As Christians, we typically gather on Sunday mornings, coming together as one body, to worship the personal, initiating God who draws His people close to Him and throughout history has saved us through various acts of grace and mercy; the most significant of which, was accomplished through the sacrifice of his beloved Son, Jesus Christ, on a wooden cross on a hill called Calvary.
God initiates.
Yes, we celebrate a God who initiates. In Scripture, we see this time and time again. God initiates. It was God who breathed life into Adam. It was God who told Abraham “to go”. It was God who called Moses to the mountain. It was God who came to Mary and Joseph to tell them what He was going to do through them and God who said to the Disciples “Follow Me“. It was God who initiated redemption through Christ’s death on the Cross. These are but a few examples of God initiating a real, personal, intimate relationship with people. If you are a believer, He initiated a relationship with you.
This is the God who we worship in community on Sunday mornings; gathering together as one body and giving Him all the glory and praise due His Holy Name.
We participate.
Worship is a participatory act that occurs between God and those who love Him. It is through worship that we gather in remembrance of Him who works all things for good and who has done an incredible work in our lives.
When we gather to worship, we all play a role. Some of us lead the congregation in songs of praise and worship while others work behind the scenes helping those up front leading. Others impart and exegete God’s Word, encouraging, equipping and exhorting the hearers of the Word to live Godly lives and be doers of the Word. There are those who serve the body by giving them communion, remembering Christ’s saving work. And then there are those who gather in the pews, filling perhaps the most vital role of all—meeting the great initiator of our faith at His throne, each member united as one body, celebrating the Lord of Redemption.
When we worship we celebrate and we give praise, leaving our concerns and worries in the hands of the one who has the power to heal all hurts, cure all habits, and alleviate all hang-ups.
God and His people meet.
So what are you doing Sunday morning? I encourage you to do that which God has commanded us to do…gather together in the worship of Him who is Holy, fulfilling your role in the body by participating in worship. Your presence will bring joy to His heart, be a comfort to your brothers and sisters in Christ, and furthermore, be a blessing to you as you begin a new week and the next chapter of your life.
Come, let us worship. Come.
When the music fades and all is stripped away and I simply come. Longing just to bring something that’s of worth that will bless Your heart.(lyrics by Matt Redman, 1999)
The Devotional Guy™ 