In the Order of Worship/Service, what is essential?
Submitted by Tony Germain on Mon, 2009-03-09 00:20.
I thought I'd throw this thought out into the light of day. In our various church backgrounds, what do you consider as essential in your Order of Worship and what parts are secondary (indifferent) or to say, may help and not harm a Worship Service?
What is the main reason you attend church?
Grace!
tonygermain@msn.com
Micah 6:8
good thoughts
I come from a church tradition that feels very similar to you, gad4; somber music, suits and ties, a serious approach to worship, an emphasis on preaching and scripture. I guess I started having a hard time with the concept of church as a separate set time for worship when I started considering where God really is. He's everywhere. He's with me in the shower, in the bedroom, at work, at school, in my office. God is present in all of my life (since he dwells in me) and sees all that I do; when I started thinking about worship as not a set of 'holy' actions, but as the totality of all my actions, I had to restructure my approach to God. Or, to put it another way, God is not more "present" at Church than he is when you show up for work. At Church, it's appropriate to realize we are gathered with a purpose, and yet sometimes I think the gathering obscures the purpose--we forget we're there to worship, and instead we end up singing thoughtful sacred hymns and listening to a somber sermon.
God is majestic and sovereign, but he's also approachable and friendly, "a friend that sticks closer than a brother." Do we dress up when we need to talk to Dad? Put on suits when our brother is coming over for lunch? Why make it a prerequisite for meeting God? When strangers come to our church, I know that they get the impression we are very formal, very legal, very concerned with appearances--we are. That's just how our saints have been trained to approach God, and it works for them. Thankfully, there are a variety of churches that can meet a variety of needs.
For me, I go to church because there are two really important commandments for me as a Christian. 1) Love God and 2) Love my neighbor. Church is a great place to love my neighbors, thus fulfilling the commandment to love God. I don't go for the doctrine (doctrines are important, but not central) or for the worship service (I usually can't stand the music, even when I'm playing in the orchestra) or even for the preaching (maybe it's just my arrogance, but I've been listening to the same sermons for 25 years). I go because the people are good people, good Christians, and they help me keep focused on God. They provide me with the opportunity to serve them and God. They are God's image-bearers in need of care and attention, and church is a time when we all come together. For me, that's where the worship happens.
Justin Staller - Junior Moderator
justinstaller@yahoo.com
Search the scriptures--for in them ye think ye have eternal life:
They are they which testify of me--and ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
(John 5.39-40)