Giving thanks for the gift of worship
“Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.”
–Psalm 95:1 (NRSV)
The Bible repeatedly reminds us of our need to worship the God who created us. The people of God are called to come into the presence of God with shouts of joy, with thanksgiving, and with song. We are reminded to study God’s word and to encourage one another in the work of the kingdom.
Worship is a necessary interruption to our week. It is supposed to be inconvenient. The call to remember the sabbath and keep it holy is not a punishment. It is actually a gift. It provides a tangible reminder that we are not the center of the universe. It refocuses our attention on the one who is, the God who made us.
Acts 2 tells us that worship was a primary activity of the earliest Christians. Jesus’ followers spent their time together in prayer and worship. This happened both at home and in the temple. It was not an either/or. We worship both in our daily lives and together with other believers. Both are necessary for our relationship with Christ to be fully formed.
True for them and true for us
What was true for the earliest disciples is true for us today. At last month’s congregational meeting, the worship ministry was universally held up as one of the most meaningful part of our church’s life together. People spoke about how critical it was to gather, to pray, to sing, to meditate on God’s word, and to share the in the sacrament of Holy Communion.
For the Reformers (from whom we descend), it is these final two worship activities that provided the very definition of church. They said wherever God’s Word is rightly proclaimed, and the sacraments are rightly administered, there is the church. We have taken this to heart. These two activities are part of every gathering we have as a congregation.
It’s not about the building or musical genre
Sometimes humans baptize our preferences. We often bring our personal styles to worship and demand that others respond affirmatively. Unintentionally, we end up worshiping our cultural choices instead of the one who is the very author of humanity. It does not have to be this way.
The marks of the church are true whether we are together in our beautiful sanctuary or somewhere else. It is still worship, even when we step outside or sing a capella. We, not our building, our organ, or our video screens, are the church. Our relationship with Christ is why we lift our voices in worship.
Our congregation is reminded of this on a regular basis. Special services provide us an opportunity intentionally modify our worship, even if temporarily. On Easter Sunday we tell the story of Jesus’ early morning appearance in the garden during our Sunrise service. In July’s worship in the park we join the birds of the air (and the occasional random neighborhood cat) in praising our Lord in the midst of the cathedral created by God’s own hand.
An invitation to worship the Rock of your salvation
Worship is a critical part of what it means to be a follower of Christ. We are called to come together, offer our encouragement to each other, lift each other up in prayers, and to feast on God’s living and written Word. Today I give thanks for the gift of worship and the faithful witness of the Disciples of First Christian Church who join together every week in praise and thanksgiving.
If you are in Dexter, and do not have a place to worship the God who has given us Jesus Christ, I invite you to join us this Sunday morning at 10 a.m.
