Effective joint worship life

7 February 2028

By Rev Dr Kenneth Mtata 

Daily readings: 

Psalm 115; 

Judges 5:1-11; 

1 Corinthians 14:26-40

Verse of the day:

"What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. 

Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.  1 Corinthians 14:26

Under normal circumstances, followers of Jesus will join fellow believers in joint worship. Not all worship experiences edify or build up the believer's as can be seen from the Corinthian church. However, this other related texts show us some elements of effective and life-changing worship experience. Let's look at three of these from 

1 Corinthians 14.

First, worship must be disclose or reveal who God is and how deals with humanity. This must come through the information from the bible readings, the spiritual songs, preaching, liturgies and the prayers of the saints. These reveal who God is and what he does. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit is also revealed in his active participation in the life of his people and in creation.

This revelation is not merely head knowledge. It is the disclosure of God's action through his people towards the establishment of God's kingdom of love, peace, justice,  and abundance of life for all. 

Second, worship is not only about giving knowledge. It is also about the experience of restoration and forgiveness. When worshippers are coming to worship together, they do not only bring gifts of song, silver and gold, the word and loving fellowship. They also bring their pain, fears, hurts, guilt, desires and hopes. When God is revealed in worship, these burdens are viewed differently or completely removed. So in worship we express our limitations as well as confess and repent of our sins. As God's word of forgiveness, healing and assurance comes to us, we are restored by the Spirit of God.

The third element of effective worship is being sent out or commissioned. When people leave worship, they leave with a sense of purpose and duty as agents and messengers of God. As they leave church, they enter the mission field empowerd by their encounter with God. The work of disciples is outside the church where they witness to the saving power of God in Jesus Christ. They work towards themselves to the realisation of God's kingdom, the kingdom of love, peace,  justice, righteousness, and abundant life for all people. 

To achieve these three results of worship, the right environment or conditions of worship must be created. First, worship must be orderly, because God is not an author of confusion.  Second, it must be participatory because all, including women,  men, young, old, rich and poor have gifts to enrich the church. Third,  there must be adequate preparation for by all. The Holy Spirit never disappoints where she is highly anticipated through study prayer, repentance and prepared heart. In such an environment, the Holy Spirit presents herself with power to edify and build up God's people to be a mighty army against the powers of darkness.

Choose to do something today to edify and build the church of God.

Prayer:

Attend to us today God as we worship alone and with others. Reveal yourself for our strength. Build us up for the transformation of your world. In Jesus' name we pray.  AMEN.