The Worship Quote of the Week for (10/18/2005):

Gathering and Scattering Today’s WORSHIP QUOTE is from a brand new book, WORSHIP: BEHOLDING THE BEAUTY OF THE LORD, by Skip Ryan. This selection comes from a chapter titled “The Implications of Our Worship,” drawing from Acts 2:36-47. GATHERING AND SCATTERING When God’s people worship correctly, there should be awe. There should be the sense that the Lord is our midst and is doing something not just in our worship, but in preparation for, after worship, being sent out into the world. The Lord is in our midst when we gather, and the Lord is with us when we scatter. There can be no scattered people of God without the gathered people of God. There can be no good works, fruit bearing, Kingdom extension, evangelism, mercy, or missions without worship. The insistence that both worship and service be brought together is unique to the Christian church. The people who worship are also the people who serve the King; the people who worship are also those who go wash feet in the world. Worship and service cannot be separated. In fact, it is the beautiful combination of those two things that produces awe. —Joseph “Skip” Ryan, WORSHIP: BEHOLDING THE BEAUTY OF THE LORD. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2005, p. 55. ISBN 1-58134-354-X. [Lord, gather us and scatter us for the good of your people and for the glory of your great name. Amen!] Have a great week, Chip Stam Director, Institute for Christian Worship School of Church Music and Worship The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, Kentucky www.carlstam.org www.sbts.edu/icw =========================== WORSHIP QUOTE OF THE WEEK: To subscribe, unsubscribe, or view a complete index of worship quotes, please visit http://www.wqotw.org ===========================