Worship is the
most important thing that we do as humans.
After all, as the Westminster Shorter Catechism puts it, our chief end
is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.
We worship God individually and as families, but our weekly gathering to
worship together is central to our lives as Christians. When something is important to us, we want to
prepare well for it. For example, we put
more time and effort into preparing the Thanksgiving dinner than we do for a
typical lunch on a typical Tuesday. In
the same way, it’s important for us to prepare well for our Sunday worship.
So, what do you
do to get ready for worship? Of course,
there are practical, down-to-earth things to take care of. If you are joining us in-person for worship,
you have to get dressed and drive to the church in order to arrive in
time. If you join us by livestream, you
have to log in to Facebook on your computer, notebook, or smartphone, go to our
group page, and hope that everything works as it’s supposed to. If you join us by phone, you need to dial in,
enter the access code, and hope that I remember to start the conference call.
But preparing
for worship involves much more than the mechanics of getting yourself to
worship, in-person or virtually. Worship
preparation includes the important work of preparing your heart and spirit to
enter into the presence of the Almighty.
If you are worshiping at home, preparation may include creating a
mini-sanctuary space of your own, free from distractions. You may want to include something like a
candle or a cross to help focus your attention on the Lord. If you are worshiping in the church, preparation
for worship may mean taking time to sit quietly in the sanctuary and direct
your thoughts toward God’s presence. No
matter where you are, your worship preparation may include praying for those
about to lead worship and for those who are worshiping with you. It may include disciplining your mind not to
wander toward other demands in your life for the next hour. You may want to read the Scripture passages,
prayers, and words of the songs that will be part of the service. You may want to review the names of the
people for whom we will be praying, and to consider any prayers that you may
want to share during the service.
Our ancestors
in the faith understood the importance of worship preparation. Psalms 120-134 are known as the “songs of
ascents.” Traditionally, they were sung
by pilgrims as they ascended the hills surrounding Jerusalem in order to gather
at the temple for festivals. We can find
inspiration in their words to help our spirits “ascend” into the Lord’s
presence ourselves as worship time draws near.
Entering into
the Divine Presence for worship is nothing to be taken lightly. It is not only our duty, but our honor and
great privilege, possible only because of the redeeming work of Christ, who has
made us worthy to come before the Lord.
