June 24-25 – That feels better!

“Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy.” Psalm 100:2 (NLT, second edition)

I came across this article by Rick Warren and thought how true this is. I'm reproducing it, with some adaption.

How many times after a busy week, have you got up on a Sabbath morning and said, “I am so tired. I really don’t have any energy to go to church,” but then you went to church and worshiped and afterward you were more energized? That happens because worship renews you. It strengthens you. It strengthens your faith.

For this to happen you must unite with others in worship. Worship is for God, but it also has benefits for you, and to receive those benefits, we have to give of ourselves.. Here are two of the biggest benefits corporate worship brings: It renews your faith, and it restores your joy.

Isaiah 40:31 says, “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (NIV). We get renewed by worshiping God with other believers.

Rick says he sometimes thinks of himself like the coach in the boxing movie “Rocky.” Rocky is out there in the fight, and he’s pouring his heart out and just getting beat to a pulp. The bell rings and he goes, “Thank God.” He comes to the corner, and the coach says, “You’re doing a good job.” The coach throws some water on him, pats him on the back, and says, “Now get back out there.”

Sometimes I feel like that’s what I’m doing on Sabbath for my church. I’m telling them, “You’re doing a good job. Now get back out there. You can do this!” But that’s not me renewing people’s strength. It’s the Word of God. It’s music and praying and worshiping together with other believers – supporting each other.

The Bible also says in Psalm 100:2, “Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy” (NLT, second edition).

I think it ought to be fun to go to church. That may seem strange to you because it’s not how you were raised or how you felt about a certain church you’ve attended. But the Bible says to worship the Lord with gladness — not boredom, sadness, anger, or out of duty. We should be singing for joy in church! Church should have that effect on you. Worship should renew our faith and restore our joy.

I'm not saying it will be any easier on Sabbath mornings not to roll over and crawl back under the duvet, but we each have a lot to give, and a lot receive....we need the support each can offer the other.

"When the day of Pentecost came, the believers were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting...”

Acts 2:1 Berean Study Bible · What a tragedy if we missed that experience because we were too tired to be there.

“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord’” (Psalm 122:1)

Our music today is “Come Just as you Are”. Click on the picture to listen.