Why do we worship? How should we worship? When should we worship? Where should we worship? What should the space in which we worship look like?
These are among the many questions our two weekly Bible Study groups asked throughout September and October as we studied the many elements that fall under the word “Worship”.
As always, we began our work with a look at the Bible to see what we could learn in its pages. Did you know that the basic model for how we worship was established more than 400 years before the birth of Jesus? The Old Testament book of Nehemiah teaches us that the faithful gather in community, prayer is offered, Scripture is read, and then Scripture is interpreted “so that there is understanding”. Worship is as simple as that!
We learned that interpretation isn’t limited to a spoken sermon. Music, dance, drama, and pageants are among the many creative ways we can interpret the Word of the Lord. We learned that worship spaces are as varied as the people who fill the rooms. Our Confession of 1967 helps us to understand that “the arts, especially music and architecture, contribute to the praise and prayer of a Christian congregation… awakening us to God’s presence”.
One of the most important lessons we learned is that worship requires the active participation of everyone gathered. A congregation seated in a sanctuary is not an audience. Our Book of Order teaches us, “the people call God by name, invoke God’s presence, beseech God in prayer, and stand before God in silence and contemplation. They bow before God, lift hands and voices in praise, sing, make music, and dance. Heart, soul, strength, and mind, with one accord, they join in the language, drama, and pageantry of worship.” In other words, everyone is actively, energetically involved in every part of worship – not just those who happen to be in the chancel.
We also learned that every hymn we sing is a prayer we offer to God. It doesn’t matter whether you sing well or struggle to stay on key – the important thing is to participate in the prayer, even if it is just saying the words of the song.
As you worship each Sunday, remember “Worship is the workshop where we are transformed into God’s image,” but only if you come to worship ready to be fully involved, “heart, soul, strength, and mind, with one accord…joining in”. Come to worship each Sunday ready to “call, invoke, beseech, stand, bow, lift hands, make music, dance and join in the pageantry of worship.”
The psalmist said it best when he wrote:
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come into his presence with singing.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise.
and his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him, bless his name.
(Psalm 100)
Or, as Eugene Peterson paraphrased the psalm in The Message: “On your feet now – applaud God! Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence!”
Grace & peace
Pastor Skip
