Come and Worship This Weekend
Today’s Verse:
Joshua 1:9 ESV
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
In preparation for worship this weekend, I have again come across the words of the Lord to Joshua. These words of God spoken to Joshua may well be the first thing you or I read in the Word on this weekend. The Lord is saying to Joshua, “Be strong and courageous…for the Lord your God is with you…” (Joshua 1:9).
Strong and courageous. Joshua is a leader on the brink of trials and unknowns. This is encouragement. This is a call to faith and trust in God in the midst of an about to begin journey. And these are the words of the living God, not only to Joshua of long ago, but to you and to me today.
So I wonder: how often do we forget that worship is an act of courage? In a world that beckons in a hundred ways and lures us to place all of our affection and attention on everything except God, to gather for worship together is Spirit-led counter-cultural choice. Worship is a confession that God is Lord. Lord of all, but Lord of time, our hearts and our lives.
Worship is not something we do only when we feel like it or when it is convenient. Worship is one of the spiritual disciplines. It is a way we choose faith, that is, to come to Him in order to enter into the promises of God, even in the midst of chaos and confusion and faltering faith. In the way that the Lord promised to be with Joshua, He promises to be with us also through His Word and Sacrament in worship. To be with us. To give us strength.
The Small Catechism in Luther’s words tells us that worship (especially the hearing of God’s Word and the receiving of the Sacrament) is the place in which faith is awakened, sustained, and strengthened. When we worship we are reminded that we are not alone. The Lord is with us. Truly, deeply, graciously with us.
So this weekend come to worship. Come whether your spirit is brave or weary, whether strong or weak. Come. Worship the Lord your God not in fear or duty but with joy and with confidence. For the Lord your God is with you.
(You can join us at Saint Matthew’s in New Milford (225 Center Street) on Saturday at 5:00 pm and Sunday at 9:30 am, or at Holy Trinity in Garfield (340 Palisade Avenue) on Sunday at 11:30 am.)
Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Gracious Father, You are always with us. Strengthen us through Your Word and Spirit to worship You boldly, with hearts full of trust and joy. Help us not to be afraid or discouraged, but to come before You with gladness. Let Your presence in worship renew our faith and lead us forward. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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