September 29
Psalm 150
1 Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise him with timbrel and dancing,
praise him with the strings and pipe,
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
As we come to the end of the week, and prepare to come together in worship on Sunday, hearing in our worship about Sabbath, we see that our day of rest is also a day of worship. After a week of seeing God at work, and taking part in the work God places before us; preparing for a week to come, we offer praise and worship to our God who gives us this gift of Sabbath. We have received all things from him, and as the Psalmist reminds us, we use all that in is us to offer our praise and worship to him.
What prepares us best for worship? It may be a variety of things within the larger body of the church. We often think immediately of prayer. A very valid response. Praying for the ones who will be leading us in worship. Praying for our own participation in worship. Not as much about what we will receive, but about how we will take part. Praying that our worship will be pleasing to God and will express our praise of the God who calls us and saves us.
Others will spend time in the word. Reading and hearing God’s words as we prepare to gather together. Maybe as we have seen the text that will be preached in the coming week we read that to better understand what we will focus on in worship. Maybe we read Psalms that lead us into a place of worship. We look at words and actions of Jesus in the gospels to see the one who brings us this grace to gather. We might look at words that speak of our future, or remind us of the past from which we have been redeemed.
We could spend time listening to music that takes us into a place of worship. Whether it be the word and music of the songs we use for worship or other varieties that also bring us closer to God. Music speaking to our souls and from our souls. Music being an emotional and intellectual combination of expression.
We prepare for worship and we take part with all we are as we come to praise the God who calls us and saves us.
Song – Bless the Lord, O My Soul
Prayer
Lord God, pour out your Spirit in our hearts and minds. Prepare us for our gathering in your name, to worship and to hear you. Deliver us from cold and wandering hearts and minds that we might worship in spirit and truth. Amen.