07 Oct The Art and Act of Worship

A tree gives glory to God by being a tree. For in being what God means it to be it is obeying God. It “consents,” so to speak, to God’s creative love. It is expressing an idea which is in God and which is not distinct from the essence of God, and therefore a tree imitates God by being a tree.” ― Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation

Thomas Merton, the great contemplative Christian thinker, tried to help us grasp that we worship God best and “give glory” to Him most, by simply being what God means us to be–in the same way that a tree “gives glory” to God by being what it is meant to be.

Os Guinness, in his book, The Call, talks specifically about how we can do that as humans, through what he calls our primary and secondary callings. Our primary call is to be people who live as disciples of Jesus first, and secondary, as people who grow in an individual call (our vocation as workers, parents, etc). As we grow in our first, primary calling, we become better at our second, and therefore increasingly “give glory” to God.

Briefly, I’d like to talk about some of the meaningful ways that I have seen people at Mosaic walking as disciples of that first, primary calling, even in what seem to be the ordinary spaces of their lives.

Over the past week:

We held membership classes, where 40 people at our North campus and online and nearly 40 people at our soon-to-be South campus made a great decision! They made the decision to be a part of a people, and are now in the process of becoming a committed part of a local church body – that’s worship.

An amazing family from Mosaic hosted a backyard foster care and adopt meet and greet, which had families of all types hanging out and getting to know each other, hearing each other’s stories and testimonies –that’s worship.

Our middle school and high school students gathered in the Student Center last Sunday night to sing songs to their Savior, eat nachos together and hear teaching about the heart of worship – that’s worship.

And we have over 30 volunteers who are signed up and mentoring kids at the local elementary, middle and high school – that is worship.

In our Foundations Class, one of our teachers and worship leaders, Amanda May, explains the theology of worship like this:

“We have a God who purposefully made thanksgiving, praise, and worship to be things that create a relationship with Him. A God who made worship, not to serve Himself, but because He knows what it does in us. It brings us face-to-face with Him. Not just when we sing, but as we live.”

And as we live in our everyday, ordinary spaces, we worship, we sing His praises and we thank God with our whole hearts. It’s our great response to His great love for us. I invite you to look and see and act in the “art” of worship—to do what God has called you to do, as followers of Christ.

Women, next Friday, we are carving out time to worship as women, and to respond to God and His word for us. We will come together, sing praise and worship songs, and grow in who He has called us to be. Please join us Friday, October 14th, at 7 pm in the Worship Center.

And if you come, ladies, please bring your Bible and a journal, spiral, notepad, or iPad. I can’t wait to join you there!

I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I will sing Your praise before the heavenly beings.
I will bow down (worship) toward Your holy temple
and give thanks to Your name
for Your constant love and truth.

– Psalms 138:1-2

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Cori Sullivan, Pastor of Community