Worship in the Church: Part III
This is part 3 in a series I am doing on what to expect when you come to church. If you have not read part 2, I encourage you to do so.
I love a good conversation. The opportunity to sit down and just talk about life with friends and family is a true blessing. For instance, I have been blessed countless times when sitting down for a late-night chat with my good friend Trevor. We talk about any number of things. The latest movies or TV shows we watch. What is happening in our families lives. What we think about various current events happening in the world. But, some of the most important topics we cover pertain to who God is, what God says in His Word, and what God requires of us in faith and practice. These are the kinds of conversations that have blessed me in the course of our friendship. There is something markedly different when we converse about God and His word. Our conversation takes a unique angle. In these moments, we go from just hanging out to real fellowship. This fellowship is centered on spiritual truths that directly relate to our knowledge of God and our faith in Him. In conversations like these, we are mutually encouraged in the faith and I gain a fortified sense of living a life of faith in obedience to God. These conversations, these dialogues, are some of the most important in my life. I can expect them every time we get together. But, these conversations of ours are not enough on their own. Rather, they are fueled by another conversation that we both participate in on a particular day of the week.
Sunday, the Lord’s Day, is the day in which Christians gather all across the world to worship God. This practice is common enough to all of us, whether we are Christian or not. But, we must not think that we come as the only participant in worship. Much like a conversation with a friend, it is a two-way street. The reality is: we engage in a very real conversation when we participate in worship on the Lord’s Day. This conversation is based on the foundation of our relationship with God. That is, our relationship with God is based on a covenant. God, in His infinite wisdom and grace, took the initiative to save His people from their sins through the saving acts of Jesus Christ and established a binding relationship known as a covenant. In a covenant, God is the superior party; He establishes the relationship and calls people to respond in faith. God calls, and we respond. In a similar fashion, God calls all believers who have united to Christ in faith to come to Him and respond. God called light out of the darkness in creation (Gen 1:3). God called Noah and his family out of the ark after the flood subsided, and God made a covenant with Noah (Gen. 8:15-16). God called Abram to leave his land and go, and Abram responded (Gen. 12:1-3). God calls His people “out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9).
When God calls, we respond. We respond to the call to worship in praise. We respond to the call to confess in a prayerful confession of sin, after which the Lord utters through His minister an assurance of grace and pardon. Christ then speaks to the congregation through preaching, and we receive His word in faith. And, laced throughout the service are prayers and songs which are our response to what God has spoken to us. The congregation comes to participate in Christ through the Spirit at the Lord’s table as a covenantal re-affirmation. Lastly, God speaks His final benediction (blessing) as the final word in His worship service. As God speaks to us, the congregation responds together. This is the conversation that takes place every Lord’s Day.
Now, it is easy to fall into thinking that we are simply coming and doing something. That the only participants in worship are the congregation. This could not be further from the truth. Just as you converse with a friend, we come to a real and genuine conversation with the Living God in worship. The Lord is present with his people in a unique way during worship on the Lord’s Day. We enter into a time of true communion and dialogue with God from the call to worship to the benediction. God calls us, and He blesses us with every spiritual blessing found only in Christ (Eph. 1:3). And we respond in faith and thanksgiving. So, just as you expect a good conversation with a dear friend. You can expect a true conversation with the friend on sinners on the Lord’s Day.