|
"Come, let us worship and bow down and kneel
before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God. We are the
people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand."
Psalm 95:6.
"The act of divine worship is the inestimable
privilege of man, the only created being who bows in humility
and adoration." Horace Ballou.
Christian worship has a legacy of language, forms and ceremonies.
It is an unending source of information, education and experience
in which there are personal and collective contributions of
permanent value to be lodged in the mental and spiritual bank
of our minds.
There are long-established and meticulously crafted patterns
of worship in which the thoughts and emotions of worshippers
are expressed so accurately that we accept them gratefully
and use them frequently. They make public worship memorable
to worshippers and impressive to observers.
There are, of course, many Christians who choose freer styles
of worship to which they are totally committed. But common
to most Christian worship is music and song, though the use
of them in quality and quantity differs widely from the quite
quiet to the very noisy, from classic to pop.
The differences in worship means that none of us should insist
that "my way is the way", for there are many
ways. God does not ask us to express our devotion to Him in
identical terms or set forms, complex or simple, but in sincerity
and honesty. For that reason we must not pass judgement on
how others worship God. It is the heart of the worshipper
which He regards. "If my mind is not engaged in worship
- It is as though I worshipped not."
Differences means choices and preferences and that accounts
for the commitment of people to ways of worship pleasing,
satisfying, to them. It is the reason why there are so many
churches to cater for the spiritual needs of Christians and
they bear denominational characteristics which distinguish
them from others.
Life-long commitment to a church is the experience of many
Christians who are satisfied with what they have and they
know little of what appeals to Christians in the other churches.
What is important in all Christian worship is the clear understanding
of what worship is about - praising God for all that He is;
thanking Him for His gifts and goodness to us; asking Him
to meet our needs and those of others; offering Him our gifts,
ourselves, our services; learning of Him from His Word, read
and preached and obeying His voice; telling others of God's
worth by public confession and testimony to what He has done
for us. (cp. J.I. Packer. "Knowing Christianity"
p108.)
The emphases in these reasons for public worship is to recognise
our indebtedness to God for who He is and what He has done
for us. And to ensure that the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ is known to everyone and that he and she may
or may not believe in Him, accepting or refusing the benefits
of the Gospel.
It is a Christian maxim:
"Worship is essential to persons for their lives will
be shaped by what they worship."
Rev. Canon Dr. S.E. Long
|
