As we enter our first full week of Lent, we continue to explore our vision statement.  This week we will focus on what it means to worship.  Our scripture comes from Paul’s letter to the Colossians:

¹²As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. ¹³Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. ¹⁷And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:12-17

Growing up, I was always encouraged to wear my “Sunday Best” to go to church.  Most of us seldom worry about dressing up for worship any more.  However, this passage suggests that perhaps our “Sunday Best” has nothing to do with what kind of clothes we wear to church but rather the attitudes we wear.

·         How should we prepare for worship?

·         What attitudes should we “put on” for worship?

·         What is the purpose of worship?

·         Think about the worship services that most touched you.

o   What attitudes did you bring with you into that service? 

o   What moved you? 

o   Did anything in your life change because of your experience?

·         What do you need to “put on” to make yourself more open to the work of God in worship?

·         We call the order of our worship, the liturgy. Liturgy means “The work of the people.”  What kind of “work” does the congregation do in worship? 

Hope to see all of you Sunday as we work together to worship the living Lord!