Today we’re thinking about what we might call “gathered worship.” In the Bible, worship isn’t limited to a certain time or place: All of life is, one way or another, to be an act of worship. And yet the Bible also does have an emphasis on gathering.
So we can rightly speak about “gathered worship” (what we do when we gather together) and “scattered worship” (how you worship for the rest of the week). We’ll look at scattered worship next week.
In thinking about gathered worship, it’s right to ask why we should, what we should do, and how we should do it? The Old Testament has plenty of examples of people worshipping God by means he hasn’t given – and many of them died for it under judgment! So let’s think about this, and aim to get it right…
These notes accompany a sermon on YouTube delivered at Bromborough Evangelical Church in January 2025. You can find more in the series in our sermon index.
Gather for Worship
We’ve seen over the past two weeks that the church of Christ is both his bride and his body. He sees you individually and he loves you; and yet many of his ultimate dealings with us are as we are together, as one.
Separation of people is often a sign of God’s judgment, such as at the tower of Babel or in exile to Assyria or Babylon. But God gathers his people to bless them.
More than that, he gathers his people so that he might dwell among them. Read Leviticus 9:5-7, 22-24.
The whole nation of Israel had been gathered at Sinai. For the first time since Adam was banished from Eden, a man (Aaron) walked into the presence of God. He had offered sacrifices for the people and himself, atoning for sin. And the result was a dramatic experience of God for all.
This gathering together of the people to experience God is always found at key high points in the Old Testament:
- After the Exodus, again at Solomon’s new temple, at times of national spiritual restoration, and after the exile they re-gathered with Ezra and Nehemiah in Jerusalem.
- The Old Testament feasts of Passover, Tabernacles, etc were all times of community blessing centred on the presence of God among them.
The letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament shows how Jesus is now a better High Priest and a better sacrifice of a better covenant; he’s the Son of God himself. The old system has become obsolete, fulfilled and exceeded by Jesus. Read Hebrews 10:19-25. We don’t gather at a temple; we don’t offer sacrifices. Jesus has superseded all that, and we gather around him.
Eternally gathered to Christ
All of which leads his people towards what we read earlier from Revelation 7:9-17. He will gather his bride, his body, as one. Eternally secure in his arms forever.
All of that reminds you that there is no other way to come to God. There is only one mediator between God and humanity, the man Christ Jesus. No-one comes to the Father but by him.
Do you wish to enter into the eternal bliss God offers? He invites you to turn from your sin, to turn to him. God himself calls on you to cry out for forgiveness – and he is ready to forgive. God the eternal Son, Jesus, was didn’t deserve any punishment because he never sinned – but he died to take the punishment you do deserve, so that you might be saved. Turn to him today.
So worship is by nature something we gather for, and it’s meant to be an experience of God himself, meeting with his people. Is that what you thought you were coming to today?
Think of the men in the Bible who had direct experiences of God: Isaiah, Ezekiel, Thomas, John. Worship is automatic and immediate when you experience God. It’s unforced, and needs no command.
But you’re commanded to gather for worship for your own good! It’s so that you’ll experience God in the unique expression of his gathered people. Gathering for worship isn’t an optional add-on for a Christian: It’s a part of who you are as Christ’s bride.
If it doesn’t feel like that, we’ve got a problem.
Worship biblically
We might well ask what we’re supposed to do when we gather. We’re not going to be offering sacrifices of bulls and goats – Christ has made that entire system utterly obsolete. It’s gone.
But as you look at worship styles around the world – or even around the country – it’s good to ask who’s doing it ‘right’? How could you know?
In thinking about what churches do when we gather, it’s helpful to think about what are sometimes called elements, forms, and circumstances.
Elements
Elements are the biblical “must-haves”. There are just 6 of them:
- Public reading of the Bible. Paul to Pastor Timothy in 1 Tim 4:13 …give your attention to public reading, exhortation, and teaching.
- Gathering to pray. There are many examples in Acts, e.g. Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.
- Preaching. 2 Tim 4:2 Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching.
- Singing. Eph 5:18-19 …be filled by the Spirit: speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord… Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
- Baptism. Matt 28:19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
- Lord’s Table. 1 Cor 11:33 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, welcome one another.
Those 6 things are commanded. We must do them together.
You must sing. You must hear the word read and preached. We must all pray and come to the Lord’s Table. Not online (if you have a choice).
Those are the ‘elements’, the biblical must-haves.
Forms and circumstances
Beyond that, we have certain forms. These are optional things, such as:
- How we dress. Are we casual? Smart? (Does it matter?)
- Which Bible translation do we use?
- What kind of music styles we have, and how big the music group is. Do we use written prayers? What’s our liturgy?
The point is that two churches might have quite different forms, but if both are true to the biblical elements then you really must see them as true churches, equal in Christ.
The third thing to think about are circumstances:
- Many churches don’t own their own building, which will affect some of their forms (e.g. music).
- Some churches fear for their safety, and are forced by evil regimes to meet in secret (e.g. N. Korea, Afghanistan).
- At an individual level, whether it’s Covid or Chemo it will often be wise to join online, ‘gathering remotely’.
But with all that in mind, you personally must decide to:
Worship
From everything we’ve said, it should be obvious that you need to gather here as often as you can to experience as much of God as can be done! You must step forward and participate. Don’t be a passive observer, or a consumer. This isn’t TV or a show.
You’re a participative worshipper. Look at the elements again:
- Read. When the Bible is read aloud, it’s not a filler between songs. God is addressing you/us. Read with focus and expectation. Participate.
- Pray. Work hard to follow the prayers. Learn how to use my prayers to model your own. At the end, be sure to give a strong, clear “Amen” (or mid-way, if you feel like it). It’s not a time to unwrap your sweets. Participate.
- Listen to the sermon for action, not just accuracy. You’re to hear the application – and then apply it. Participate.
- Sing. I can’t say this often enough: You’re commanded to sing by God. He doesn’t say, “Sing well” or even “Sing in tune.” You’re not called to sing loudly, though the more you put in you will feel the words more.
- Raise your hands, tap your feet, dance – I truly don’t mind. But you must, must sing.
- You sing to God and to one another. It’s for all of us. Participate.
- Be baptised. You can’t baptise yourself; it’s an inherently church-based activity. And everyone takes part in the celebration. Participate.
- Take and eat at the Lord’s Table. But never as an individualistic thing: We come together as Christ’s body. Participate.
Those are our elements, the biblical must-haves.
Deliberate forms
Our forms as a church are designed to help you participate to the full:
- Our services focus on reading, preaching, and prayer.
- Our afternoon services often include time for open prayer, so that we can encourage one another as we respond to what God has said.
- Refreshments is a form, giving you time and space to meet and know one another. Don’t dash off to an empty house.
- We don’t have a fancy stage with a band (though we could). The music isn’t loud. There’s space for you to sing, as that’s the sound that matters most.
- We often pass the bread and wine around hand-to-hand in the evenings simply to remind ourselves that we are one, that we are all participants, and that we’re to serve and encourage one another. Helpful forms.
What you must reflect on is whether you see our weekly services as a Concert Hall or a Banquet Hall.
- Do you come as a consumer, wanting to be occupied, interested, or entertained? Would you prefer the lights to be dimmed like a cinema so that you don’t have to interact with anyone else? Is it all just for you?
- Or are you expecting to contribute, to participate, to encourage others? Do you expect God to meet with us together, as a community experience of him?
You can’t have a full experience of God as long as you remain aloof from his people.
We’re to gather together to worship him, to experience him, so that we can build one another up and encourage one another:
Encourage one another
Hebrews 10:24-25 says, And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.
“Encourage one another” is our motto text for the year.
In choosing not to encourage other Christians, you may well find that you are actively discouraging them:
- For those who come along on a Sunday afternoon, it’s often discouraging to learn that someone could have been here too but chose not to.
- It’s discouraging that some of you never, ever talk about Christ, a sermon, a reading, or a prayer item immediately after a service. Participate. Encourage one another!
- We all love to hear the room filled with singing. So why would you not sing, even quietly?
- No-one is called to perform; we come to worship.
- Sing like there’s no-one marking your quality; sing with passion and love for God.
- It’s worship. God’s worth it, isn’t he? Don’t hold back.
- Some of you never join with others to gather to pray. That’s pretty discouraging, because we all depend on the Lord.
- Some do gather, but never speak up. It is astonishing how encouraging it is to hear people pray.
- So participate, pray, and encourage one another.
Active Encouragement
Sometimes you’ll hear something in a sermon that you don’t understand. It’s normal, not least because sometimes I don’t explain things as I should.
- Don’t be discouraged. Make it an opportunity for encouragement.
- Turn to the person next to you and ask them if they understood it: Have a spiritual conversation.
- Even if you don’t get to solve the confusion, you’ll both be encouraged by speaking about Christ, the word, the gospel.
Eph 4:16 speaks of “the growth of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part” – all of us.
Summary
So what have we seen?
- We’re called to gather for worship, to experience God together. It’s always been that way, and always will be in eternity – gathered as Christ’s bride, his body, as one – worshipping together forever.
- It’s obviously important to worship biblically. We can see the must-have elements, and it’s good to be clear on the optional forms and external circumstances.
- But then each of us must decide actually to worship, to participate, in every aspect of the service. This both helps you experience God as you ought, and encourages others to do so as well.
- And so ultimately our gathering is partly about you, and largely about how you can encourage others in their walk with God.
Will you now think differently about church? Will you prepare to meet with God each week. More, will you think about what you can do to encourage others – even simply by being here?