The Worship Service Explained

Those of you who were in the services when we started at 9 and 10:30 will remember that I explained the call to worship.

Those of you who arrived late, we’re praying for you. And fighting our self-righteousness. Anyway, I just came across a helpful little note on The Call to Worship. I’ve put an excerpt below and the whole thing is worth reading.

Why the Call to Worship is so important.  First, we live in a society that teaches us to think highly of our own ability.  Americans are a fiercely independent, self-motivated people.  The Call to Worship puts us in our place.  We come to worship because God has a summons on our lives.  We come to worship because God initiates with us, not the other way around.  So the call to worship reminds us of God’s sovereign reign over us.

Second, the earliest word used to describe the Church in the Bible was ekklesia.  (It’s where we get our words “ecclesiastical” and “ecclesiology.”)  Its root is the Greek word kaleo, which means, “to call.”  The people of God, as the ekklesia, are “the called-out ones.”  When we hear the Call to Worship, we are being reminded of our identity as those called out and set apart by God for His holy purposes.  We are reminded that we are not our own.  We are reminded that we are “resident aliens” in this world.  We are reminded that we are treasured and loved by God.  So the call to worship reminds us of our identity in Christ.

Why We Need The Call to Worship