In community worship we experience fellowship with God and with one another.
We gather on Sundays for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the experience of community worship. According to Evelyn Underhill worship is our “complete, adoring response to who God is and what God has done.” Everything we do should be an act of worship, but in the Sunday gathering we specifically come together to worship God collectively. Praise, the singing portion of Sunday morning, is an essential form of worship that we participate in together every Sunday. In songs of praise we collectively express our adoration for who God is and what He has done.
In establishing this practice of community worship I’d invite you to do the following:
- Reflect on your current motives for attending church on Sundays.
- Is the communal worship of God really at the top of that list?
- Do you want to be at church to worship God with your church family?
- Reflect on your current experience of worship in church.
- Do you experience the presence of God in worship?
- Do you find it awkward or difficult to worship? Why?
- Do you experience the fellowship and unity among believers in worship?
- When you don’t attend community worship do you miss it?
- What emotions do you experience in worship?
- How frequently do you actually attend community worship? Look at the last 3 months to get an accurate picture of how often you have attended church.
- What is one thing you can do to enrich your experience of God and fellowship with others in community worship? Here’s some ideas:
- If you find yourself distracted often in worship maybe pray through your anxious thoughts before church.
- Read a passage of Scripture and meditate on it before church on Sunday morning.
- Engage in more private worship throughout the week.