Thursday, March 26th
What is worship?

Faith Church has decided to develop another service on Sunday mornings.  This is a huge step.  I am sure there will be a lot of discussion by families and friends concerning how this is going to be received.  Talking about it with many has lead me to once again think about what worship really is.

I have some ideas, but I would really like input from you before I tell the world what I believe to be the core of worship.  So, PLEASE email me (use the link below) what you think worship is and other comments you might have.

Your response with be confidential and valuable.  It will also help me if you would let me know your age and if you are currently worshiping at Faith Reformed Church.

Pastor Earl

Reader Comment: Worship to me is a time for praising God through music & prayer. Some quiet time to reflect on His glory. Hearing a message that teaches me about His word. Teaching me how God's people honored Him through the good times and the bad, mistakes that people made, and the forgiveness that comes afterward. The scriptures should be a focal point of a worship service.

Reader Comment: To me, worship is more than going to church to just hear a sermon. It is singing praise songs, praying and communing with my brothers & sisters in Christ at the place of worship of my choice, which is Faith Church. It is knowing that God is there with us, rejoicing together.

As to starting another worship service - I do not think we are big enough for that. I realize that some want to have a more contemporary service. First Church already has the 'Alternative', which I understand is going over well. Why can't we combine with them and do it together, as we have done with our evening services.

Reader Comment: I feel worship is letting all your worldly thought at the door, or better yet at home, and concentrating on God's word, the words to the music, and the words that are said in the service. Another thing is catching up on other's cares and concerns while at church.

Reader Comment: Worship is serving God in every aspect of your life, and submitting to Him.

Reader Comment: I believe worship is a time when we should set aside everything else in our lives and submit ourselves to the Lord. Worship time is above all else, His time, not ours. Having said that, what I look for in a worship service is something that moves me, teaches me, or makes me think about what I need to do to better my relationship with God. Any of those things can happen in many ways – singing a hymn or praise song, listening to a sermon, watching a drama, listening to someone witness, or as I participate in the sacraments.

Reader Comment: First impressions of what worship is:

• Definition:(imho)  a deliberate physical, spiritual or mental act that gives recogition that God is the Lord of my life. This can be done privately, publically and/or corporately.

• Examples: service to others, song, prayer, celebration, testimony, fasting, giving, speaking Truth, dramatization. (Time limits a longer list.)

• A timely quesiton for me.  I've been working through the idea of what it means for me to show God my love lately. Most importatly in the form of 'how do I teach my children to love God and show him their love'. It's a really big concept that I've only begun to ponder and try to intentionally employ venues as the Lord reveals

Reader Comment: I think worship is giving the Lord all of our attention and putting aside everything that distracts us, all the things that we think about on a daily basis.  It's listening to the words of each song as we sing.  It's about connecting with God in prayer and giving up everything that has been on our plates for the last few days, weeks, months, etc.  It's about listening to God's word being spoken and trying to understand how God is speaking to me personally in the scripture and message and what I can do with it.  Worship doesn't just happen at church on Sunday, it happens daily.

Reader Comment: For me when I think about worship I first think of singing. Singing praises to an amazing God is something that I enjoy doing and something that we all should enjoy to do. I’m excited to see that our church is going to move toward two services simply because of the singing aspect. For me, I feel Gods presence more with upbeat and contemporary music. For others it is probably the opposite. They may only want to sing hymns and that is perfectly fine. Each individual has there own way of singing praises, and it’s important that we allow everyone to do so in a way that they feel most comfortable.

Worship can be a broader topic than just singing. It can encompass all aspects of life. Prayer, loving others, and spending time with God daily are all ways of bringing worship to God if we do them right. If we just say “pillow prayers” before we go to bed, it probably isn’t the best way to worship God since we are not giving God the time that he deserves. If we say we love are brothers but turn our backs on them when they need something, that doesn’t worship God. If we don’t allow God into are lives every day as not only our Savior but also the Lord of our lives we don’t worship God.

I feel some people in Cedar Grove and Faith Reformed Church are that way. If you asked them why they go to church, would all of them have a Biblical answer? Probably not. People find comfort in going to church. They think God is gentle and loving all the time. When Jesus clears out the temple with his cords he wasn’t exactly pleased. He was angry! It is my firm belief that people need to fear God in order to grow closer to him. They need to realize the wrath of God is real and that the way they go about there Christianity doesn’t make them Christians. Going to church doesn’t make them saved. Being religious doesn’t make them Christians. Doing the right things and being nice doesn’t make them saved. Only Jesus Christ saves. I think people misunderstand God’s own words. They have the mindset of “What can God do for me” instead of “What can I do for God.” Going to church isn’t about us, it’s about God. We need to try and change this belief.

We have an amazing opportunity to change our congregation with this service. If are only goal is to add another service I think we are going to miss this opportunity. We need to change the culture. We need to challenge people to grow spiritually every day and every week of there lives. We need people to get more involved and rely more on the Holy Spirit rather than earthly things.

One thing that I think is extremely important is our perspective of what this can do to our church. People are going to scoff and scorn of a second service because they may not fully be relying on the Spirit for the way they live there lives. They may think it will divide the church. These people need to prayerfully look at where they stand with Christ. James 1:2-4 talk about trials. The leaders of our church and the worship task force members are going to have difficulties dealing with various people in this time. It is impossible to please everyone, since we are all humans, and everyone is different. We need to persevere over these trials with Christ as our anchor and move this church toward where God is calling us to go.  

I personally think that we need to stand united in Christ. People need to know that the leaders of the church are taking us where God is leading us. In Ephesians 4:1-6 Paul tells us to not focus on what divides us, but what unites us. We can not divide Christ, its impossible.

I think the best possible way to avoid any division in our church and for both services to have the changing impact that we need is to have them at the same time. For me everything about it seems logical. Everything would be the same as far as our Sunday morning. The congregation will all be in the same building at the same time which is important because we enjoy fellowship with one another.

I have seen God work in the lives of individuals over the past four months. It’s amazing to see peoples lives changed. I’m beginning to see the town of Cedar Grove, which in the past hasn’t been an easy place to grow spiritually, moving toward one where spiritual growth happens regularly, and I’m excited about it. If I have learned or experience one thing about God recently it is that the power of prayer is an incredible gift. Transformation is taking place in our town and I want to be apart of it. We are praying for you, Earl, as well Tom, Faith Reformed Church, its congregation, other church leaders, and this town. May God be with you as we look for an exciting future.

Brother in Christ.

Reader Comment: I won't be the only one taking the question away from its specific focus (ahem, Rab), I'd throw my two cents behind one aspect of worship that I believe gets to the heart of the matter: focus/intent. I'll paraphrase Earl (hope you're cool with that, by the way) from a recent discussion; there are hundreds of ways that people are worshipping God today, there have been thousands (if not more) since the beginning of time, and, within each, there is the ability to truly worship and the ability to not worship.

Intent and focus of bringing glory to God in a manner pleasing to Him constitutes worship. I fully believe you can worship God driving in a car, sitting in silence, reading a book, talking with others, serving others, and the list goes on. In fact, I would venture to say that we do a lot less "worshipping" on Sundays than compared to the rest of the week (or at least we should.

Reader Comment: I believe worship does not have anything to do with church at all - it is a way of life. Glorifying and praising God in all things and at all times is what we are called to do as Christians. Church is a specific place and time where believers can come together for the purpose of worship, but if we are not following through the rest of the week-the service itself becomes less meaningful.

I am guessing this blog was not intended to field comments regarding a second service, but as long as others have ventured an opinion, I will too. My family and I enjoy the blended service. We would have a hard time choosing which service to attend if we are forced to do so. I know that there are some who are unhappy with various aspects of our service, but as others have commented, it is hard to please everyone all of the time. I understand that there are some people considering attending other more contemporary services (or already are) and it is sad to see people leave the church, but let us not forget the number of new families that have joined the church or have been regular attendees over the past 5 years or so. I can think of 6 families off the top of my head-about 25-30 new people who seem to be happy with the way we have blended our service. Let us not turn our backs on them for the sake of a few who are unhappy.

I will echo a previous comment - it is not what the church can do for you but what you bring to the church that makes the difference in your relationship to the Lord and others.

Reader Comment: I am constantly learning what worship is and what it is not. I have learned that worship is not a style - contemporary or traditional, not preference, not singing on or off pitch, not about knowing the write words to say, it’s not about the lighting, the music - organ vs guitar or drums, it is NOT about what it does for us, what we get out of it. Worship is affection, a purpose, a yearning, a response, a joyful noise. It's giving to God, giving our lives again, it’s a reflection of how we view God, it IS to please God.

 

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