THE FIRST LESSON Matthew 5:21-24
THE SECOND LESSON 1 Corinthians 14:26-33, 37-40
SERMON "The First Worship Wars: How Do We Worship?"
Worship Notes
Today we continue our series exploring various aspects of corporate worship, which is the most important activity we do together as the body of Christ gathered as Westminster Presbyterian Church. This series is an outgrowth of the recent worship survey of the congregation. Last week, we reflected on "why" we worship and considered the role the sacrament of communion plays in our corporate worship. This morning, we consider "how" we gather around the Word of God.
The service begins with a choral prelude, which speaks of the specific nature of the space in which we gather for worship and experience the presence of God. The opening hymn, "Come, Christians, Join to Sing" is a call to unite our voices in praise of God who is our creator and our salvation. The prayer response hymn and the offertory are settings of the familiar "Kum ba yah." Kum ba yah is believed to be derived from Gullah, which was a Creole dialect spoken by slaves and former slaves living on the sea islands of South Carolina and Georgia. In Gullah, Kum ba yah means "come by here." Therefore, this hymn is a prayer that asks God to be with us in worship. As we prepare to depart the sanctuary and continue our worship of God as individuals journeying out in the world, we sing together with confidence: "in bold accord, come celebrate the journey now and praise the Lord!" The postlude setting of the familar psalm of praise was composed by German organist Sigfrid Karg-Elert (1877-1933).
