From the top, I want to make one thing perfectly clear. There is NOT a set order of worship outlined by our God in His holy Word. For something that is as important to Him as giving us His gifts, and in us offering our praise and thanks, it may seem strange that God didn't see fit to include a "do it this way" set of instructions on gathering for worship.
And yet, that's very much like our God, who refuses to be easily simplified down. Without a set "form" for recieving God's gifts and returning thanks and praise, that means that God's people are left with a great deal of latitude in how this takes place. So, you might think that this would mean that there are a whole host of ways in which God's people gather for worship.
However, history paints a bit of a different story. It seems that there are certain parts of worship that have remained fairly consistent through the ages, regardless of where Christians live or when they live(d). Christians sing thanks and praise to God. Christians hear God's Word and reflect upon it. Christians confess their need for God's forgiveness in Jesus, and hear the certainty of that forgiveness. Christians unite hearts and voices in prayer. Christians receive the holy meal that Jesus Himself instituted. And as they do these things, they typically occur in a rather unified fashion.
So what does this have to do with our celebration of the Lord's Supper? Well, as we gather as Christians in worship, we have a rather set "form" that we tend to follow, one which has its roots all the way back to the earliest of Christians. And yet, we have variations to that order which displays the freedom and openness that God allows in worship.
In particular, included in the hymnal our church uses are five different orders of worship for celebrating the Lord's Supper. They have an order or form in common, and yet, each is also highly unique, with music and wording that fits the form, and yet allows a certain amount of diversity. We have a wealth of worship, especially when it comes to celebrating the Lord's Supper.
But what if we don't regularly enjoy this wealth? True, we will almost always have our certain "one" that we like more than the others. At the same time, celebrating the Lord's Supper each week at our early time of worship will also allow us to make use of this wealth of worship as we celebrate God's gifts to us. We may even find that there are parts of each of them that speak our heart language more than others, and thus serve to draw us closer to our God as He gives us His good and gracious gifts.
Oh, the wealth. As God's people, our desire is always to utilize that which our God so freely gives.
And yet, that's very much like our God, who refuses to be easily simplified down. Without a set "form" for recieving God's gifts and returning thanks and praise, that means that God's people are left with a great deal of latitude in how this takes place. So, you might think that this would mean that there are a whole host of ways in which God's people gather for worship.
However, history paints a bit of a different story. It seems that there are certain parts of worship that have remained fairly consistent through the ages, regardless of where Christians live or when they live(d). Christians sing thanks and praise to God. Christians hear God's Word and reflect upon it. Christians confess their need for God's forgiveness in Jesus, and hear the certainty of that forgiveness. Christians unite hearts and voices in prayer. Christians receive the holy meal that Jesus Himself instituted. And as they do these things, they typically occur in a rather unified fashion.
So what does this have to do with our celebration of the Lord's Supper? Well, as we gather as Christians in worship, we have a rather set "form" that we tend to follow, one which has its roots all the way back to the earliest of Christians. And yet, we have variations to that order which displays the freedom and openness that God allows in worship.
In particular, included in the hymnal our church uses are five different orders of worship for celebrating the Lord's Supper. They have an order or form in common, and yet, each is also highly unique, with music and wording that fits the form, and yet allows a certain amount of diversity. We have a wealth of worship, especially when it comes to celebrating the Lord's Supper.
But what if we don't regularly enjoy this wealth? True, we will almost always have our certain "one" that we like more than the others. At the same time, celebrating the Lord's Supper each week at our early time of worship will also allow us to make use of this wealth of worship as we celebrate God's gifts to us. We may even find that there are parts of each of them that speak our heart language more than others, and thus serve to draw us closer to our God as He gives us His good and gracious gifts.
Oh, the wealth. As God's people, our desire is always to utilize that which our God so freely gives.
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