmeyer]

Two quick comments to add, based on the conversation in the comments:

1. If you don't know the difference between worship and prayer, it's easy to think that Catholics "worship" Mary when we pray to her. But the real problem might be that you're merely praying to God when you should be worshipping Him. If you're not giving God any more than what we Catholics give Mary, you're not giving God enough.

2. Hebrews 7:27 is sometimes used to argue against sacrificial worship in Christianity. Leaving aside the fact that Christian worship is explicitly sacrificial in the New Testament (in places like Hebrews 13:15-16 and Romans 12:1), this also misunderstands how Jewish (and even pagan!) sacrifices worked. Since Jesus is our Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5:7), take the Passover sacrifice as an example. It has two clear stages: Preparation Day, on which the lamb was slain, and Passover itself (the First Day of Unleavened Bread) on which the lamb was eaten.

Eating the Lamb didn't "re-sacrifice" him. It completed the sacrifice. Or if you prefer, the merits of the lamb's death were applied in the Passover liturgy. So it's true, Christ dies a sacrificial death, once for all. That's our Preparation Day (John 19:14) and it's unrepeated and unrepeatable. But the merits of Christ's death on the Cross must still be applied in our lives, and the chief way that's done (sacrificially speaking) is the eating of the Lamb, which is why the Last Supper and the Mass are inseparable from Good Friday and Calvary.

[JohnHenry-wm]

I am convert to the Catholic Church and I am still wondering after 13 years how I missed the very core of Christian worship for 30 years as a Pentecostal (even Elder). 😮

[jtig]

Hey Joe,

This video catalyzed my journey to the Catholic Church. Thanks to you, this Easter I will receive all my sacraments and enter into the fullness of Christ's true church.

God Bless

[Bobby-xrbo]

I remember speaking to a guy who ran a “church” similar to hillsong.. during the conversation he let slip.. yeah we give people what they want.. modern music. Disco lights… huge screens etc… rock music, the whole shebang.. and I just thought “you are giving people what they want but not giving them what they need”

[kibawhitefang]

I’ve been in different denominations. And many years outside of a church. When I was very young in the 90’s, my father and I end up at a Catholic parish praying for the custody of my little brother, and that was answered so quickly.

Pressing forward over 20 years ago, and despite my then to-be my godmother tried to get me into the faith but I was never drew in. I’m sure she kept me in her prayers.


⚜️Last year was decisive. Since I am connected to history and even things from France 🇫🇷, I end up finally wondering what really is _Joan of Arc_ all about. I watched a documentary film about her and I was so attracted to her conviction and devotion. And seeing how things played on, there’s just no way she could have done it all by herself and by mere coincidence. France could never be France without her. And is all documented. The truth doesn’t pick a side of bias. Joan sparked my calling to faith like anything before… and I then end up coming to my nearest parish and took the RCAI classes. _”I am not afraid, I was born to do this”_ Although I also followed up along the way with more sources, just like father Chris Alar, one of the marians fathers from the Divine Mercy.

🇵🇱 But also, I recommend watching Saint Faustina’s film. How deep and how mystic her life story is and how everything, everything leads to Jesus. _”Jesus, I trust in you”_ 🇵🇱

And the more I went the more I fell in love with the Church and started understanding Mary even more and understanding her motherhood as our spiritual mother too. 🙏🏻

As well as how passionate and how merciful was Saint Mother Teresa. “To love till it hurts” ♥️

🇮🇪 Is amazing how even people celebrates Saint Patrick’s Day and many don’t know what they are celebrating. The meaning of the shamrock ☘️

Many don’t know the origins of Christmas (Christ + Mass) and the origins of Santa Claus (Saint Nicolas) 🎄

I got baptized, confirmed (Joan of Arc is my confirmation name) and took first Holy Communion on _Easter Vigil_ this year, and got a flight for my grandmother and my godmother who had me in her prayers from a beginning despite waiting and hoping for almost 8 years.


Just be patient, the more you dive in, the more everything starts to make even more sense. So much more.

[JimCvit]

I read the transcript of your podcast on CAL the other day. I make a morning offering every day. I go to Mass almost every day and know it's a sacrifice but this opened my eyes even more. I've been meditating on this since I read it and I can only say that it's "lifted my heart" many, many times to the Father. There were things you mentioned that I forgot. Forget about Protestant "worship, " we Catholics needtobe reminded of this. Thanks be to God for you!

[ArchangelIcon]

A very enjoyable and useful presentation. As an Eastern Orthodox Christian myself, this is where Roman Catholics and Orthodox are in total agreement.

[nelliernnr]

As a charismatic pentacostal trying to reason my way into the Catholic faith this helps so much! I love all your teachings and Catholic answers episodes and have been learning so much! I look forward to getting the book.

[iluvlexiful]

I had a strange dream last night. I was at Mass but it wasn’t in a church it was in an auditorium and the seating was not facing the altar. The priest came up to the altar and prayed the first half of the mass, the liturgy of the Word, but then he left and we sat quietly for a short while. After that they sang and made a few announcements and a woman came up and thanked everyone for being there and church was over. No Eucharist. No kneeling No blessing at the end. I woke up feeling an incompleteness. I am so grateful to have been raised in the Catholic faith and have always had the Sacraments. I just can’t imagine if that dream was real life- not having Jesus there present. His presence is a gift 🎁

[Richard-oopc]

I grew up as a JW, moved on to protestantism before becoming a Catholic in 2018. Ive always felt like protestant "worship" was more like a weekly bible study.

[kutsous]

As a Protestant at this stage, I appreciate your in depth analysis. I’m considering attending my first mass but do not know what to expect.