Reverent Worship

I know I'm from the "Old School" so I tend to expect reverence when we enter what we call the sanctuary. A place where we meet to fellowship together, to hear the word of God read and expounded upon. A place to sing and praise, a place to testify to the grace and goodness of our Heavenly Father.

Some congregations are quiet, some get rather loud, some sing traditional songs, some sing contemporary songs.To me, it doesn't really matter what your style or methods are as long as God is honored. That's what reverence is.

But reverence is about more than a physical building. Reverence is about our life itself.

Jesus said to the Samaritan woman in John 4:23, "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him." (NKJV)

Jesus made this statement when questioned about a place to worship. I've already stated my position on reverence at the place we choose to worship. But consider this: We Christians are the temple of the Holy Spirit. WE are the house He dwells in. When we gather in worship, the Holy Spirit joins us. If we gather for worship.

In our tradition, we say, "It's good to be in God's house today." Consider this, if you will: Jesus is with us all day every day. Why not wake up every day and say, "Jesus, I'm glad you chose to live in me today. Live your life through me and guide me in each step I take." That's reverence.

When we honor Him in that way - with our very life - He will give us a renewed understanding of His wonderful presence. But we must allow Him, and even invite Him, to live through us.

Even our music attests to this belief. Remember the little chorus we sing: "Lord, prepare me, to be a sanctuary..."

My prayer today is this: "Lord, I will be your house to dwell in, live through me."

NOTE: Enjoy this guest post from my husband and fellow Pastor, Greg Bishop.

Edgy humor or sacrilege?

There's a new "comedy" coming to HDNet on April 26. It's called "Sex, God, Rock 'n Roll" and will feature indie rocker Stuart Davis performing "stand up comedy, news, sketches, and music" according to their press release.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that where my faith is concerned especially, I'm very conservative. And I have no qualms about stating publicly that promoting a show about a man with a "twisted mind and a sensitive soul" under the guise of religion troubles me. The title alone by my standards, is sacriligious. There are just some things you shouldn't make fun of. God is at the top of that list.

I know nothing about this man's musical talent, song-writing abilities or personal characteristics. That's not my issue nor my concern. What does concern me is that this is just one more instance of minimizing God's greatness and omnipotence. We can and should laugh at ourselves and much of life, and I do so frequently. But I don't believe there is ever a time we should laugh at God. To do so makes Him seem smaller somehow. How can you lessen the greatness of the Creator of all?

While I realize that not everyone believes or thinks the way I do, when people claim to be "religious" people, I do look for some form of reverence in them. Somewhere. But the title of this series leads me to wonder if there is any to be found in Mr. Davis. And as a pastor and a minister, this is one more on my long list of things I would never watch.