» Back from a little break on the Oregon coast (photo attached). The immensity of the ocean — both majestic and terrifying — gave me perspective on the character of God. I believe 93 was Calvin’s favorite Psalm, in which v.4 reads:
Mightier than the thunders of many waters,
mightier than the waves of the sea,
the Lord on high is mighty!
» You’ve probably seen the announcements for a new weekly schedule. On Thursdays (tonight!) we’ll have a time of music, corporate prayer, and meditation on the Word from 7-8:30p. That’s being called “Selah” and Ross will explain why. The prayer is more on the front end, music and meditation later, so you’ll have freedom to leave when you need to. If we’ve been failing in anything at CPC, it’s prayer. Thursday evenings are meant to rectify that, in a context of God’s beauty and reflection.
» Sundays will now feature three services: 9 & 11:00a, then an evening service at 6:30p. What this schedule is meant to convey is the significance of worship, and our willingness, as leaders, to work hard to give you opportunities to worship. Let me drill down a little on this…
» When evangelicals want to stress the importance of worship, they almost always quote Heb. 10 on “not neglecting” to meet together. Nothing wrong with that text, but relative to the place of worship throughout Scripture in the lives of God’s people, it’s a little like using a proof-text for love in relationships — you can use a proof-text if you want, but the fact is love is everything and everywhere. So with worship. There has never been a time when the people belonging to God did not gather to worship him, even if that worship came at pain of death. That’s been true for 3,500 years. It’s beyond proof-texting: it’s biblical and human history, it’s the fabric of Creation.
» That said, if you are avoiding worship in order to guard your health, we support you whole-heartedly. We have no intention — none — of compounding your health concerns with guilt about worship. If you need to stay home, please stay home.
» But if you are among (what I imagine to be) the small minority of people at risk of becoming indifferent to worship because you’ve lost the habit during Covid, here’s II Ki 17:15 — “They went after false idols and became false.” Worship creates identity. Whatever it is you are doing in place of worship is doing something to you (Jamie Smith). In fact, somewhere concealed in that alternate activity is the thing that you truly worship. And it’s important to consider how that thing is reshaping your life: “What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?” (Jer 2:5). Worship creates identity. When we abandon the worship of God, we don’t lapse into neutrality. Rather, our new, unspoken gods begin the work of changing us from the inside. With time, our hearts become false, our lives become worthless (2 Ki 17 & Jer 2, again).
» But as long as you are alive, as Christ is alive, there’s hope. “When I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God” (Ps 73:16). In the sanctuary of God the psalmist finds what none of his idols had been able to deliver: “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” So give worship renewed consideration in the structure of your life. It isn’t just about a couple hours on Sunday. It’s about your identity.
