So I've been wondering what would church actually look like if we allowed the congregation to participate? I don't mean the usual standing and singing a hymn or singing along with the praise team. I mean really being a part of what is taking place. What would happen in our church if we had a 20 minute dialogue response time after the sermon? What if we actually engaged each other in conversation regarding the sermon and the service and its applications? I think people in our church are desparate for a place to express themselves and to connect with others. It seems to me that Jesus would probably not have done church the way we do. Building relationship and living out your faith in the world seemed to be his main concerns not the order of the Sunday morning worship service. We sometimes get so caught up in enforcing our order on others that we forget that church is about people and relationships and taking our faith outside our small circle that we call church. Church and worship services should be a place where we come to encounter God in an atmosphere that fosters that. Once we have learned to encounter God in that protected atmosphere then when we go into the world we will know God when he speaks to us even among the noise of every day life because we have come to know him in our worship.
Sherri
While reading your blog I was reminded of the verse in the N.T. when Jesus said "My sheep hear my voice". If we have never heard his voice, then we wouldn't recognize it. Going about our daily lives we would never hear him if he tried to speak with us. Coming in contact with Him during a service is a very good opportunity to get accustomed to "His" voice. How many people in our church have never experienced His voice in their lives? Not just at church, but anywhere? As we lead the choir in worship I pray that we will all recognize His voice, and then take the next step of helpling others in the congregation to do the same.
ReplyDeleteGoing back to what the first "church" was reportedly, a question and answer with personal experiences and pertinent messages that could be easily applied to current life...we may have to use something other than the nkj version lololo the message is okay except it kind of looses the music of the psalms...
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