The Maintenance of Divine Worship
And let us not give up meeting together. Some are in the habit of doing this. Instead, let us encourage one another with words of hope. Let us do this even more as you see Christ’s return approaching.
-Hebrews 10:25
The Great Ends of the Church are 6 statements found in the PC(USA) Book of Order. They are guiding principles for the church. The third Great End is “The Maintenance of Divine Worship.”
We take great care and effort in providing meaningful worship experiences for our church. Themes, scriptures, prayers and songs are chosen months in advance and coordinated with the various music teams, sound booth personnel and lay leaders. The pastors spend weeks working on each sermon. It is our desire to provide thoughtful, reverent, and powerful worship services.
In Jesus’ conversation with the woman at the well in John 4 he proclaimed to the Samaritan woman that true worshippers wouldn’t worry about where they worshiped God. (Whether on this mountain or in the temple in Jerusalem.) True worshippers worship in spirit and in truth. HOW they worshiped was much more important than WHERE.
The amount of preparation for a worship service is irrelevant if the attitude of the worshippers is focused on criticism. When we approach worship do we have an attitude of openness, a heart and mind ready to hear a good word? Or do we walk in the doors of the sanctuary ready to critique and complain about the songs, the children who are disruptive, the sound system not working or the words on the screen being incorrect? If we have a critical heart, we will find plenty to complain about. The pastor made a snarky comment I didn’t like. The worship service was too long. I don’t like that music! The attitude we bring to worship has far more to do with what we get out of worship than anything the church staff and volunteers provide in a service.
Are we, personally, taking responsibility to maintain divine worship? Are we worshiping in spirit and in truth? Or are we simply critical consumers who occasionally like how worship “tastes”, but otherwise could take it or leave it?
When our desire is truly for maintaining divine worship our eyes are not fixed on the people in the room or the program provided. Our eyes are fixed on God. Our worship service is for an audience of ONE (God). When we worship in spirit and in truth, transformation occurs. We look beyond the songs, scriptures, and sermons allowing God’s Holy Spirit to touch our hearts and transform our minds.
One: Lord, you created us in your image, and you long for us to share our life together,
All: But I’m more interested in my own life.
One: You long for us to have compassion for one another…
All: But I’m more interested in my own needs.
One: You long for us to peacefully listen to one another…
All: But I’m more interested in my own opinions.
One: God…your love is unconditional…
All: Forgive our conditions.
One: You draw us together, and call us to be your church…
All: to be your light, shining in the shadows, to be your salt, seasoning a sapless society.
One: You envision the community we call “church” to be a reflection of life as you intend for all creation.
All: But we’re more interested in deciding who’s in and who’s out… who’s right and who’s wrong… who’s a Christian and who’s not… who belongs at our table, and who doesn’t.
One: God…your love is unconditional…
All: Forgive our conditions. Amen.
For more information on Living Out the Great Ends of the Church please visit the PC(USA) website: https://www.
