Worship

Genesis 33:10, Jacob replied, "What a relief to see your friendly smile. It is like seeing the face of God!"

When Jason and I first came to Community Church, "church" had broken us. We were starving and begging for action. We had realized something, if you go into a building and only go so that you can put a check mark in your box of things to do that day, you are missing the entire reason for meeting. One of the best parts of our transition was the fact that I got to watch my husband lead me to a new kind of worship. Before we ever stepped into the building to see how the Sunday morning service would go, we met with Pastor Steve. We discussed with him our hearts desire and found out what his vision was as well. Then we entered into a new kind of worship. We dove right into every aspect of Sunday mornings. We participated and we began to grow. I have never been more blessed than I am with my church.

“You want to define Revival-- Draw a circle around yourself and ask God to revive everything within the circle,” (Stewart McAllister). As I have watched people and their attendance on Sunday morning I have noticed one thing that is very consistent; Most people are not consistent at all. Is going to church, every once in a while, on Sunday morning your entire worship experience? I hope not, but it is something that I have found to be essential to my love for the body of God. If there is one thing that I have learned, it is that my God is consistent. The question I am continually asking myself is, "Am I?" “The Age of Sensation- We think that if we do not feel something, there can be no authenticity in doing it. The Wisdom of God says- We can act our way into a new way of feeling quicker than we can feel our way into a new way of acting. Worship is an act that develops feelings for God, not a feeling for God that is expressed in an act of worship. When we obey the command to praise God in worship our deep essential need to be in relationship with God is nurtured... If you wait till you feel like it, you will never do it... Who would go to work on Monday morning if it were on the basis of your feelings... You act your way into a new way of feeling, and you do what is right because it is the right thing to do. And that brings us around full circle to the way of the cross,” (SM).

There is a group of women that meet every Tuesday for prayer and worship. (I like to host this group at my house, for I know it would be too easy to succumb to being too tired and not attend.) We love our God. We come together and worship Him. We do not all meet at the same building on Sunday, but we are a church and when I see these women I can truly say, "What a relief to see your friendly smile. It is like seeing the face of God!" Then, I can add to that group the rest of my family on Sundays and other days when I see someone out and about. But that started with Jason and me. We had to be consistent first. We had to step out in faith and worship Him in every aspect of our life. “Unless we can worship Him individually, we will not be able to worship Him corporately. If you are not worshiping Him individually, then how do you expect to worship Him corporately,” (Ravi Zacharias). You cannot expect a Sunday morning service to satisfy you, if you do not live your life for Him. You cannot expect to feel connected to others in that service, if you are not consistent in meeting with them. Every relationship takes work on your part. You cannot expect to be healthy and satisfied, if you do not put yourself out there and expose your heart first. It takes work on our part, not be selfish and see that someone else hurts worse that we do, and that is all part of being a body. My favorite part of my every day is my worship. What is yours?