What Is Worship? Part 4 - All
I saw it happen again yesterday. I wasn't preaching so I got to participate and, to some extent, observe worship happening. Yes, it's an occupational hazard, to slip into "observer" mode when in a service of worship. No, I'm not saying that's a good thing, but sometimes you notice things you wouldn't see otherwise.
Yesterday, Pastor Deb preached a wonderful sermon reminding us of the need to let our chains go, the things that bind us. This close to Advent, I thought of Ebenezer Scrooge and the chains he forged in life that he had to let go. And that reminded me again what a keen observer of the human condition Dickens was. We all have chains, as Pastor Deb reminded us. We all have sins, regrets, failings, things we wish had never happened, things that hold us back from the full life Jesus wants to give us. (And if we say we don't sin or think we are perfect, we're lying to ourselves. The Bible says that in 1 John 1:8.)
And so, as Pastor Deb invited us to take the chains we were given when we came in and symbolically throw them into a tub, to throw them away, I began to look around. There were some tears, there were some prayers, but most of all what I noticed was people struggling and wanting to put all of themselves into their faith. Because worship, even though it's primarily about God, ought to call us to give our all.
In other words, we ought to leave worship changed, more like Jesus, and more sold out to Jesus than we were when we came in.
Worship changes us. Worship, recognizing who God is and who we are and what God wants to do in our lives, cannot leave us unchanged. When we worship, we become different people. We either draw nearer to God, or we push him further away. But we can't stay the same. Worship calls us to give our all to the one who gave us his all.
So it was noisy in worship yesterday as person after person came forward and threw their chains in the metal tub. It was loud. And it was powerful and beautiful. My prayer for all of us is that, now on Monday morning, we are able to leave those chains in the tub and move ahead with Jesus, giving him our all...because we worshipped.
Yesterday, Pastor Deb preached a wonderful sermon reminding us of the need to let our chains go, the things that bind us. This close to Advent, I thought of Ebenezer Scrooge and the chains he forged in life that he had to let go. And that reminded me again what a keen observer of the human condition Dickens was. We all have chains, as Pastor Deb reminded us. We all have sins, regrets, failings, things we wish had never happened, things that hold us back from the full life Jesus wants to give us. (And if we say we don't sin or think we are perfect, we're lying to ourselves. The Bible says that in 1 John 1:8.)
And so, as Pastor Deb invited us to take the chains we were given when we came in and symbolically throw them into a tub, to throw them away, I began to look around. There were some tears, there were some prayers, but most of all what I noticed was people struggling and wanting to put all of themselves into their faith. Because worship, even though it's primarily about God, ought to call us to give our all.
In other words, we ought to leave worship changed, more like Jesus, and more sold out to Jesus than we were when we came in.
Worship changes us. Worship, recognizing who God is and who we are and what God wants to do in our lives, cannot leave us unchanged. When we worship, we become different people. We either draw nearer to God, or we push him further away. But we can't stay the same. Worship calls us to give our all to the one who gave us his all.
So it was noisy in worship yesterday as person after person came forward and threw their chains in the metal tub. It was loud. And it was powerful and beautiful. My prayer for all of us is that, now on Monday morning, we are able to leave those chains in the tub and move ahead with Jesus, giving him our all...because we worshipped.
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