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Called to Worship
worship. The author is John Bell. CALLED TO WORSHIP Whatever else God calls us to do, we are called to worship, to do so together and to do so in the promised company of Jesus Christ. It is in worship that our lives are expressed before God and informed and converted by God’s Word. It is in worship, that through song, prayer, and preaching, our theology is formed, our discipleship encouraged, and our spirits nourished. It is in worship that we reach out to touch the hem of Christ’s garment and find that, instead of touching the hem, we are being offered the grace of God by word of mouth and gift of hand. — John Bell, in COMMON ORDER, Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 1993, p. ix. As quoted in TO GLORIFY GOD: ESSAYS ON MODERN REFORMED LITURGY, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999, p. 4. ISBN 0-8028-3863-4. [Perhaps we should think of a call to worship not so much as a formal prayer that is offered at the beginning of our Christian gatherings, but as the purpose statement for lives that are fully aware of God’s mysterious ways and his amazing offer of forgiveness and abundant life. In that sense, we are all, indeed, created for worship and called to worship. If this idea interests you, take a look at the way Harold Best says it < Have a great week, Chip Stam Director, Institute for Christian Worship School of Church Music and Worship Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, Kentucky carlstam@aol.com www.carlstam.org www.sbts.edu |