Is Your Worship About You? A Review of ‘Modern Worship’

[00:05:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[00:05:17] Good morning, everybody! Congratulations, you are on time. High five it!
[00:05:27] As with most things, it's going to take a little while for everybody to get the memo that we're starting at 9.15, but we're so appreciative that you are here, both in person and those of you who remember to be here at 9.15 online.
[00:05:40] Hey, and well, those of you coming in 9.30 won't hear me say this, but it's okay, you can catch us at 9.15 next week.
[00:05:47] But we're so glad you guys are here. Welcome to our 915 Modern Worship Service. I'm Monica Humple.
[00:05:54] I'm the Associate Pastor of Engagement. And really the big awesome perk of my job is to say welcome to those of you who are visiting and who are here or newer to our church. We are really so happy
[00:06:09] that you're worshiping with us here at Williamson's Chapel. If you are newer to our church, we invite you to take a moment after worship. If you have a couple of minutes, come see me. I'll be at a
[00:06:19] little cart to your left as you walk out of the door. I have a cool gift I want to give you just to say, hi, welcome. We're so glad you're here and make myself available. If you have questions
[00:06:28] about our church, anything you hear about coming up in the life of the church that you're like, hey, I'd love more information about that. I would love to tell you more. If you don't have time to
[00:06:37] hang out with me after worship for a couple of minutes, no problem. We have a QR code right here that you can scan and you'll have an option on there to connect with us. I get that form online
[00:06:47] and I can respond to any question you have via email and then we can get together and talk later if you'd like to do that. Either way, friends, whether you're new or whether you're part of our
[00:06:58] church family, what a joy it is to be together in the house of the Lord. So welcome. Let's continue

[00:07:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:07:05] to worship together. Good morning church. My name is Carrie Wright. I'm the worship leader. I'm so glad to welcome you into the space to our first start of the 915 service. We are excited to lead
[00:07:19] you in worship today. We have a lot of fun songs to do. As we begin, I want us to prepare our hearts a little bit and think about what's before us in the timeline of the Christian year and what
[00:07:32] our theme is. The first thing I wanted to point out, you notice that the altar area has changed.
[00:07:38] We are now in the season of Lent. If you missed Ash Wednesday this past Wednesday, today is the first Sunday of Lent. Y'all can go back a slide. I'll get to that in just a second.
[00:07:49] If you were here in worship last week, Tony Ruth, Pastor Tony Ruth said that there are some people that put sticks in a vase and it looks like sticks in a vase.
[00:07:59] And there are some people that put sticks in a vase and it looks like that and beautiful.
[00:08:04] So thank you to our worship folks who did that, who worked on that this past week.
[00:08:09] If you are somebody who can put sticks in a vase and it looks like this, come see me or send me an email because we would love for you to be on that team.
[00:08:20] So as you can see, we are in our next series, our Lenten series.
[00:08:25] We've been talking all year long and we will the rest of this year, the next faithful step.
[00:08:31] what is your next faithful step in your walk with Jesus? And it might be in the place of worship.
[00:08:39] That's what we're talking about all of Lent. In each of the seasons, we're talking about a different place, a different value of the church, and how we might be called to step forward in that.
[00:08:51] And maybe in worship, you've got it going on. You're here every week. You're worshiping at home.
[00:08:56] but it might be somewhere that you need or you're feeling God calling you to step forward and a little more attention to your worship life.
[00:09:06] All of this season, thanks y'all, this next season, what is worship is the question we're asking.
[00:09:12] Think about that question for just a minute.
[00:09:15] If somebody says to you, what is worship, you make the assumption that people know.
[00:09:22] I've had the experience recently in the last couple of years when children come to live in our house.
[00:09:28] We are foster parents who have never been to church before.
[00:09:30] And they say, what is that?
[00:09:33] Then you have to explain it.
[00:09:35] If you've been doing it your whole life, you go, um, what is worship?
[00:09:41] What is worship?
[00:09:43] So the first thing that we're telling, we're going through.
[00:09:46] So you have a whole list.
[00:09:48] What is worship?
[00:09:48] the first, the very first important thing, worship celebrates Christ. When we come in here, about the songs I like or the sermon that's really great, the very first thing is that worship celebrates Christ. And that's what we're going to do today. I invite you to listen to each of the
[00:10:07] song as you sing along. Be thinking about how is this giving honor and praise and glory to the risen Christ. The first song we're going to sing is Alaba. It's the song praise that we know well.
[00:10:22] We have sung it in Spanish a couple times. On the screen, you'll see Spanish or English flip-flop forth. We believe that we are a global community, a community that wants to celebrate everyone's culture. So as a praise team, we're stepping out first in the Spanish-speaking culture and learning
[00:10:40] some songs that may be for some of us out of our comfort zone, but surely we can all say the word Alaba. Right, Praise Team? We got that. So we invite you to stand and join with us. We're going
[00:10:51] to get started with Alaba. And some of you kids have shakers to make a whole lot of noise, and you got to dance. And a kid named Perry.

[00:11:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:11:11] This hedge of beautiful women to escape out front. I don't know about you guys, but I love a good

[00:16:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:16:16] snarky t-shirt. And I was wearing one yesterday that said, I'm obviously not old enough to know better. And I'm not there yet. But I did see another one that a fellow was wearing that simply
[00:16:29] said, be kind. Everyone you meet is dealing with some problem that you know absolutely nothing about. And that's what coming to church is about. This is one hour or however long that you're here that you can leave all that outside or if you bring it with you let it go just let it go
[00:16:54] i have another i want you to finish a line for me god so loved the world that's what this next song is about not just that he gave us his son but that he gave us
[00:17:09] everything and no matter what you're going through whether it be health financial family whatever your trials and tribulations are this week.
[00:17:19] This is, He knows.
[00:17:21] And He's going to be there for you and take care.
[00:17:25] So let's sing together, God so loved.

[00:17:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:17:27] We're going to prepare our hearts to hear the word.

[00:22:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:22:04] If you're okay to keep standing, let's continue to stand and sing with me.
[00:22:07] Take, oh, take me as I am.
[00:22:10] And let these words roll through your heart and your mind to allow you to come to the scripture, the very most important thing we do today.
[00:22:19] is to come to hear the word.

[00:23:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:23:28] This morning's scripture reading is Luke 1, 68 through 79, which is known as the Song of Zechariah.
[00:23:38] Zechariah was the father of John the Baptist.
[00:23:42] And in this passage, he calls his son the prophet of the Most High, who will prepare the way for Jesus and his ministry.
[00:23:52] In his song, Zechariah points us to Jesus as the ultimate source of salvation, light, peace, and life.
[00:24:01] We ask God to open our ears, our minds, and our hearts to hear his word from Luke chapter 1, verses 68 through 79.
[00:24:12] Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.
[00:24:20] He has raised up a mighty Savior for us in the house of his child David.
[00:24:25] as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
[00:24:36] Thus, he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors and has remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
[00:24:52] might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness in his presence all our days.
[00:25:00] And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins.
[00:25:15] Because of the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of peace. The Word of God for all people. Thanks be to God. Good morning, church.

[00:25:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:25:52] Before I begin, we're going to pray, but first I want us to take a deep breath. Let us pray.
[00:26:11] holy and gracious God we thank you for this time for this space for the opportunity this morning to to come together to worship to praise to lift your name God and just to make space in our lives
[00:26:42] and in our hearts for your spirit to move God I ask now that the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.
[00:26:59] Amen. So as Pastor Cary mentioned earlier during the season of Lent, we're going to be looking at what it means to grow as a disciple of Jesus, specifically as worshipers. This morning we're going to look at how worship is fundamental for us as disciples and as the church, how worship is
[00:27:25] formational for us as disciples, and how our worship centers on and celebrates Jesus. So first of all, worship is fundamental, not just as disciples and not just for the church. Worship is fundamental to being human. Worship is instinctive. We are, as humans, hardwired
[00:27:52] to worship. It's as natural for us as breathing and eating. It seems that we have this innate need to give ourselves over to something greater than ourselves. Now, as a Christian, I believe that this reflects a desire within the creature to connect with God, the Creator, Father, Son,
[00:28:17] and Holy Spirit, so that we are created for that relationship, and that desire for connection with our Creator expresses itself in worship. Now, when it comes to discipleship, growing as a worshiper means that we become more and more aware of two truths.
[00:28:43] First, worship is not only confined to something we do one day a week in a specific place.
[00:28:52] Growing as a worshiper on that discipleship pathway leads to an increasing awareness of God's presence every day and a growing desire to give God honor and praise every day.
[00:29:07] not just at a certain time of the week but in every part of our lives and i think this is really helpful for us as disciples because we humans are can be really skilled at compartmentalization
[00:29:22] right that we have who we are and what we do and what we believe at church and then when we go home we have who we are at home with family and then who we are at work you get the picture but as as
[00:29:36] we grow in that discipleship pathway, worship begins to permeate every other part of our lives.
[00:29:46] So first truth, worship is not just something we do one day a week in a specific place.
[00:29:51] The second truth is that as we grow, we become increasingly aware of other things that are not God that demand our loyalty. And we are tempted to make those things that may not be sinful or
[00:30:07] wrong in and of themselves, but we're tempted to make those things the center or the defining things in our lives. In other words, as we grow as worshipers, we become more and more aware of the temptation of idolatry, the temptation to build our identity on, to give ourselves over to
[00:30:31] things, to counterfeits that might promise us things they will never ultimately deliver on.
[00:30:39] and so as we grow as disciples in worship we increasingly begin to increasingly build our identity on jesus so much of that is shaped in our worship so worship is not just a fundamental human activity and it's not just fundamental for us as individual disciples worship is also
[00:31:05] the fundamental activity of the church. And worship is one of the primary things that distinguishes us from other groups and organizations. Because a lot of what we do as a church here at Williamson's and other churches included, a lot of what we do,
[00:31:24] you can do in other places, right? You can serve out, do good things, help those in need, feed the hungry, provide people resources that don't have it. You can do any number of things through other agencies. You can also come together and maybe study things, even study
[00:31:42] the Bible, book clubs, all these other things. You can do that through other groups.
[00:31:49] Worship is distinct for us as the church. Worship gives meaning to every other thing we do as the church. Other things are important, even necessary, but worship centers us on God, reminds us on a weekly basis why it is we do all the other things that we do.
[00:32:18] Worship reminds us of our defining purpose as a church. Now, while there are a lot of points of contact and connection for people here at Williamson's Chapel. Gathering together for worship is still the most important thing that we do, and it is at the heart of who we are
[00:32:38] as a church. So worship is the fundamental activity of the church. Not only is worship fundamental and foundational, worship is formation. Worship is formation. Now, it's probably not news to you that patterns of worship attendance have changed dramatically over the past few
[00:33:08] decades.
[00:33:09] Now, there are a lot of reasons for this.
[00:33:13] One, there's just a lot more options of what people can do on Sunday.
[00:33:21] I remember as a kid growing up in nearby Rowan County, close to Kannapolis, nothing was open on Sunday morning.
[00:33:30] maybe a gas station but grocery stores and drugstores didn't open till one if then a little while in the sermon i'm going to talk to you about why i'm currently a grumpy old man but uh so i do
[00:33:45] sound like i'm i'm complaining maybe i am i don't know but the the patterns of worship attendance have changed uh the meaning of what what it is to be a regular churchgoer has changed when somebody
[00:34:00] says I attend church regularly what they mean now is different than what was meant when I was growing up my family we were regular churchgoers and in that part of the world in the in the early
[00:34:15] mid 80s that meant we were at church every Sunday morning every single Sunday with one maybe two possible exceptions one exception being the week of the fourth when we'd go to vacation at Ocean Isle Beach or if you were sick but your fever really had to be
[00:34:37] over a hundred or you had to be thrown up otherwise quote my father you'll be okay take a nap later so every single Sunday regular worship at Dennis that's what it meant to be a regular
[00:34:51] church goer now if you were to ask somebody who comes to church once maybe twice a month if they're a regular church goer they'll probably say yes i'm not complaining about this i'm happy to see you whether it's every week or once or twice a month i understand the rhythms of busy
[00:35:09] life so i don't want you to um i was telling tony ruth like there's some parts of my sermon that might veer to i don't want to like make people feel guilty and tony ruth said it's lent you
[00:35:19] should make people feel guilty awesome so question in terms of worship can you be a Christian can you be a Christian without worshiping with the gathered body of Christ on a regular basis and I'm not talking about we have people who are homebound people who physically can't come to
[00:35:43] worship that I understand that I'm not talking about them I'm talking about able-bodied folks who have the resources and ability to come to worship on a regular basis with the gathered body of Christ. Can you be a Christian without worshiping with other Christians on a regular
[00:35:59] basis? Yes, you can. You can. Your salvation does not depend on church attendance. I just want to be clear about that. You can be a Christian. Will you grow as a disciple? No. Mainly because
[00:36:20] worshiping together with other followers of Jesus keeps us connected and centered on Jesus and connects us with other disciples. And if you think I'm being hard or you feel guilty about that, I'm not talking about you're here. So good. That means we are in this moment making room in our
[00:36:45] lives and our schedules to have an experience of the presence of God, to be connected to and centered on Jesus and to connect with other followers of Christ. It is essential for our growth as disciples, to worship both on a daily basis in our own individual lives and to worship
[00:37:06] together, reminding us again and again that we aren't the center of everything and that we're part of a much bigger story. Worship centers us again and again in the God who created all things, the God who is fully revealed in Jesus Christ and whom all things hold together. And worship
[00:37:29] invites us to a growing awareness of and openness to the Holy Spirit working in and through us.
[00:37:40] Weekly worship forms us. It shapes us, but only as we make it a priority in our lives.
[00:37:51] And it shapes us over time. Now, you might have, maybe you attend worship and you have a a singular experience, a powerful transformative experience, and everything about your life, your trajectory changes, all that stuff, that might happen for you. But for most people,
[00:38:10] it's a slow work. And actually, those moments of transformation are usually kind of a culmination of things that led up to that moment. But being formed in worship is a slow work and sometimes we act as if churches should be like disciple factories you know that
[00:38:31] you follow these this these steps you follow this process and boom you're a disciple it doesn't work that way it's not a factory it's a garden it's a garden and if any we i know we have gardeners in
[00:38:46] here it takes time and patience right and it takes repetition of thing watering tending weeding all of these things. So it is a slow process of growth. And part of what we do here, worship leaders,
[00:39:04] pastors, and praise team, and 11 o'clock service, the choir, part of what we do is we are working to create the conditions in worship where you can have an encounter with God, be formed as
[00:39:18] disciples, and grow in your faith. So then what you experience here over and over again begins to permeate your life bearing fruit for the spirit hear what paul says in colossians 2 6 through 7
[00:39:34] as you therefore have received christ jesus the lord in other words receiving christ saying yes to god being saved whatever language you want to put on that what paul is saying is this is not the
[00:39:48] end of the story receiving christ is not the end of the story but the beginning paul says continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you
[00:40:03] were taught. So being taught means that on a regular basis, we are being formed and shaped and taught in worship. Paul continues, abounding in thanksgiving. And that's that explicit piece about worship there, abounding in giving thanks. One of the most important things we do in worship
[00:40:25] is to give our thanks to God, to say thank you to God, to give praise to God. Early in our marriage, when the kids were babies, and Daniel may not have even been born yet, Tony Ruth asked me
[00:40:44] what I thought I was going to be like as an old man. And I know Daniel would say, just look at me now and I will tell you. He said, what do you think you'll be like as an old man?
[00:40:57] with not one second of hesitation, I said, grumpy, and I can't wait. I'm well on my way.
[00:41:10] And in this moment right now in my life, there are two things happening in me at once. First is I am increasingly grumpy about whatever new thing is happening. Spotify keeps wanting me to listen to
[00:41:27] new music. Like, no, I stopped listening to new music in like 2000. It's not happening. I'm also really grumpy about AI, mainly because I don't understand it and I don't want to take the time
[00:41:43] to learn. See, I'm on my way. So the first thing that's happened is I'm getting increasingly grumpy about stuff. But the second thing is I'm oddly excited that I'm living my dream. It's turning out the way I envisioned it. I have to catch myself sometimes. I'd have to remember that Jesus
[00:42:05] doesn't call me to be grumpy. Irritability is not a fruit of the Spirit. And lest you think I'm just making, like I'm, oh, Wes is not really grumpy. I'm kind of joking up here about it, but
[00:42:26] yesterday, huh? Yeah, I'm not really grumpy with you all. But yesterday, I was kind of tired, and we'd been cleaning the house, and I was kind of sweaty, and Tony Ruth was like, He came over and was like, I think you were talking to me or whatever.
[00:42:45] And I'm like, ugh.
[00:42:47] And you're like, oh, he's not in a joking mood.
[00:42:49] So the grump is real.
[00:42:51] The grump is real.
[00:42:54] But Jesus doesn't call me to live there.
[00:42:57] Now, I say that as kind of a disclaimer.
[00:43:00] Specifically when it comes to worship, I've experienced a lot of changes in my life.
[00:43:07] A lot of different styles of worship.
[00:43:09] Some of my earliest memories growing up in church and being aware of a wider world outside of my home church was what used to be known as the worship wars.
[00:43:20] And a lot of this was about music.
[00:43:23] And in the early 80s in my home church, if anybody had brought a guitar into worship, there would have been a number of folks who would have gotten up and walked out.
[00:43:32] Y'all remember when it was? Anybody remember when it was like that?
[00:43:37] So I remember those changes of different worship styles coming into prominence all the way up through the current kind of negotiation about worship in person, worship online, all that stuff.
[00:43:54] I've experienced a lot of changes when it comes to worship.
[00:43:57] Some of the changes I like and some I don't.
[00:44:03] I like the fact that I don't have to wear a suit and tie every week when I preach up here.
[00:44:08] That's, I'm not going to tell you about the changes I don't like. Just know they're there.
[00:44:14] And it doesn't matter. What I like and don't like does not matter when it comes to worship.
[00:44:22] God has reminded me a number of times in my life, it is not about me. It is not about me.
[00:44:32] Like I said a minute ago, worship celebrates Jesus. Worship celebrates Jesus Christ. Not to put too fine a point on it, growing as a disciple in the area of worship will lead you to the truth
[00:44:46] that worship is not about you. Now, usually I say this in the second person plural. I say y'all, but in this moment, I'm talking first or second person singular, second you. Worship is not about you. It's not about your preferences. Worship is about Jesus. And there are going
[00:45:16] to be things that you really like and things you don't. And as God tells me on a fairly regular basis, get over yourself. It's not about you. Our scripture from Luke's gospel this morning is a good example of that. It's a prayer of praise or a song by Zechariah, who was the father
[00:45:43] of John the Baptist, and an angel, Gabriel actually, visited Zechariah. Zechariah was a priest, and he was in the temple, and Gabriel visited Zechariah and said, you and your wife Elizabeth are going to have a son. And Zechariah and Elizabeth were old, and Gabriel said, you're
[00:46:04] going to have a child. And for me, that's just Abraham and Sarah right there, right? We've seen this before, but Zechariah expressed doubt. How can this be? And in a more formal way, he said,
[00:46:22] we're really old. How is this going to happen? And Gabriel said, because you doubt, you will not be able to speak a word until the child is born. And what Zechariah says after John, later known as the
[00:46:37] Baptist is born is this beautiful song, the song of praise. Part of that song is specifically about how John will point to someone even greater, how John will point to Jesus, the light of the world,
[00:46:57] the dawn from on high that is a sign of God's tender mercy for us, the Redeemer, the Prince of peace and John the Baptist for all of his gifts, all of his passion, all of his distinctiveness
[00:47:10] knows that his role is to point beyond himself to the one who is greater. As he says in the gospel of John chapter 3, he, Jesus, must increase and I must decrease. And if that's John the
[00:47:36] Baptist perspective, whose birth was predicted by Gabriel, whose father was a priest, who was a cousin to Jesus, who is just a gifted prophet, if that's his approach, how in the world are we going to think worship is about us when somebody of that kind of prominence is pointing to Jesus?
[00:48:00] so we follow the example of John in our worship Christ must increase and I must decrease and that's a good way to sum up what we should be doing in worship if our worship celebrates Jesus
[00:48:15] he will increase and we will in some ways decrease not in a way that that diminishes who God created us to be not in a way that diminishes our gifts not in a way that it's kind of like low self-esteem
[00:48:29] but in a way of remembering that we are not at the center here.
[00:48:33] Jesus is at the center of what we're doing.
[00:48:39] And as our focus on celebrating Jesus increases, our focus on ourselves decreases, especially when it comes to our personal preferences or our expectations.
[00:48:54] I have said, and it's kind of a throwaway comment, it might be too flippant, and it definitely kind of speaks to some of the grumpiness I have occasionally, that when it comes to worship, this is not Burger King. It is not have it your way. Now, sometimes pastors might say that and
[00:49:10] what they, you know, they mean have it my way. It's not that either. Same applies to me. Jesus must increase. I decrease. That's true also of our expectations or how we feel about this thing or
[00:49:28] that particular thing. As we grow as worshipers and focus on celebrating Christ, we are being formed into something new. As Paul says, we're being transformed by the renewing of our minds, by how we view the world, by our perspective. And as we are decentering ourselves and Christ
[00:49:54] is in the center, that changes how we view the world, how we view other people, how we live.
[00:50:03] Now, you as a growing disciple, we begin to understand that the gathered church, you all, It's not an audience watching a performance.
[00:50:12] You all are not an audience.
[00:50:15] I heard worship leaders, pastors, we're not here putting on a performance.
[00:50:22] We, together, are participants honoring and praising God in our worship.
[00:50:28] God is the audience for our worship.
[00:50:34] Now, as you grow as a disciple in the area of worship, your focus is less on having a specific emotional response and less on your particular preferences sometimes you might leave worship and you think i really didn't like that song we sang today
[00:50:50] okay we'll probably sing one you like next week it's fine you might think you might leave worship and you might say worship just i didn't feel it today okay you ever felt that way when you come
[00:51:07] of church? You just didn't feel it today? None of you raised your hands. Say who? Tony Ruth raised her hand. I'm probably glad I didn't hear what he said, but Kaylee will tell me later. As we're
[00:51:32] being formed and shaped by worship over time and through our being in worship together, we are cultivating our growth as disciples. That question, it's less about what am I getting out of worship, it becomes more about what can I offer in my worship. Less about what am I getting, more
[00:51:54] what can I give. Over the next few weeks, our hope and prayer for you is that you will grow not only in your understanding of worship, but you will also grow in your awareness of God's presence
[00:52:11] in worship and in every other area of your life. You take what you experience here, what you learn here, what God is doing in worship in you, and then that begins to show up in your daily life.
[00:52:26] We pray that you will come to worship with a renewed spirit of expectation and hope, ready to experience the presence of God here, ready to lift up the name of Jesus together, ready to be changed, transformed by the work of God through the Holy Spirit in our worship.
[00:52:47] We pray that your experience of God in worship here, together with your brothers and sisters in Christ, and same is true for those of you who are joining us online, we pray that worship will transform how you live out there,
[00:53:03] and that transformation will be noticeable, drawing others to the joy and peace and hope we have in Jesus.
[00:53:12] In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen.

[00:53:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[00:53:15] Thank you so much for joining us for our early worship service, which began at 9.15 this morning.
[00:53:23] If you missed it for whatever reason, hey, don't worry about it.
[00:53:26] We did our best to get the word out that our worship time has gone from 9.30 to 9.15, but you can join us next time at 9.15, no worries.
[00:53:34] Our sermon series during Lent is all about worship and how we are understanding the role of worship in our spiritual lives and on our walk with Christ.
[00:53:47] Today we talked about how worship is a way of honoring Christ, and that's what we do when we come here.
[00:53:53] We come here as a community of believers, of followers of Jesus Christ, to be together and to celebrate our relationship with Jesus.
[00:54:03] We had baptism today. We had joining today.
[00:54:07] All of these things are all celebratory.
[00:54:09] It's ways in which we welcome people into the community of Christ, and we celebrate being part of it.
[00:54:16] Worship is meant to be a communal activity, it's something we do together.
[00:54:20] And hey, even if you're online, you're still worshiping with us.
[00:54:24] Now we are huge fans of worshiping in person because there's something completely different about being in a space together, to have that energy of the people around you, the people of Christ together in one place. If you've ever been here for one of our Christmas Eve services,
[00:54:42] especially when we're packed to the gills in our beautiful sanctuary, you know what I'm talking about. So if you are local to Mooresville, come on and join us in person sometime. We would love to have you here. If for whatever reason you're unable to do that, keep joining us online. You
[00:54:57] are still part of the community of faith, regardless of whether you're here in person or with us online.
[00:55:03] Either way, we do hope you'll continue joining us throughout our Lenten series when we continue to talk about worship, its role in our faith at walk, and how we continue to honor and celebrate Christ
[00:55:14] through worship.
[00:55:17] All right, we will see you hopefully next week at 9.15.
[00:55:22] See you then.

[00:55:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:55:23] Thank you so much for joining us

[00:59:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[00:59:12] for our early worship service, which began at 9.15 this morning.
[00:59:17] If you missed it for whatever reason, hey, don't worry about it.
[00:59:20] We did our best to get the word out that our worship time has gone from 9.
[00:59:23] Thank you so much for joining us for our early worship service, which began at 9.15 this morning.
[01:12:59] If you missed it for whatever reason, hey, don't worry about it.
[01:13:02] We did our best to get the word out that our worship time has gone from 9.30 to 9.15, but you can join us next time at 9.15, no worries.
[01:13:09] Our sermon series during Lent is all about worship and how we are understanding the role of worship in our spiritual life.
[01:13:18] Thank you so much for joining us for our early worship service, which began at 9.15.