Where To Worship

We are one with Christ and we are all part of His body - united in Christ.  We can be united with the Lord as we come into His presence in worship, and united with one another as we come before Him
in corporate worship. Psalm 96 instructs and inspires us:
2 Sing to the Lord, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
3 Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.
4 For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.

God has called us to be one in Him and He wants to express Himself in and through the hearts of His people.  We can be aware that He lives in our hearts and wants to walk with us daily - He invites us to acknowledge Him and worship Him on a regular basis, so that His presence and His ways are known to us.  And, as we exalt Christ, we can also know that we will be encouraged from within and can experience more of His strength and love.

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Worship is not contingent on a place, although God has graciously provided venues for corporate worship in our church worship centers.  But, we can also worship in the ebb and flow of life.  And,
there may be occasions when the Church gathers to honor God outside the walls of the church building. But, the nature of worship is consistent, as Jesus taught in John 4:
23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

We know that God has a purpose for worship - as we worship Him, we are drawn into a greater sense of His presence, and we are told that He inhabits the praises of His people.  And, I have been following reports of instances where the presence of God has been injected into desperate situations.

The Los Angeles Times opened a recent article with these words:

There’s a revival taking place on the sand at Huntington Beach.

On Friday, at least 200 evangelical Christian faithful gathered near lifeguard tower 20 to hear the word and be motivated to spread it. They sang and raised their hands skyward in praise. Several walked into the cool waves of the Pacific to be baptized at sunset.

No, that is not a story from the early 70's along the coast - it's a story from just over a week ago, which said, "With the continuing coronavirus pandemic, traditional indoor church services have been interrupted or reimagined, either voluntarily or by government decree. On the beach, there were no pews or steeple. Gulls and paragliders soared overhead instead." The story said:

The seaside outreach movement is called Saturate OC and co-organizer Jessi Green calls it a “ripple-effect” revival, not one led by a single preacher.

The believers will gather each Friday during the remainder of July - hoping to draw 2,000 people total to spread out and reach 50,000 for Christ.

Further up the coast, there was a worship gathering "...at San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge to protest Gov. Gavin Newsom's coronavirus ban on singing in churches, " according to a FoxNews.com report. The article noted, "Between 300 and 400 people gathered for two hours last week, joining together in the middle of the iconic bridge and worshipping in defiance of the Democrat governor's new order, according to organizers."  Worship leader Sean Feucht of Hold the Line, which sponsored the event, said, "Nobody was angry...We were just like, 'We want to worship. We want to declare a blessing over the state of California.' When they persecute and discriminate, we bless. We want to release hope and we want to unify the sound of the church."

And, just this past weekend, Feucht's organization brought a worship service into the heart of Manhattan at Washington Square Park - outdoor, jubilant worship. Feucht tweeted out, "The joy that filled the city tonight was UNDENIABLE. Even the NYPD officers told us “Something feels so different now!'"

I reported to you earlier about the singing of Amazing Grace that united musicians in Nashville even in the midst of unrest in the city.  Worship services have been held at the place where George Floyd lost his life, as CBN.com reported, Joshua Lindquist of Awaken the Dawn shared in a video, "Things are stirring. Last night, people got saved, baptized, and were touched by God...This was full of hopelessness. The spiritual climate has completely shifted."

Phil Johnson of the ministry of John MacArthur, Grace to You and the church he pastors, Grace Community Church in Southern California, which is under that state's indoor worship ban, tweeted out: "Grace Church WILL meet Sunday. Morning and evening services in the tent."

There are believers in Christ who are chomping at the bit to worship together - not via online worship services, which God has used and certainly have served their purpose, but to gather corporately.  Some churches are staging outdoor worship services in order to gather together even with masks and social distancing.  Others are taking to the streets in a proclamation stance to make Jesus known, recognizing that worship is able to adjust the atmosphere.

When we need a shift in our own lives; perhaps having been beset by discouragement or fear - when we begin to worship, we activate a sense of God's presence with us. When we express our adoration for God and think and speak Godly words, it can envelope our entire being.  The reality of Christ's presence can be enhanced when we come before Him in praise.

Finally, we are not called to be sinfully angry, but we are called to be supernaturally joyful.  Even with the challenges we are experiencing as a nation, we can come before the Lord and allow Him to direct our attitude - and our actions.  Each of us, led by the Spirit, can make an imprint for Christ where we are and where He calls us to go.