Have you ever wondered “Why do we gather together on Sunday mornings? What is the purpose of carving out of our busy week 2 – 3 hours to come to a place to be with other people to sing songs and to listen to a guy speak?” What is the purpose of congregational worship? I mean, you could be home working on the house or spending time with your family. What is the purpose of church? Why did God create the church?
The text we will focus on today is found in Colossians, chapter 3 verses 15 – 17. Please turn there with me. This Sunday and next the Message which God has laid on my heart to give to you will be focusing on the importance of community worship, namely congregational worship and family worship. So we will be going from the macro – the Fellowship of Believers, to the micro – The Family Fellowship. Why don’t I address the issue of individual worship? I believe we have learned the art of individualism too well. Individualism is at the core of our society, of our culture, of our value system. But the church is called to rise above worldly values. I am not saying individual worship is bad or we should not practice private prayer… Jesus modeled it after all. What I AM saying is that there is something unique and distinctive about the church. It is distinctive because Christ spoke so much about it and inspired His apostles to do the same. There is something more to the Christian faith than private praise and prayer and I think that a person’s faith can only grow and mature through the context of the church.
Colossians 3:15-17
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
From this passage I see four important elements of congregational worship in which each member of the body is responsible.
The Four Elements of Congregational Worship
1. The first element is this: We are to “let the peace of Christ rule in” our hearts. To have the peace of Christ ruling in your heart is to have your heart completely connected to God’s heart – to be as King David – A man after God’s own heart. It’s to have our will so connected to God’s will that all decisions we make are done in accordance to God’s direction and will.
When Summer and I have made a big decision in life, such as when we decided to attend seminary or when we accepted the call of this church into full time ministry, some have asked, “How do you know it is God’s will?” I tell them that I turn to three sources to discern God’s will: 1) The Bible – is this decision in any way contradicting the truths of Scripture; 2) I also turn to those who have been placed in authority over me – my elders. I seek their counsel, wisdom and prayer. 3) I also pray for God’s peace concerning the choice which I am about to make. It is this peace which usually guides me in either direction of the decision I need to make, after consulting scripture and my elders.
The Greek for the word “rule” in this passage has to do more with athletics than anything. It refers to an umpire ruling over a game. Bible Teacher Warren Wiersbe describes it as this “The peace of God is the “Umpire” in our believing hearts and our churches. When we obey the will of God, we have His peace within; but when we step out of His will (even unintentionally), we lose His peace.”
Having the “Peace of Christ” means being in the will of God, and, in the context of this passage, it also means being at peace with your brothers and sisters in Christ. “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”
Of course Paul meant more to this passage than simply having fellowship with God. You see, believers are not only called into a vertical relationship, that is a relationship with God, they are also called into a horizontal relationship, a relationship that extends to every member of the Body of Christ. I’m sorry to be the one to have to tell you this, but accepting Christ means a whole lot more than having fellowship with God. Using the family model as an example, accepting Christ also means accepting that bullying big brother or that little sister who always takes your things. Accepting Christ means accepting the responsibility of watching out for and warning the younger brother who keeps trying to climb on top of the table. And when he falls, you are there to say its ok and help him back on his feet again. Accepting Christ means being there to encourage your big sister when she looses something that is most dear to her. Accepting Christ means coming to the family gatherings, even in the midst of heartache, reconciling differences, and enjoying a grand feast together at the dinner table every week.
Do you see the picture yet? Accepting Christ means accepting your role in the family and being quick to reconcile differences as they happen – and they will happen. Having the “peace of Christ” rule in our hearts means that we are all called to be peacemakers. Matthew 5:9 quotes Jesus in His sermon on the mount: “Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they will be called Sons of God”. Have you been a peacemaker? Or have you been a peace breaker?
When there is peace in the heart and peace in the body, then there will be praise on the lips. The end of verse 15 says “And be thankful”. This is Paul’s call for us to worship. And true worship can only occur if both vertical and horizontal peace is present.
2. The second element of congregation worship is allowing “the Word of Christ to dwell in” us. To dwell means to feel at home. You dwell in your houses where you feel most at home. When you are away on a long trip, it is always good to come home, is it not? In the same way, we need to allow God’s Word to feel at home in our lives. I was just telling a brother of mine this week that it is always good and soul-refreshing to read the Word of God. But I am human, I am sinful and there are times when days will go by when I haven’t touched it. Usually that first day of not reading the Bible I really miss it. The second day I begin to forget about my need for it and then by the third day, I have forgotten about it all together. By the time I realize it, a week has gone by since I have done any serious time in the Word and my walk has faltered a little. I am out-of-touch with God and I am not making choices according to His Will. If more than a week goes by, then I start to become desensitized to the sins in my life and the bad choices I make start to really affect my public ministry and the ministry I have as husband and father.
“When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God Almighty.” These are the words of Jeremiah and should be ours on a daily basis. Are God’s Words your joy and delight? On Sunday morning, as we sit and listen to someone literally, “expose the Scriptures” – or expository preaching, as you are listening now… As we listen to the Word publicly being spoken – are you allowing it to push you deeper into God’s Word. Are you making your life a habitable place for God’s Word to reside and to feel at home? Only when we allow the Word to dwell in us can we practice the third element of congregational worship and that is:
3. to “teach and admonish” each other with the wisdom of the Word. When we are in the will of God by having the Peace of Christ ruling us and when we have been indwelt by the Word of God, then we are instructed to move one step further: to teach and admonish each other. Turning back to chapter 1 in Colossians, verse 28 we see that Paul very much expects the members of the church to practice this: “We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.” And also in Romans 15:14 – “14 I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.”
Teaching is simply instruction. It is the imparting of knowledge and understanding which God has graciously given through His Spirit. The word “Admonish” is not as well known in today’s language. Webster defines it as “to express warning or disapproval especially in a gentle, earnest, or solicitous manner or to give friendly earnest advice or encouragement.” It’s the idea of a father or mother lovingly giving advice to an adult child in hopes that the child will avoid the same mistake which the parent made. 2nd Timothy chapter two, verse 25 captures this picture well in that the one who admonishes “must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth,”
The second part of Colossians 3:16 gives us a vehicle in which we can “teach and admonish”. That vehicle is through “psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.” If you have ever received an email from me, you will see in my signature line this same verse reference. It is there because it makes a statement about my philosophy of the ministry which I have been called to serve. The sum statement of that philosophy is this: The purpose of our worship through music is not only vertical, that is lifting praises to God, but it is also horizontal, for the edification of believers. This is the Up and Sideways of worship.
I believe that in many things God does not provide a vehicle, a tool, to simply fulfill one purpose. He does not provide the vehicle of the family just simply to propagate the earth, but also to teach us about the Imago Dei, which is Latin for God’s Image, and specifically His relationship to the Son. He does not provide the vehicle of the church only to spread the Good News, but also to teach His children about community living, which is a glimpse of heaven. Likewise, the vehicle of music is not only given for the purpose of His praise, but also to teach and admonish us in the Word. As we sing the songs of the faith, we are being taught and admonished by fellow believers who have either come before us or are currently strong leaders in the faith. The hymn “Come Thou Fount” warns us that we are “Prone to Wander” because of our sinful nature and we must give our lives to God daily. The song “Open the Eyes of my Heart” provokes us into prayer that God would open our hearts to be taught and instructed in the Word. This song would not be good as a closing song for then this prayer is too late. The prayer must come before the study of God’s Word, for that is the primary vehicle from which He reveals Himself to us so that we may see Him for who He truly is and He is “holy, holy, holy” which helps us to recognize our need for Him as “unholy” beings.
There are great hymns and modern worship songs, such as these, which teach us about God and admonish us to follow His ways. There are also traditional hymns and modern songs that do nothing of the sort. As your worship pastor, you have hired me to put a theological filter on these songs and I take that job seriously. But I am human and just as I expect you to “gently” correct a teacher of the Word when they speak something that goes against scripture, I expect you to “gently” hold me accountable in my role of selecting songs if they go against sound doctrine.
As you sing these worship songs (and many others like it [add in if take out above paragraph], you are not only allowing the godly writers of these songs to teach and admonish you, you are also allowing the fellowship of believers in which you find yourself to admonish and teach you through the agreement you share as you participate in the congregational singing. Just as you agree with others through prayer, you also agree with others through songs as you sing them together. So I encourage you to sing with all your might in praising the Lord and for the edification of your brother and sister.
4. Finally in verse 17, Paul commands that all things that are done are to be for the glory of the Father and in the name of the Son.
We operate as a family using the Peace of Christ as our rule for His glory and in His Name. We allow the Word of God to indwell us for His glory and in His Name. We teach and admonish each other through songs for His glory and in His name.
Turn with me to Acts 3:11. We see here the story of a beggar being healed by Peter at the temple gate. And the response of the beggar and those who witnessed the healing follows in verse 11: “While the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. 12 When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. 14 You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. 16 By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.” Jesus’s name is powerful. Likewise, Romans 8:37 states “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” . Through whom? Through Jesus. We must not strive for peace, try to understand the Word or teach and admonish others unless we do it through the power of the Name of Jesus, the power which He gives freely through His Holy Spirit.
These are the four elements of congregational worship: the Peace of Christ, the indwelling Word of God, The admonishing and teaching of fellow believers, and doing it all for the glory of the Father through the name of the Son.
Chuck Swindoll tells a true story of a young minister in Oklahoma who accepted a call to pastor a little, though long-standing, church in hopes of reviving the ministry in it. After giving it his best effort week after week, there seemed to be no hope.
Finally he had one last idea. He announced in the local newspaper on Saturday that the church had died, and on Sunday afternoon there would be a funeral service at the church itself, and all who wished could attend. For the first time in his years there the place was packed. In fact, people were standing outside on tiptoes looking through the window to see this most unusual funeral service for a church.
To their shock there was a casket down front. And it was smothered with flowers. The pastor told the people as soon as the eulogy was finished they could pass by and view the remains of the dearly beloved that they were putting to rest that day. They could hardly wait until he finished the eulogy. He slowly opened the casket, pushed the flowers aside, and people walked by, filed by, one by one, to look in and leave sheepishly, feeling guilty as they walked out the door, because inside the casket he had placed a large mirror. As they walked by, they saw the church that had died.
The ministry of the church is a ministry of people. When a church lives, it lives because the people within are vital and active.
If we want to be a church that is alive and makes an impact for God’s kingdom, then every part of the body needs to take responsibility for in practicing the four elements of congregational worship. If we really want to minister to our fellow brothers and sisters and make a statement in this community about the love of Christ, then we need to have an Up and Sideways philosophy of worship. Are you letting the peace of Christ rule within you? Is the Word “indwelling” you? Are you taking the time to teach and admonish your brothers and sisters? Are you participating in congregational worship for the edification of the fellowship? If so, then are you doing these things for your glory or the Father’s glory? Those who are leaders in this church, you need to listen up – you should be considering this last question on a daily basis. As a leader who is consistently up in front of others, I have to daily give my life up to God and say “This is not about me – Not to me, but to Your Name be the glory”. The day that I start to take the glory is the day that I will crash and burn… because I can’t handle the glory and fame – only God can and only God should, because He is the only One Who can truly save.
But this message does not apply to just leaders. We all need to be responsible, working members of the Body. Otherwise there is dead weight in the body and the church ends up limping around, not really being as effective as we could be. There are three ways in which believers can take responsibility for their own part in making the local Body of Christ alive:
The Three Responsibilities of a Worshiping Believer
1. One way is to simply be PRESENT. Just show up! There are too many Christians out there who think church is an option. And I am talking about Bible-believing, born-again Christians who don’t think that church is necessary for their spiritual growth.
According to a March, 2008 survey conducted by the Barna Research Group, 23% of American adults have not attended a church in the past year. Now in America, there is estimated to be about 225,000,000 adults, so 23% is about 51.7 million adults that have not been in a church in the past year. Now 59% of that number actually consider themselves Christians – which is about 30.5 million. Out of that number, those who consider themselves to be born-again Christians is 17%. That means that there are approximately 5.2 million born-again Christian adults in the United States who have not stepped foot in a church in the past year. Perhaps you know one.
Now I know that there are those out there who have experienced horrendous situations in a church. I know that some people have been burned by the church. Some have experienced abuse from another church member or a pastor. Some may have experienced great and seemingly irresolvable conflict within the church or with another brother or sister. Some have been turned-off by a church split or have felt disillusioned by a leader in the church who failed morally in his leadership. I am in no way disregarding these feelings, emotions or these awful experiences which may have taken place, but I must ask the question. What about God? What about His grace? Is it truly enough? Because I believe it is. And I believe that if a person who struggles with these issues searches the depths of God’s grace and seeks after the peace of Christ, they will find the grace to overcome and come back to the church.
I think that this represents one side of the coin of the Believers who don’t attend church and I will always feel more compassion and mercy for these people than I do for other side of the coin and that is this: there is a growing number of believers out there who don’t attend church simply because they don’t feel like they need it. If there was ever a farther-from-truth statement concerning the Christian faith, I really don’t know what it is. It’s heresy. Jesus’ ministry with his disciples pointed to the very fact that we need to be in Christian community. Jesus Himself established the church and the Holy Spirit initiated it on the Day of Pentecost. Time and again in scripture we are commanded to “love one another”, to be in “fellowship” with one another, to encourage each other, to admonish, to teach, to edify fellow believers. To invest our spiritual gifts for the building up of the Body and for the expansion of the Kingdom. But how can this be done if the believing Christian is not present? The believer who does not attend church is not only missing out on an opportunity to spiritually grow and be challenged, but they are also cheating the Body of Christ by not allowing God to work through them to admonish and teach other believers. If you are going to allow the Peace of Christ to rule in your heart, be indwelt by the Word and grow through the teaching and admonishing of the fellowship of believers through song, then you need to be present.
C.S. Lewis, in his work “God in the Dock” relates to this: “When I first became a Christian, I thought that I could do it on my own, by retiring to my rooms and reading theology, and I wouldn’t go to the churches and Gospel Halls;… and I disliked very much their hymns, which I considered to be fifth-rate poems set to sixth-rate music. But as I went on I saw the great merit of it. I came up against different people of quite different outlooks and different education, and then gradually my conceit just began peeling off. I realized that the hymns were, nevertheless, being sung with devotion and benefit, by an old saint in elastic-side boots in the opposite pew, and then you realize that you aren’t fit to clean those boots. It gets you out of your solitary conceit.”
Hebrews 10:25 states “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another”
If you don’t attend church because you don’t think you need it, then this is nothing but conceit and robbery of the Body of Christ. I am “gently” reminding you, I am admonishing you, that Christ wants just the opposite for your life - Full fledged involvement and investment. Not just for your own spiritual well-being, but for the well being of His body and for His glory.
2. Another way a believer takes responsibility is to be PREPARED for the congregational gathering.
Paul says that we are to “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.” He is asking us to be reconciled with each other. We cannot teach and admonish each other unless we have been reconciled with each other. If this means that you have to make a phone call on Saturday night to make amends with a brother or sister, then do it!
Hebrews 12, verse 14 states that we should “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” We must reconcile, because God has been gracious in reconciling us to Himself. If we don’t reconcile, then bitterness could take hold and later on down the road cause trouble.
Another way to prepare for worship is to spend time in God’s Word. If you know the pastor in preaching through the book of Ephesians, then spend some time reading the book of Ephesians. And I don’t think Pastor Don puts those memory verses out every week for us to say “That’s a good idea”. NO! He wants us to commit the scripture to memory for the very purpose of “being indwelt” by the Word.
Preparing for congregational worship is an important and lost art. I am going to spend more time on this next week, but I must say that the preparation for worship should not only be an individual pursuit, but also a family pursuit. How is your family prepared to come to worship on Sundays? Have you had a late Saturday night full of entertainment with little thought to the next day’s worship gathering, or have you spent some serious time with your family in preparing for the weekly worship feast? Are your children prepared to learn about God? Are your hearts ready for a vertical and horizontal encounter with God with and through the Body of Christ? We must come to congregational worship prepared.
3. The third responsibility is to actually PARTICIPATE during the worship gathering.
Ephesians 4:16 states “From him [Christ] the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Are you doing your part in the body of Christ? Are you actually making peace with each other and with God? Are you teaching each other, encouraging each other, admonishing each other in the Word? Are you singing the songs in agreement with each other? Are you lifting each other up in prayer in the power of Jesus’ name through the Holy Spirit? If you are present and prepared, are you boldly, confidently and actively participating in the Body of Christ?
When I prepared this sermon, I didn’t intend to come up with any sort of cute device, but the Spirit brought all of this together so adequately, as He always does, and we have before us the THREE Ps of personal responsibility for the believer in regards to congregational worship. Present, Preparation and Participation. For those who are here today, I know that I am preaching to the choir because you got the first P: Present. So how about the last two Ps? Are you preparing yourself weekly to meet with God and the Body of Christ? And if you are prepared, are you actively participating?
Let’s pray.
BENEDICTION:
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. Rev:1:5-6
