WORSHIP
When Lana and I started coming along to CLC the first thing to grab our attention was the way this church worshipped. It was clear that the presence of God was highly valued and times of worship were always marked by a spirit of celebration. We found those characteristics so attractive and it was one of the reasons we were excited to make ourselves at home in CLC.
As a worshipping church we will be an attractive church. I remember taking a non-Christian colleague along to our church in London many years ago. At the end of the service he didn’t mention the great message or the fancy multimedia but instead he said this: “I can’t deny the genuine expression of emotion that was being conveyed during the time of worship.” I think he got a glimpse of people worshipping the Lord in the beauty of holiness (Psalm 29:2)! There was something about the way people worshipped and expressed their love for Jesus that captivated Him and pointed him towards a great God. Three days later he gave his life to Jesus!
As a worshipping church we will be a vibrant church. We worship God who has given us life in all it’s fullness – so our worship should be full of life: a natural, instinctive response to a revelation of His goodness! Philippians 2:12 says this: “Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.” I don’t know about you but I really want to be part of a church that is motivated to give God pleasure! So let’s allow His energy to explode out of us in the way we worship as a church and in the way we live our lives.
As a worshipping church we will be a church on a mission. The Bible tells us that those who prioritise the presence of God, who recognise that worship is about God, for God and to God, will go on to do great exploits (Daniel 11:32). Think of David and Daniel: both men valued His presence, they prioritised their relationships with Him, they lived lives that had extraordinary impacts on their surroundings. We, as a church, want to have an extraordinary impact on our surroundings. So let’s keep on valuing the presence of God, prizing our relationships with Him and being empowered by the Holy Spirit. As John Piper puts it: “Lord, let us make a difference for you utterly disproportionate to who we are!”
John Silk
