So far in our look at worship, we’ve covered the topics of What Is Worship and Service or Serve Us. This week we look at the storyline of worship. While it may not be as evident to some, there is a storyline to our gatherings of praise and worship. Whether it’s a service built around the historic liturgy or a service using a more modern expression, the story should be similar. From start to finish we can see the story fleshed out in all that happens. It’s a story that mirrors the story of God in the bible. In order to know the story of worship, we must first catch a glimpse of the story of God.
The main story line of the bible is actually pretty simple. We tend to muddy it up with a lot of church jargon and abstract thoughts or words, but at its core the basic elements of God’s story are simple and direct. It all starts with the gift. God created a gift designed to be given to the people he would create. He didn’t create mankind first, rather he waited until the gift was complete. He made the world and all that is in it for humanity. Then he created man and woman giving them this perfect, without flaw, gift.
But shortly after receiving the gift, the human race pushed it aside as if it wasn’t good enough. They wanted their own way so they rebelled. When they turned from God, all of creation began to unravel. All the order and perfection of creation started to fall apart. Creation started to work against itself and against humanity. The rest of scripture is filled with God’s plan to bring order back into the chaotic mess of his creation. It’s all God’s action for us, then eventually our response.
Now look at worship and how similar it really is to the storyline of scripture. It all starts with an invitation. We’re invited to come. His invitation kicks off our worship as we invoke his name in what’s called the invocation. He’s invited us to this time and place. That’s a way to acknowledge that we’ve received his invitation.
As we move through our time of worship, we continue to receive the wonders of what God has in store for us. Confession is the time of receiving God’s forgiveness, not because we deserve it or ask for it. We receive forgiveness because God purchased, won, bought it for us. It’s all his action. Then we take a time of pause remembering all that God is through something the church calls the Kyrie, which means Lord. We acknowledge the mercy, grace, power and blessings of God. Then through a time of prayer we dwell on a specific aspect of the blessings God has already given us. You see the story of worship being fleshed out as we open our eyes to see the gift(s) that God is giving us.
The next gift we receive in a typical time of worship is the word. We will often hear a reading from scripture, or possibly 2 or 3. These are reminders of the ways that God has pursued his people throughout scripture to redeem his wayward children. Then there’s generally a time of teaching that we call the sermon or message. This is designed again to be received from God. He pursues us with his word and through the pastors he calls he helps us see the way our lives apply to his word.
We then generally move into prayers and offerings. This is a short refrain from the posture of receiving. For a short moment in our time of worship, we return something back to God. It’s often a pretty minor display of thanks, after all he’s given us the world. He’s given us salvation, creation, and all the others blessings we’ve already discussed and we focus our giving on a small percentage as a return.
Then God’s back in the giving place again as we celebrate what the church calls the Sacrament of Communion. This is where God gives the gifts of his very presence, body and blood. It’s not just a symbol of his gift. It’s a mysterious and miraculous combining of earthly things with His divine power. Through communion, we remember the gift of Jesus’ death and resurrection. As a matter of fact, through communion we’re invited to celebrate these very things. Every time we take into ourselves the bread and wine of communion, we celebrate the Lord’s death and resurrection.
As communion draws to a close, we echo back a simple refrain of thanks. We’ve spent a great deal of time receiving all that God has to offer through our time worship and praise. The service comes near its end and we herald the words of thanks as we prepare for one last gift during the time of worship.
The final gift of worship is the blessing or benediction. This gift is a little different from the rest. It’s a gift and a call at the same time. This is where God reminds us that he has been there for us. He promises to be with us moving forward through our week. But he also sends us to do something with what we’ve just received. The benediction is a time where God sends us to the places we live, work and play with the very message of grace and mercy we’ve just received.
This story of worship is a pretty powerful display of God’s amazing gift-giving nature. He gives and we receive. Now that we’ve seen the story of worship, take a moment to reflect on the gifts God has place in your life. Focus on his gift of forgiveness and the promise of life in Christ. Look around you and see the people to whom God has called you. These are the people to whom Jesus invites you to bring these gifts. Let’s find time to worship, receive, and share the blessings of God’s great and gracious gifts with those where we live, work and play.
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