Finding Meaning in Preparation
American culture is infatuated with instant gratification. Not content to be satisfied with products and technologies previous generations dreamed impossible, we now require those products faster than ever. With a plethora of similar or identical products on the market, businesses promise faster delivery to set themselves apart from the competition. The sandwich chain Jimmy John’s lures customers with the slogan “Freaky Fast”. And every internet provider in the country claims to offer the fastest service. The seemingly overnight demise of Blockbuster Video established that to succeed with consumers, businesses must offer their products “on demand”. Because our nation espouses a “get it now” attitude, it is easy to see how appreciating the value of preparing for worship has been lost in the shuffle.
The value of preparation was not lost on Joshua before he led the ark of the covenant and people of Israel across the Jordan river and into Canaan. “Consecrate yourselves”, he told them. “For tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.” The term most English translations render as consecrate is a common reflexive Hebrew verb that means to make one’s self holy or appropriate. While man can no more make himself Holy than he can raise himself from the dead, redeemed man can make himself appropriate to worship the one who can both raise the dead and make men holy. We appropriate ourselves for corporate worship when we do three things:
1. Pray for the body of Christ
Worship services are more than an opportunity to worship as individuals. That can be accomplished anywhere at any time. Communal worship is about a faith community coming together to adore Christ in unity with one voice. However moving that moment may be, the reality of community must extend to times when the congregation is apart from one another. Time spent praying for one another and lifting one another’s burdens strengthens the bonds of brotherly love. And preparing for worship by praying for the church and the ministry of the Word lays a foundation of faith and equity that is carried into Sunday morning.
2. Meditate on scripture
Historically, many Christian groups have developed and made use of a lectionary, a prescribed schedule of scripture readings to be used in worship. With a standardized schedule available to all, Sunday’s scripture could easily be studied in the home throughout the week to reinforce Sunday’s sermon. While some denominations have done away with lectionary use, many pastors methodically preach through bible books or sermon series’. This allows the congregation to preread Sunday’s text or study the previous week’s passage. Having the whole of the congregation meditate on the same passage reinforces the centrality of the Word in the life of the church, allowing God’s word to wash over it both as an assembled body and individually.
3. Train for ministry
It is necessary to regularly invest time in training for applied ministry. Inasmuch as God calls his people to be faithful in “not neglecting to meet together”, he also expects his people to serve one another. But service requires more than simply showing up to complete a task at the scheduled hour. To do the work of ministry well requires time and energy
Bible study teachers ought to study heartily the lesson to be taught. Music leaders and choir members should practice their music to the point that it is led from the heart and not the page. Even tasks that seemingly require little forethought should be prepared to the best of ability, “as to the Lord”. Does the nursery have extra diapers? Has the overflowing garbage can been emptied? The ministry of the church, like the earthly ministry of Christ, has a physical aspect that must be included in
Worship is not an act, but a state of being in which the child of God lives. As the people of God go about their separate lives, the next communal meeting should be ever-present in their minds. And while the attendance, or even participation in a church service is not the substance of worship in and of itself, a worship service is the culmination of time and effort spent in worshipful preparation.