WORSHIP
is fundamental to the mission of the Christian
church. To worship God is to act out our obedience
to the God who has revealed Himself to us, called
and claimed us as His people. In worship the initiative
lies with God and the focus is on God. God and
God's redemptive and creative work are both the
object and the subject of worship. To worship
is to re-enact the gospel in its fullness and
simplicity.
In
worship we discover and express our identity as
God's people, we participate in the ongoing redemptive
work of God in the world and we offer ourselves
anew to the One who has created, redeemed and
sustained us. We worship because of who we are
and who God is.
The
dominant character of Christian worship is praise
of God. Because of who God is, what God has done,
and what God has promised to do, it is in order
for us to praise God for that steadfast love which
is peculiar to God.
Christians
worship in the name of Jesus Christ: in the power
of Jesus Christ and in the freedom of Jesus Christ.
Jesus through His birth, life, death and resurrection
offered up perfect worship to God, and as Christians
we are free to participate in that perfect expression
of praise. Therefore, the life and ministry of
Jesus Christ is central to Christian worship,
and all Christian worship seeks to reflect and
be shaped by that life and ministry. Jesus Christ
is the living Word whose presence and spirit alone
make valid all of Christian worship.
As
human beings we also realize that we worship out
of a sense of need. We are not sufficient unto
ourselves, and we experience a sense of completeness
and fulfillment through the encounter with and
worship of our Creator. To worship is to be fully
human.
Christians
can worship God at any time, for all time has
been redeemed by Him in Jesus Christ. From the
beginning of Christian worship, however, one day
has been set aside for corporate worship: the
Lord's Day. This day is the first day of the week
and it was designated as the proper day for corporate
worship of Christians because it was the day Jesus
Christ was raised from the dead. It was "on
the first day of the week" that the followers
of Jesus discovered the empty tomb and met the
risen Lord. Hence the day appointed for Christian
worship is a remembrance of the resurrection of
Jesus. Each Sunday is understood by Christians
at worship to be an Easter day; every time of
corporate worship is understood to be a celebration
of the victory of God acted out through the resurrection
of Jesus the Christ.
The
Lord's Day also commemorates the first day of
creation. On the first day of the week God began
creation, and likewise on the first day of the
week God began his "new creation." Hence
this day is seen as being basic to all good. God
created the world and pronounced it good; in Jesus
Christ God redeemed the world and claimed it anew
for its goodness. Christians worship on the Lord's
Day remembering and celebrating God's creation
and redemption: God's creating the world and proclaiming
it good and God's decisive action in making all
things new and good. By designating one day as
the Lord's Day Christians show forth what is true
for all days and all creation: Jesus Christ is
Lord of all creation.
