It's all about God!

Hey Friends and Family of TCC,

For the past two weeks, I’ve written about corporate worship by defining it, comparing it to personal worship and listing some reasons why people might miss out on this essential experience with God and others. Today I’d like to give a vision of what corporate worship can be. First, it’s all about God (unlike this description by Victoria Osteen where she received a lot of criticism for her description of worship). In corporate worship we come to God to tell Him who He is, what He’s done and what He’s promised to do. We are reminded in a clear way just how great, powerful, faithful, and glorious He is. When we gather corporately, our teams serve us by putting God on display though music, spoken word, prayer, visual arts and expressions of beauty.

Second, it’s all about what God is doing in our world. He is drawing all people to Himself. He decrees that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess their allegiance to Him. We are reminded of God’s redemptive story for mankind and His gift of Jesus Christ, sacrificed on a cross and resurrected from the grave for us. We get to see how we fit into His story as we focus on His purposes in our world.

Third, corporate worship reminds me of God’s love for me. There’s a complex juxtaposition of both what all of us need and what I need at this moment in time. What’s amazing is how one person’s struggle or concern is so many times what the majority of us need. The really cool thing is how the Holy Spirit interprets for all of us just what God has to say to encourage or challenge us. The awesome thing is that God already knows what we all need. That’s why we begin each service planning time with prayer. We want to know His heart.

At TCC, we have the privilege of being led by Dave Bollen, who loves Jesus and wants to make much of Him. Last week Dave celebrated eighteen years as our Lead Worship Pastor. I love this man, and it’s been an honor to serve, lead and worship with him in many different seasons of our lives. I am inspired by the fact that Dave realizes his need for God, grace and continued surrender after all this time in ministry. He realizes that he’s not “there” yet and is hungry for the transformational power of Jesus. Will you please look for an opportunity to give him and Michelle a shout out and hug when you see them next?

Love talking about worship with you,

 

Serve Opportunity – Join Anew Day, our Community Partner, on September 20 for R.A.K.E. and serve our community. At the same time you will bring awareness to Anew Day’s vision to bring low-cost, faith-based counseling to our community. www.therakeevent.com