Sunday mornings, small groups, Bible studies with friends, chapels, and even praying with a friend through a hard time; corporate worship has long been a pillar of the Christian faith. Throughout the Bible, the idea of worship is a heavily discussed topic and one of the most emphasized parts of being in a Christian community.
On Sunday mornings, whether you find yourself in a renovated school basketball court listening to CCM, in a traditional chapel with a small acoustic band, or at mass, corporate worship has been a vital tradition in the lives of Christians, but it is especially important in the lives of young Christians. The hardships of the week are heavily placed upon our shoulders between classes, work, clubs, sports, and trying to make time for a social life. This makes it hard to find any respite to calm our minds and connect with God, but Sunday morning every week we have a designated time to come together and spend time in communal worship with other believers. God designed humans to long for community. Think all the way back to the Garden of Eden: God chose to make not one person but two. God chose to have the Israelites live and worship communally, and eventually Jesus’ teachings directly reflected these themes, and the early church was built upon those ideals.
Besides Sunday mornings, Gordon College students have another opportunity for corporate worship three times a week: Chapel. Similar to Sunday church services, this is a pause in our day. A time to be in community and worship our Lord. Though it is communal it is a vital part of our personal relationship with God. Why? Acts 2:42-47 gives a wonderful example through early church living communally. This was and is still a very important portion of the Christian walk. Though this is something done altogether, it strengthens an inward relationship to God. We are only able to receive the community that we are designed to have when we are worshipping communally; it is a gift given to us from the Lord.
One question that often comes to mind is “what is communal worship actually?” Is it preaching or singing? What about serving? The truth is that it’s all of it, but especially singing. The act of singing as a congregation is one of the most important pieces of a worship service. This is because we are acting as a choir altogether for the purpose of worshipping God. In Colossians 3:16, we are commanded to worship together, and there is a large emphasis placed on actually singing together. Not only should we be attending church and listening to sermons and talking about passages in bible study, but there is a large push to actually sing with others. No matter the style, worship music brings us closer together and most importantly closer to God.
Each week, we are faced with a decision to attend all sorts of events to help strengthen our faith. It is highly important to take those opportunities to build upon our relationships with each other as the kingdom of God and directly to God
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