Preached August 8, 2010
FUMC Wortham
Worship
Luke 12:32-40
This week we begin a series on Worship. We will look at worship from several angles but first let us ask, What is worship?
For some it is a service we come to, for others it is a chance to gather with others and make contact (maybe a business contact or a contact with other humanity as so many of us are shut-in in our homes for one reason or another), maybe it is a time of fellowship or a time to sit and learn a moral lesson or a time to hear something to help us through a time of crisis. All these are good things but if that is all our worship is we would be better off joining a country club or fraternal organization because we can get all that in other places. Our worship has to be so much more... it should be so much more.
Today we are simply going to spend a few moments looking at another aspect of worship. Jesus didn't spend much time talking about worship, instead he would talk about our life. He would talk about finances - the second most mentioned topic in the gospels. Jesus would talk about his prayer life. He would talk about caring for the needy. And, Jesus would talk about the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is the most often mentioned topic in the New Testament, being mentioned 86 times in the Gospels and 984 times in the New Testament.
We have talked about the Kingdom of God before - that it is not so much about an earthly kingdom as we think of but rather a relationship. The Davidic example of kingdom was based upon the relationship.. That David was one of the people who became a king, not a part of a ruling class that inherited the kingship. That is what this Kingdom is about... relationship.
So, what does all this talk about the Kingdom of God have to do with worship? Maybe it would be helpful to hear from another theologian about the Kingdom of God and what it is. Dr. Brian McClaren is a professor, author, theologian, and pastor who has studied this concept in detail and relates it to our Post-Modern culture.
http://www.theworkofthepeople.com/index.php?ct=store.details&pid=V00248&hittail_ok=1&fyi=secure_ssl_not_required
We recite the Lord's Prayer every week, yet do we really think about, do we really want God's will to be done here on earth as it is in Heaven?
Our very life, our job in this life, is to bring God's Kingdom to earth as ti is in heaven.
Our very life, our worship of, to, and for God is to reach this end...
Frederich Buechner says "Phrases like Worship Service or Service of Worship are tautologies. To worship God means to serve him. Basically there are two ways to do it. One way is to do things for him that he needs to have done – run errands for him, carry messages for him, fight on his side, feed his lambs, and so on. The other way is to do things for him that you need to do – sing songs for him, create beautiful things for him, give things up for him, tell him what’s on your mind and in your heart, in general rejoice in him and make a fool of yourself for him the way lovers have always made fools of themselves for the one they love.
A Quaker Meeting, a Pontifical High Mass, the Family Service at First Presbyterian, a Holy Roller Happening – unless there is an element of joy and foolishness in the proceedings, the time would be better spent doing something useful." (Buechner, Frederick. Wishful Thinking: A Seekers ABC. Frederick Buechner, New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1993, p.122)
In other words, what we do, how we serve, the very life we live are our worship...
That worship is part and parcel to bringing God's Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven.
And now for the "So What?" So what does this mean for us? So what difference does this make? It comes down to one questions that you have to answer. What can you do to bring the Kingdom of God to Earth? What can you do to bring your worship into the world around you?
Maybe it means for you that you carry a case of water in your car and give it to a hot worker that is in need of a cold drink. Maybe for you it is to buy a meal for a family in need. Maybe for you it is to work at the Food Pantry or the Christian Clothes Closet... and the list goes on...
Whatever it is, you have to decide and you have to do it.
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