A Simple Rule of Life – #2 Worship Weekly
In a recent sermon (which you can watch here) I mentioned a simple Rule of Life that I was introduced to when I first started attending the Episcopal Church. It’s a deceptively simple rule but one that really did change the course of my life for the better! In fact, I think it’s the simplicity that makes this rule work for me. I often think we make Christianity WAY more complicated than it needs to be and so these 5 practices have helped me to keep the main things the main thing.
I had a number of people ask for the list again, so I thought I’d do a series for the blog, offering a little commentary on how I worked out each practice in my life. You can read the past installments linked below. I would love to hear your thoughts as well – share them in the comments below!
1) Pray daily – click here
2) Worship weekly
3) Learn constantly
4) Serve joyfully
5) Give generously
WORSHIP WEEKLY – Gathering for worship each week has always been a bit like going to the gym. I wasn’t always in the mood. I didn’t always feel up for it. Maybe I wasn’t feeling great about myself at the moment, or maybe I was just having a lazy morning and felt like curling up with my coffee on the couch and watching online. But sticking with it, I couldn’t help but notice that like the gym, whenever I dragged myself in, I was ALWAYS glad I did. Because each time, I came out of it feeling more energized, more awake, and more alive — and somehow, God always managed to surprise me along the way. Sometimes it was a word or a message in the sermon that seemed like it was written just for me. Sometimes it was a smile or a hug that I needed more than I realized. Sometimes it was an invitation to sign up and serve in a way that got me moving when I wouldn’t have otherwise. Sometimes it was the choir’s soaring voices lifting my heart in ways I didn’t expect. And sometimes it’s something entirely intangible that for whatever reason, fed my soul in just the way it needed.
So yes, sometimes I come in feeling a bit exhausted and run down, and on those days worship is like a trip to the gas station, re-fueling me, filling me back up for the week ahead. When I am feeling alone, gathering for worship reminds me I’m not. And when I am feeling distant from God, worship helps Him feel close again. And when I am feeling beaten down and battered, worship is like a field hospital on the front lines, offering me a place to rest up and heal – and be reminded of the greatest truth of all: That I am a beloved child of God, with a worth and dignity that the world did not give, and the world cannot take away.
But regardless of how I go in, I always come out feeling more alive, more ready to love and serve God and my neighbor, than when I went in. Worshiping weekly helps keep me from losing sight of God’s love and presence in my life, and that keeps me going… and coming back.
What is worship for you? Share your thoughts in the comments below or shoot me an email charris@christchurchcranbrook.org