On Weekly Worship
Do you plan to worship this Sunday?*
What goes into that determination? Is it a foregone conclusion that when Sunday comes you will be found in worship? Or do you weigh things before you make your way to worship?
- Do the kids have a game this Sunday?
- Is the press of yardwork or shopping greater?
- Has it been a long week and finally you have a day to sleep in?
- Is this the beginning of a hunting or fishing season?
- Are you away on vacation?
- Does it depend on need? If so, whose need?
And when do you decide? Do you decide on Sunday that you will worship again the next week? Do you decide Monday when you review the week’s calendar and find that the kids have a game on Sunday? Do you decide Friday as you sort out the weekend? Or do you decide Sunday morning depending on which side of the bed you get up on?
Let me encourage you right now to decide not just about this Sunday but every Sunday for the rest of your life. Decide now that you will worship Jesus in a congregational setting weekly for the rest of your life.
Deciding for weekly worship prioritizes your walk with Jesus.
Even a cursory reading of the Scriptures informs the follower of Jesus that gathering with other believers weekly to learn from and offer praise to God is central to a relationship with him. Sabbath keeping keeps Jesus as the priority of your week, work and world. Jesus invites, “Seek first the Kingdom of God.” YHWH calls, “You shall have no other gods before me.” Worshipping every week is a primary way to keep that priority.
Deciding for weekly worship simplifies other calendar issues.
The world around you exerts pressure to intrude into and fill up your calendar. Appointments. Work. Games. Parties. Chores. People are busy. People, and they all say it, are too busy. By having a standing appointment to meet with Jesus and his people in weekly worship, you have a healthy filter to simplify the rest of your week. You can say no, or at least not now, to any number of things because you have cleared out time for worship. Keeping this space in the week open for God will filter out other clutter and distractions. This will help cure you from being too busy.
Deciding for weekly worship coincides with God’s good desire for you.
God wants good things for you. That’s why he sent Jesus. He wants you to have life and that more abundantly. So, from the beginning he established a day of rest and refreshment in him. To take time weekly for corporate worship will bring supernatural refreshment, strength, direction and joy. While such things may be hidden under sermons that go on too long or beneath songs that are difficult to sing or behind other people who are less than perfect, God invites you to weekly worship for Good.
Deciding for weekly worship stabilizes your local congregation.
People misidentify what makes Christmas Eve or Easter Sunday so powerful. It’s not the music—although we pull out all the stops. It’s not the message—every service focuses on the love of God in Christ Jesus. It’s the people, or more precisely, it’s the number of people. Everyone is there; it’s a crowd. Can you imagine if that were the case every Sunday? What if we all cleared out our schedules not just for Easter and Christmas, but for every Sunday and joined for worship. Your congregation would experience vitality, strength and mission momentum. A broad-based culture of weekly worship will bring great stability to your congregation.
Deciding for weekly worship enriches your relationship with Jesus and his Kingdom.**
Have you heard this? “You have to get together to be together.” It applies specifically to families, but also to all relationships. The idea is that if a family wants to be close knit, supportive of one another, resilient in times of trouble and a place of joy and laughter, that family needs to spend time together. You will notice that the families that are the closest are the ones who tend to eat dinner together nightly. So also with Jesus and his Kingdom. When we get together with him every Sunday through his Word and Sacrament in fellowship with his body, a local congregation, we will have an ever richer relationship with him, we will be together.
Yes, if you are sick, stay home. One good result of COVID-19 is that now nearly every congregation can provide a worship experience for those who are physically unable to join for worship. Let this be a stop-gap resource not the rule.
But if there is a league that has Sunday morning games, find a different league or sport. If there are chores to be done or work tasks that need addressing, let them simmer on the back burner for a while. If you are out of town or on vacation, plan ahead to visit a congregation near your location. If the desire for sleep or relaxation looms large, know that you will ultimately find greater refreshment in your local congregation’s worship than at St. Mattress.
*I am using Sunday worship somewhat as a metonymy for weekly worship. Some congregations worship on Saturday.
**So does spending time daily in the Word and prayer. This is along with not instead of Sunday worship.