Featured Worship?

1 Timothy 4:13 Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching.

2 Timothy 4:1-2 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.

Here is where the believer is spiritually nourished so that he may be equipped with the knowledge to live the Christian life.

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. c.f. Eph. 5:19

The dynamic here is "admonishing one another." This is done when the body of Christ is together corporately during worship.

Matthew 28:19-20 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Baptism is administered during corporate worship. It is a means of grace; i.e. the grace contained in the ordinance is meant to strengthen our faith and better equip us to live the Christian life.

1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.

The Lord's Supper is administered during corporate worship. It is also a means of grace. As we join with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, we corporately remember the death of our Lord. There is grace in this - strength for daily Christian living.

Esther 4:16 "Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens also will fast in the same way. And thus I will go in to the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish."

Corporate prayer is part of worship. Often times God moves among His people, through the Spirit, as the church gathers for corporate prayer. Witnessing the mighty hand of God at work in the body of Christ is even more grace for the journey.

Exodus 15:1-19 Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and said, "I will sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted; The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea. "The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him; My father's God, and I will extol Him. "The LORD is a warrior; The LORD is His name. "Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; And the choicest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea. "The deeps cover them; They went down into the depths like a stone. "Your right hand, O LORD, is majestic in power, Your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy. "And in the greatness of Your excellence You overthrow those who rise up against You; You send forth Your burning anger, and it consumes them as chaff. "At the blast of Your nostrils the waters were piled up, The flowing waters stood up like a heap; The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea. "The enemy said, 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; My desire shall be gratified against them; I will draw out my sword, my hand will destroy them.' "You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them; They sank like lead in the mighty waters. "Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders? "You stretched out Your right hand, The earth swallowed them. "In Your lovingkindness You have led the people whom You have redeemed; In Your strength You have guided them to Your holy habitation. "The peoples have heard, they tremble; Anguish has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia. "Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed; The leaders of Moab, trembling grips them; All the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. "Terror and dread fall upon them; By the greatness of Your arm they are motionless as stone; Until Your people pass over, O LORD, Until the people pass over whom You have purchased. "You will bring them and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, The place, O LORD, which You have made for Your dwelling, The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established. "The LORD shall reign forever and ever." For the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, and the LORD brought back the waters of the sea on them, but the sons of Israel walked on dry land through the midst of the sea.

When our singing glorifies God, and praises His name, it has a profound effect on the body of Christ. Once again we are the recipients of even more grace. Once worship is concluded we step out into the world with the joy of the Lord in our hearts.

These are just some passages to support the view that a spirit of worship is fueled by God-centered corporate worship.

 

There is another reason why corporate worship should be held in such high regard. We live in a post-modern age when everyone is asking, "What's in it for me?" Worship has become so self-centered (witness the Charismatic and Pentecostal movements) that God becomes a prop. The author of Hebrews wrote:

Hebrews 10:23-25 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

We are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together (corporate worship) because our confession (profession), hope, promises, and good deeds are inexorably linked to it.