+DEV+ Worship: Not an Individual Sport

Date: March 21, 2012 9:33 PM
Topic: +DEV+  Worship: Not an Individual Sport

Worship: Not an Individual Sport

"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching."  (Hebrews 10:25)
Scripture Focus: Nehemiah 8:1-8, Acts 2:42-47

It is often said, "If you want something done right, do it yourself." The more people involved, it seems, the more complicated, confusing, and confounding any project can become. (If you've ever served on a committee, you are particularly aware of this phenomenon.) It is tempting at times to adopt this same attitude in our Christian lives, especially when it comes to worship. More people in your church means more opinions and musical preferences; hence more "worship wars." Accordingly, many Christians today choose to retreat to more private forms of worship for their primary spiritual bread.

Yet there is a special place in God's salvation plan for the gathered worship of His people, without which our worshiping lives are incomplete. Complicated and awkward as it may be at times to worship alongside other sinners, the gathered worship of God's people paints a rich picture of the kind of unity for which Christ gave His life. Only gathered worshipers can show themselves to be a people "from every tribe and language and people and nation" (Revelation 5:9).

Insight: Though The Lord Encourages Private Worship As Part Of A Living Relationship With Him, Never Allow That To Eclipse The Importance Of Regular Corporate Worship.