Key Value 3 - Sermon Notes
Worship, prayer and a genuine experience of God should be the expectation of those who attend.
VicarMike
Many people go to church but how many of us know that we ARE church? When we leave the building on Sunday after the services we are still part of the church. We take that influence to our homes, to our work, to our schools and colleges, to the times we spend with our friends and relatives. We do not cease to be church when we leave the building because we all know the church is the people not the building. How then do we live a genuinely good witness as church when we are not present with others in the building? When discerning the results of our prayer evening and of our meetings together it was believed to be vital that when people come together to worship that it be a genuine experience where there is a real expectation of the presence of God. So this would be not just Sunday worship but also prayer evenings, Home groups, toddlers, away days, Church weekends and the like.
What then is a genuine experience of God? Expecting something that is genuine would be relational. Just as when one of the family returns from a time away they would hope for a genuine welcome and a sense of well-being, of being wanted, expected and valued. That their absence meant that they were missed and that the reunion was a joyful and joy filled one. When we come to expect a genuine experience of God we would be anticipating a relational experience, that he is expecting us, that we communicate with him, that we know we are welcomed into his presence and that he is welcomed into ours. We would anticipate that people would feel that being with God is to their benefit and that they would feel better when leaving than they felt when they arrived. Whilst part of worship or prayer that they knew they were wanted by all those around them and wanted by our Father in heaven and that all present genuinely wanted to know of God’s presence with them. It is hoped that everyone who attends knows the longing of God to be with us corporately as well as individually ‘As the deer pants for streams of water’ (psalm 42:1) being an expression of the longing for us and God to be together. We would want everyone who attends to know that they are vitally important and that no one is excluded. As St Paul spoke to eloquently about the Body of Christ being the local church so we recognize that the body needs every single part to function well and to be fully functional.
We would like to be more pastorally sensitive to notice when folk are missing and hope that every member of church will be as vigilant of illnesses and absences and to inform the Officers should there be a need for follow up or even do so themselves and if necessary then informing the leadership team of any need discerned. It should be the pastoral responsibility of the whole body to care for each member. When people return or when new comers come into our worship we would want them all to know that their presence brings us great joy.
Many people go to church but how many of us know that we ARE church? When we leave the building on Sunday after the services we are still part of the church. We take that influence to our homes, to our work, to our schools and colleges, to the times we spend with our friends and relatives. We do not cease to be church when we leave the building because we all know the church is the people not the building. How then do we live a genuinely good witness as church when we are not present with others in the building? When discerning the results of our prayer evening and of our meetings together it was believed to be vital that when people come together to worship that it be a genuine experience where there is a real expectation of the presence of God. So this would be not just Sunday worship but also prayer evenings, Home groups, toddlers, away days, Church weekends and the like.
What then is a genuine experience of God? Expecting something that is genuine would be relational. Just as when one of the family returns from a time away they would hope for a genuine welcome and a sense of well-being, of being wanted, expected and valued. That their absence meant that they were missed and that the reunion was a joyful and joy filled one. When we come to expect a genuine experience of God we would be anticipating a relational experience, that he is expecting us, that we communicate with him, that we know we are welcomed into his presence and that he is welcomed into ours. We would anticipate that people would feel that being with God is to their benefit and that they would feel better when leaving than they felt when they arrived. Whilst part of worship or prayer that they knew they were wanted by all those around them and wanted by our Father in heaven and that all present genuinely wanted to know of God’s presence with them. It is hoped that everyone who attends knows the longing of God to be with us corporately as well as individually ‘As the deer pants for streams of water’ (psalm 42:1) being an expression of the longing for us and God to be together. We would want everyone who attends to know that they are vitally important and that no one is excluded. As St Paul spoke to eloquently about the Body of Christ being the local church so we recognize that the body needs every single part to function well and to be fully functional.
We would like to be more pastorally sensitive to notice when folk are missing and hope that every member of church will be as vigilant of illnesses and absences and to inform the Officers should there be a need for follow up or even do so themselves and if necessary then informing the leadership team of any need discerned. It should be the pastoral responsibility of the whole body to care for each member. When people return or when new comers come into our worship we would want them all to know that their presence brings us great joy.