Worship is… Acknowledging the Universal Church

Dear Worshippers,

We continue our journey through the core values of our worship this week with the eleventh value, Acknowledging the Universal Church. As I keep saying, you may be surprised that none of the things the Elders have adopted as core values of our worship are necessarily music-oriented. Actually none of them deal with elements at all, but rather with the essentials of worship. They are more the why than the what of worship, if you will.

When we gather to worship we join our praise with the church across all generations and all continents. This perspective is important as it helps us to understand that the kingdom of our God is much larger than our local expression of such. The Nicene Creed, written in the 4^th century A.D. puts it this way: “We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.” What catholic means in this context is the true Christian Church of all times and all places. With this definition in mind we offer that worship is… Acknowledging the Universal Church. There are any number of Scriptures that speak to this value, but here are the ones we have adopted for inclusion in the philosophical document:

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings. Romans 16:16

After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:
"Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb." Revelation 7:9-10

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2

Notice how the first passage says “to him be glory in the church…throughout all generations.” It does not say churches, but singular church. There is one church throughout all generations. This is very significant as we gather for worship. We are joining many who have gone before and will come after us.

This next verse acknowledges that there are many local expressions of the church. We are one body with different gatherings. When we come together we should remember there are others doing the same thing all over the world. Our love for the other churches should be obvious.

The “great multitude” here is the church triumphant. Their group is made up of people from every nation, tribe, people and language. They are unified in their praise of our God as they stand before His throne in heaven. Gathered from across time and space, we will worship with them eternally.

The “great cloud of witnesses” again acknowledges those who have gone before. For the writer of Hebrews, that was a particular group. For us, that group would include the writer of Hebrews, his audience, and all those who have been counted in that number since then. One day we too will be counted in that cloud by those who come after us.

The song that come to mind is “When the Saints Go Marching In”. My grandmother used to sing that. I can vaguely remember her playing the accordion and belting out “Oh, Lord, I want to be in that number…when the saints go marching in.” What a privilege to in faith accept the redeeming work of Christ and turn from our sin, thus enabling us to be counted in that number, who, across time and space will worship Jesus, the head of the church.

Stay tuned…NEXT WEEK…Worship is…Humility.

In Christ,

Pastor Scott