1 Thessalonians 2: 9-13

When are you going to open the church?

If I had a nickel for each time I have been asked this question, then I would have a whole pile of nickels. I might even have a drawer full of nickels. It is actually a very good question, but in order to answer this question we must first define what the church is. You see these buildings? They are beautiful. They are useful. But they are not the church. You are the church. Whether or not the church is open isn’t up to just me, it is up to each and everyone of you, because you are the church. So let me ask you? When are you going to open the church? 

We need to talk about being prepared not just for a spike in cases of Covid 19, but any kind of disaster that would prevent us from regularly worshipping together. The problem is that we think that in order to practice our faith we need a church building. But that’s not true. The good news is that God will still love you, forgive you, and bless you even if you cannot attend a traditional worship service. You can worship God anywhere. Today I will teach you how to organize a worship service, so you can worship God at any time anywhere. So check it out!

There are four steps to a complete worship service:

GatherWordMealSending

I will briefly explain each one.

Gather

Life is chaotic. Think about the strong winds we had this past week. They were so powerful as they blew down off the mountains and ripped through the valleys out to the beaches and sea. Consider the path of destruction they left. Trees were uprooted and fell onto cars and houses. Leaves, branches, and trash scattered everywhere. Halloween decorations strewn across yards and into the street. Of course it could be worse like Hurricane or Tropical Storm Zeta. The point is that these are extreme cases of an everyday phenomenon. Life gets messy, and order is disrupted. After a strong wind you go outside and gather what has been scattered. The first step of worship is to gather with God. 

In our household the best time for us to gather everyday is dinnertime. We use the fact that we all get hungry and thirsty to our advantage. Either Sheri or I will, and mostly it is Sheri, will prepare a meal and have everyone in the household sit down together at the same time. We gather around the table. When you gather you may listen to one another. How was your day? What was good? What was difficult? That’s it! It’s simple.

Not everyone lives in a family group. Many people live alone. Gathering is about much more than the physical. Today is All Saints Sunday. We remember that our loved ones after they die are with God. They are part of the “Cloud of Witnesses,” and the great multitude form every tribe and nation as prophesied in Revelation chapter 7. So even if you are alone in your apartment, when you take time to Gather with God you gather with the saints of the past, present, and future. You are with the Great Cloud of Witnesses. Not to mention new ways we gather with telephone, letters, and increasingly video conferences. 

Word

Worship in the Christian tradition must involve the Word of God. Jesus is the Word of God. The simplest most accessible way to receive the Word of God is to open up your Bible and read. As a pastor I have to study the Bible everyday to prepare for the sermon and Bible Studies. So when we eat a meal as a family, I will sometimes just tell a story from the Bible that I have been studying. This is the easiest way to tell the word of God to children. Don’t worry about getting all of the details exactly right. Just do your best to tell the story. Sometimes there isn’t a good story to tell, or there might just be a really good verse to share. Read and meditate on this verse or story. Think about it. Ask question. What does it mean? Again don’t worry