On Worship

Worship is the central activity of the Christian Life. It is the response of God’s people to the gift of God’s grace which we receive in Jesus Christ. Worship encompasses the whole of the Christian Life. It is embodied in our witness and service.

On the occasions when we gather together as members of the Body of Christ, the People of God, the Communion of the Spirit, explicitly to worship, we are entering into a space that shapes and defines the whole of the Christian Life. This space/time draws us again into the heart of our faith, the story of God’s life, the very life of God. This space/time undergirds and enables our life in God beyond this space/time.

In the Christian tradition, worship is corporate. It is in and of the church, the Body of Christ. Worship has a particular shape: it mirrors and moulds our relationship with the Triune God made know to us in Christ. Worship engages with our context. In worship, the Christian church brings the whole creation before God the Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier.

Worship is our primary theology and our primary spirituality. It is where we first express who God is, and who we are (and everything else is) in relation to God.

Precisely because of its key role, worship has a tendency to become a focal point for numerous lively issues within Christian communities. In a diverse community, living with diversity can create tensions. It is healthy for these tensions to be expressed sensitively and responsibly. Listening to one another and appreciating the unique perspectives that each brings is very important for the healthy expression of diversity. Diverse expressions within the Christian community are held together by our common faith in the God who created us, who loves us, who comes to us in Jesus, and who empowers us for service in Christ’s name.

Thanks for worshipping God as part of the Body of Christ today!