Dear Congregation,
As we enter the church, we come with anticipation that is marked by joy but also by the seriousness of the occasion. We quietly greet one another, thankful for the encouragement of seeing other believers and the renewal of fellowship experiences that the public gathering of God’s people on the Lord’s day brings. But then we settle in to further prepare our hearts quietly before the Lord.
How do you do that? It varies from person to person. Some take up the Bible and mark their pagers, but also quietly read and find points of reflection leading to personal prayer with a focus on adoration and humility before God. Others take up the hymnbook and look through the hymns. Yet others being conscious of who else is there express gratitude to God for saving grace in our generation, the sufficiency of the Word unto salvation and perfecting believers, praying for specific people as the Spirit lays burdens on your heart of them that they may know grace in worship and life. Is there a person new to you, or one you hardly know – lift them up in prayer as well, and for after worship opportunities to embrace them in Christ.
In short pre-worship is a time of grace, a time for cultivating the spirit of worship that is full of grace and thankfulness and grace. It is precious time – and should not be traded cheaply. As the Pastor and Elders are still before the Lord and praying, will you not follow their example?
You know if you are going to do even a little of this you will need to be ahead of church time, to plan for sufficient time to be early and not tardy. There will always be exceptions but are we labouring to make them rare? It raises the question to our hearts about what level of priority to we give to the worship of God? How does it order the beginning of the day and what we seek to put (cram?) in it?
Obviously there are challenges that children bring, and yes even adults too, and of course there is always an unpredictability of traffic. What are the ones you find needing attention in your being ready for worship? We all face such challenges, even if nuanced in different ways because of our different circumstances. Week by week we will find the need for flexibility, as well as a mix of patience and godly determination, in things not essential to make sure we can as much as possible not detract from what is essential.
Of course we need to spend time in a vital part of our preparation is searching our heart and life with the Word of God, repenting of those things we discover contrary to God’s will so that we will “worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness” without which we cannot rightly glorify God as we read in Psalm 29:2. This we can do though only yet certainly in Jesus Christ through whom saving and forgiving grace is given unto us.
| “Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” |
What makes us persevere and push through is not the expectation of others, nor the responsibilities we undertake through membership in the church – though they are real and not insignificant motivations and responsibilities we have to one another – after all as we read in the Hebrews 10:24-25, noticing the “one another” emphases:
| “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” |
What sets the priority, what motivates preparation, and what drives perseverance is God Himself in His majestic glory and in His wondrous grace. At the same time we come under a deep sense of humility and of being overwhelmed by the privilege, yet by grace comforted and secure in His presence.
This is picked up in Psalm 95:6-7, as the worshippers come and join one another processing in praise to join the worship of God:
| “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand…” |
In Psalm 122:1
| “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord.’” |
Ultimately, worship is about God, it is not about us. Our struggle is to keep Him in His proper place in our worship in daily life and in the assembly for public worship on the Lord’s Day.
Helpfully Joel Beeke reminds us from Psalm 122,
‘The joy of public worship revolves around the presence of God. For Israel this was the temple and throne of David and his sons. For Christians, this is the Lord Jesus Christ, reigning through His Word and Spirit. Our joy in worship comes from exercising faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 15:8–13).’
It is against that background then that we are assured and comforted, more – we are enlivened in worship as we hear the Call of Worship. This is not merely the marking of the beginning of the formalities of worship, it is God declaring His delight in us and the worship we bring. More of that next time.
Today, let us think of how we come, that worship is not like electricity that is turned on with the flick of a switch. That these things are true even as you meet over the internet in the privacy of your home, or invite another family to join with you as a small reminder but joyful expression of the corporate, multi-home nature of our worship as a church.
Together in Christ’s love and service,
John
Your Pastor