The latest edition of the Parish Magazine was out this weekend. Here is my lead article reproduced in full...
I wonder, how long have you been going to church for? There
are no longer service certificates or awards given out for the number of years
that you have been a church-goer or have worshiped in the same place. Can you
remember back to when you started coming along to church? Maybe you were too
young to remember anything that took place then! Going to church, meeting with
other Christians to worship together is an essential part of our faith, there
is no such thing as an isolated Christian. We are all called to be part of the
Body of Christ.
Setting aside time for God, to worship and pray is not a
duty but rather a joy. For it is in our coming together as church that we
realise we are not alone. Through worship we are reminded of who God is, of his
sovereign rule and reign and of his great love for us. We gather together to be
encouraged, challenged and strengthened in our faith so that we can be sent out
to live and to work to God’s praise and glory.
How do you arrive at church? I don’t mean by car or walking!
Do you come because you feel you should? Do you drag yourself out of bed and
struggle to arrive on time? Or do you arrive with a sense of expectation,
looking forward to encountering God through the Holy Spirit? Not every week
promises to be an amazing encounter but the danger with our years of
churchgoing is that we get so used to what we think is going to take place that
we fail to come with expectation that God is going to do anything at all!
So here are some top tips that might help you to meet with
God during worship…
1, Arrive in good time and make time before the service
begins to still yourself, to pray and to ask God that you would be open to
whatever he wants to do in your life during the service.
2, Engage your brain and participate in the service. Focus
on the words you are singing, saying or praying. Don’t let the familiarity of
the words allow them to simply wash over you. Focus on a word or phrase, remind
yourself what it means and be encouraged by it.
3, Bring your Bible. Engage with the word of God. Read it
daily. Meditate on it. Listen to God speak to you through his word. Christians
in other parts of the world long for a copy of scripture in their own language,
we have so many translations available to us. Don’t take them for granted, use
them.
4, Take notes during the sermon. Our lovely Clergy and
Readers spend hours preparing their sermons for a Sunday. We would all be
really encouraged if it looked like you were noting down insightful points from
them! This is the part of the service that is most likely to be different week
by week. How do you remember and engage with what the preacher is saying?
Taking notes will help you with this. And we would always be delighted to
discuss things raised from a sermon with you. How about trying to come up with
a single sentence summary of what you heard in the sermon and sharing it with
someone, even the minister on the way out of church, it will be so much more
encouraging than, ‘nice sermon vicar’! And be prepared to be challenged by the
sermon too, and to ask the question, ‘what am I going to do differently in
response to what I have just heard’?
5, Be prepared to respond. If God is challenging you, if the
Holy Spirit is convicting you, if Jesus lays something on your heart be willing
to do something about it. This is the hard part but it is also where change and
transformation occurs. As we step out in faith and trust, as we respond to what
God is doing, so we will become more aware of his work in our lives. Don’t
delay the action part otherwise the danger is it may never happen. Respond as
soon as possible and, if appropriate, share it with someone else too.
6, Pray. Much of the service can feel as if it is being
‘done to us’. Don’t abdicate your responsibility to be involved. Especially in
the times of quiet, pray that God would be with you. Let your prayers be
authentic and heart felt.
7, Remain faithful. God remains faithful to us. Even when he
may feel distant, when prayers go unanswered or life is tough God is with us.
He is always worthy of all our worship, praise and thanksgiving. Giving thanks
in all circumstances is a challenge but it demonstrates our commitment to God
who gave everything for us.
The local church is the hope of the world. The Body of Christ needs all its members to function well. We need the church and the church needs us. May we all play our part as sisters and brothers in Christ in this place. May the name of Jesus be glorified as we come expectantly to worship him week by week. And may God bless us in all we do.
