As we get ready to go to two services on September 17th (9am and 11am), I’ve been freshly reflecting on why we gather for worship as a church. Scriptures like Ex. 19; Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 11:17-34; 1 Cor. 14:26-39; Heb. 10:25, show us the tremendous significance of gathering together for corporate worship. God has created the Christian life to be lived from Lord’s day to Lord’s day, and our gathering for His worship is the high point of our week.
When I was in sales, I always prepared for major client meetings well before the meeting started. I’m sure you prepare for important events as well. The more important something is, the more important preparation becomes. I would suggest that the importance of our corporate gathering calls for intentionality in our preparation for it.
So, how can we prepare for corporate worship? Here are a few practices to consider.
Read and pray through the Sunday Preview: When the Sunday Preview comes out (We are trying to make that happen on Thursdays consistently), read through it and pray over each part. Our liturgy is designed to lead us to behold the glory of Christ and find our hearts richly satisfied in Him. Start getting ready for that experience on Sunday by using the liturgy to draw your heart towards Him Thursday through Saturday.
Listen to the Sunday Playlist: Familiarity with the songs that we will sing allows the rich truth of those words to settle more deeply in our souls and free us to have greater vibrancy in our worship.
Prepare your body: Fill your Friday nights with late-night activity, but try to get to bed at a good time on Saturday. Sleepyheads make for drowsy worshippers.
Plan Ahead: Plan out your Sunday morning clothes on Saturday night so you don’t have to change ten times on Sunday morning before finding an outfit.
Prepare your heart: Rise early on Sunday morning and read the Word, pray, and meditate to prepare your heart for worship. Turn on good Christian music and start to worship even before coming into corporate worship.
Have a Media Blackout: Refrain from turning on the TV, checking your email, watching Netflix, or catching up on social media on Sunday mornings. Our minds are so easily distracted. Safeguard your mental space.
Worship with your time: Start your worship by giving yourself enough time on Sunday mornings to not be rushed. Leave home with plenty of time to spare. Try not to arrive at church late or even a few minutes before the service. Rushing out the door at home and rushing in the door at church can cause worship to feel flat because it was entered into at a frenzied pace.
Be expectant: God wants to meet with us as we gather together. Our corporate worship is the closest that heaven gets to earth. So come with a heart hungry to be with the Lord and a thirst to hear from the Lord. God invites us all to come as we are. But He loves us too much to leave us as we are. Every time we gather, He wants to meet us and, by His grace, continue to grow us more and more into His worshippers.
When we gather together as a church, something transcendent happens. It’s not just a social gathering; it’s a divine encounter.” – Charles Spurgeon
Yes, and Amen.
May God bless our worship this Sunday,
Pastor Jeff