Come and Worship
Psalm 95
1 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
3 For the Lord is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
The history of worship is quite varied. I am not writing a history of worship, and am not the historian. I do think we can each look at worship and see that it has changed over time. Worship that once centered on sacrifices and offerings, recitations of law and Psalms. By the time of Jesus we find that the temple worship was still active, but there was also a different form that took place in the synagogues. The early church took on that form from the synagogue and over 2,000 years of history has changed worship into a variety of styles and means that we see globally in the church. We find that our culture and context have formed what we are doing in worship.
Over the next few weeks of worship we will look at the pieces of worship that we currently use and see how they are meant to be a part of our expressions of praise to God, our listening to God, and our fellowship with those who are part of the church with us. We might come into this setting hoping we see the beauty of worship as we do it and have encouragement to do it this same way, yet more vibrantly. We might also come into this same setting and have a hope that as we look at worship we will be able to find new ways that reflect who we are as the church today and will seem more inviting to others who might join with us. Hopefully we can come in with an openness to the moving of the Holy Spirit who will direct us and shape us. Finding that we can express our praise to God out of who we are as the church.
We will begin with a look at what I am calling the bookends. The opening of worship where God calls us to worship and greets us as we come into his presence. The closing of worship and God sends us out to serve with his blessing upon us. A piece that fits well with our traditions. Things that fit with completely revised understandings of the worship of the church. Seeing that however we come to God in worship, it is God calling us in and God sending us out.
Come into the presence of God seeking him, and seeing that he has brought us in and has already sought and found us. Come, let us bow down and worship, for he is our God.
Song: Come, Now is the Time to Worship