Here's our second installment. Remember, these are out of order and/or don't create a coherent order. I'm ok with that--I hope you are, too.
UCC Worship Axiom #2
It's not about you.
There are two angles on this, but let's deal with the obvious one first.
The focus of worship is simple. It is a time to attribute value ("worth-ship") to God. In this way, it's not about you. More importantly, it's not about me.
The book of Ephesians is typically viewed as an ecclesiastical letter. It's a note from Paul about what the church is and what is God's aim for the church. This speaks to our worship as well. The key verse is 1:10 where we learn that God's aim is to "bring all things in heaven and on earth under one head, even Christ."
Christ's work (and ours) is designed to bring us to God. All of our efforts, all of our toils, all of our lives are to be in the business of bringing ourselves and others to God. Our worship services must reflect that.
Now for the second angle. Because the focus is God, the focus will never be what we want. The services are not for us. They are designed to bring us (as Christians) and others to God. The "others" are important. They are more important than we are.
Our worship services are designed with two foci:
1) Bring Christians closer to God.
2) Illustrate/teach God to others so that we might bring them closer to God.
2 comments:
If this is how God intends us to worship, why isn't it what Christians through the ages have done? The method/purpose/setting for anything we call a worship service is either suddenly correct 1990s & onward, or was never understood to be the intent of the Bible before the last couple decades.
Hey, thanks for the comment! I appreciate it very much.
I'd say that this axiom exists without invalidating any method/purpose/setting. Any method/purpose/setting can bring others toward God and/or point toward God, and indeed, through the ages, those methods have.
I'm not looking to invalidate any method that accomplishes the goal of bringing us (all of humanity) closer to God. It's not about you (or me), its about bringing us to God.
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