Corporate Worship

Worship is done privately and corporately.  In both instances it is relational.  Privately the relationship is solely with God; corporately that relationship expands to include others, especially those that we worship with on a regular basis.  Both private and corporate worship are needed if one is to grow and mature in their faith as well as deepen their relationship with the Lord.  We learn from each other's experiences in the world, living as God's children, and we learn from each other's personal relationship with God. Thus worship not only informs our faith it increases our knowledge of God and our capacity to trust Him.

In her song titled "Trust His Heart," singer-songwriter Babbie Mason writes: "God is too wise to be mistaken; God is too good to be unkind. So when you don't understand, when you don't see His plan, when you can't trace His hand, trust His heart."

Another writer speaks of trust this way:

     Trust Him when dark doubts assail thee,
     Trust Him when your strength is small,
     Trust Him when to simply trust Him
     Seems the hardest thing of all.

     Trust Him, He is ever faithful,
     Trust Him, for His will is best,
     Trust Him, for the heart of Jesus
     Is the only place of rest.
     (Source Unknown)

How does one learn to trust in the manner that these writers indicate?  One learns through one's own experiences, supported and strengthened by the experiences of others. The point I want to make is that corporate worship is vitally important to the individual. 

My favorite definition for worship comes from Warren Wiersbe, "Worship is the believer's response of all that they are--mind, emotions, will, body--to what God is and says and does."  (Wiersbe, Real Worship. p. 26)  We don't respond fully in isolation we need the worship expression of others in order to be fully engaged in worship.  Samuel Logan Bengal illustrated this well when he took a coal from the fire and placed it on the hearth and said that "then tendency of fire is to go out." Particularly when left on its own.  Just as the coal needed the fuel of other coals to burn, we also need others to fuel our worship experience and expression.  Wiersbe expands further on his definition of worship as he writes that our response to God has "its mystial side in subjective experience, and its practical side in objective obedience to God's revealed truth. It is a loving response that is balanced by the fear of the Lord, and it is a deepening response as the believer comes to know God better." (Real Worship. page 27) 

Whatever your definition of worship may be it should be noted that what one does in worship is to proclaim, recall, and celebrate God's saving events. While the children of Israel looked back upon the Exodus event for their worship experience, Christians are the people of the Christ event.  We recall and celebrate our relationship to God through the redeeming sacrifice of Christ and his continual presence among us.

The results of worship? Transformation.