Sojourn’s Worship Arts Pastor Mike Cosper explains the Biblical understanding of worship and the theological groundwork behind “Before The Throneâ€? in the second and final installment of this article:

     So often, we look at our church services as times and places where we start and stop our worship. In the light of this reality - life lived in communion with God made available to us through the sacrifice of Jesus - we can say that we are not isolated individuals who gather to worship, but rather we are constant worshippers, living sacrifices who gather together to join our worship and encourage one another.

     Our gathered worship takes on a whole new meaning in this reality. We can say that we aren’t gathering to worship. Rather, we continue our worship together. Our worship is then foremost about God’s worth, but also about the building up of his body in our midst. Colossians 3:16 puts it this way: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.”  As we gather to worship together, our worship builds up and strengthens the whole church, as we teach and admonish one another. We build one another up, we learn from one another and are strengthened, and we are then sent out into the world, not to depart from worship, but to continue our worship in the places that God has sent us. For each moment is now lived before God’s throne, offered up to Him through faith in Jesus as an offering - a living sacrifice. Whatever we do, we can, as Colossians 3:23 says, “work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men” because our every moment is lived before Him.

     It is this view of life that shapes our worship at Sojourn. Worship is a continuous reality into which we are forever growing, learning, struggling and stretching. Our gathered worship is not a place where worship starts and stops, but a place where we join our voices together for the sake of building each other up.

     This is important for us to see as members of Sojourn. It means that our worship isn’t fundamentally about my experience. Instead, it becomes about the body. The body means everyone from the person next to you to the person preaching. It means that each moment of our worship gathered is an opportunity to serve and to honor those who are serving. When you lift up your voice in songs and readings, you give affirmation to those words. You express unity of heart and mind with those around you. To the eyes and ears of those who are exploring our faith, they experience the unity of our church in our attitude towards the Word and worship. Our gathered worship is an expression before the world. Don’t let our testimony be clouded by lazy participation. Come to church on time. Come with a heart ready to sing. Your neighbor may need to hear your voice to be reminded that he or she is not alone.

     It’s also the place where we learn to worship. What I mean is that the attitudes of worship and prayer that we express when we gather will inform our worship when we scatter. Consider how we learn anything - playing the piano, pitching a fastball, writing poetry, designing a bridge - learning comes from experience, from practice. As we worship together, we practice the patterns, postures and attitudes of worship that we should experience scattered. The language of adoration, confession, lament and sharing God’s peace that we practice gathered should fill our lives when we’re scattered. We don’t praise God when we gather to get it out of our system - we do it to get it into our system!

     Sojourn’s gathering has a simple structure that we follow - to one degree or another - every week. We begin with a Call to Worship followed by a cycle of adoration. This leads us to confess our sins or to lament our fallen world, and be reminded of the forgiveness that is promised in Jesus Christ. That promise of peace means we have peace with one another, so we share that peace. We then listen to the word preached, express our unity and commitment to the gospel at the communion table, and close with songs of commitment and a benediction - a blessing for the road. It’s a simple rhythm in which we remember the gospel - God is holy (call to worship - adoration), we are sinners (confession - lament) and Jesus is our Savior (assurance - benediction).

     This is what Before the Throne is all about. This conversation we share each week when we gather (sometimes called a liturgy) is meant to help us deepen our worship when we scatter. The CD and devotional that we’re releasing are meant to help connect these moments in worship to moments in life. Consider how you have experienced God’s glory apart from a worship service… Or His holiness and your sinfulness… Or consider a time when a friend has shared God’s peace with you through love, comfort and hospitality. It is our hope that each of you will see that there is no lid, no limit on your opportunity to experience the love and grace of God. That worship is much larger than the short moments we share on the weekend.

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