Articles
Time to Worship Again
A few weeks ago the elders announced that it was time to come back together and worship the Lord. It had been over 10 weeks since the church at Brookhill had not been together to worship God. During these 10 weeks, things surely changed in so many ways. We still had Sunday services but only myself and Andrew and David were present in the building. The services were put on livestream for all the members to listen to and to worship in their homes. We had families and people from numerous states and countries join our services. Yes, it was very different. To sit in your living room or at your kitchen table and whether by yourself or with your family, we all tried to do the best we could to worship and glorify God in our worship.
Now we are back together, but things are not like they used to be. We sit in family groupings 6 feet apart from other families. We have masks on. We do not have any Bible classes. There is no passing of the Lord’s Supper. All these changes were necessary but are new and surely not routine. This is going to be as some say “the new normal” for possibly a long time. That’s ok because we can still worship our Lord and Savior as He has commanded in this new setting. How can we make sure that it is not only pleasing to God but also enjoyable with these new changes. Always remember why we are assembling. We are coming to praise our creator.
Psalms 66:4 says “All the Earth shall worship you, and sing praises to you, they shall sing praises to your name.” We are coming to be with those of like precious faith which should fill our hearts with joy. To be encouraged and teach one another is such a blessing. This is why we should look forward to every assembly we can come to and look forward to the joy we will give to others and receive ourselves. These changes should not alter our coming to worship God and be with one another.
Yes, some physical things have been changed in our worship but one thing should never change and that is our hearts. We must keep our hearts right with God regardless of the things around us. Romans 5:5 tells us “The love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Worship begins and ends in our heart. Our heart is stirred by the love of God, his care for us, the forgiveness of sins he gives us, and the hope of heaven he promises us.
We cannot and we must not let any physical inconveniences such as a mask, sitting 6 feet apart, no Bible classes, and anything else to cause our hearts to be any less our worship to God. Romans 8:17 tells us “We are more than conquerors through Him who loves us.” We will worship the Lord no matter our physical surroundings because that’s what a Christian does.
