Dear Friends,
Many years ago, I attended a service in a very prestigious church where a famous minister was officiating. I now cannot remember all the details, but I do remember feeling that God had been slighted and the congregation not involved in worship from the start. And why? Well because at the beginning of the service the minister read a poem and followed it with a long quotation from a secular book! No doubt he had his reasons, but it didn’t feel right to me and I can’t remember what happened next.
You will be aware that we always begin our worship in the same way, Introit (in Holy Trinity) scripture sentences, a hymn of praise followed by prayer. And why? Because we have come to worship God together, and it is so important to set the scene and to give God his place. And it is also important to help everyone feel involved in all that is happening. After all, you wouldn’t meet a friend in the street and launch straight into the conversation without first greeting them. It is simply a question of showing them that we value them and care about them.
As we come to share in worship, we are here to give God his rightful place, not only in our worship, but in our lives. As the service progresses, we learn more of him through our reading of the scriptures and through our growing knowledge of Jesus our Saviour. By the end of our worship we should feel inspired to go out and serve our God ‘in our daily work, and to walk in his ways’ as our confirmation vow says. If we can give God his place, not only in our worship but in the whole of our lives, then everything else will fall into place.
With love and blessings,
Marion
Categories: Minister's Blog