Jul 4, 20203 min read

Worship Notes for the 5th Sunday after Pentecost

The weather forecast is for another sunny Sunday morning! So please feel free to bring your mask and share in the Divine Service of our Lord. Yes, even on this holiday weekend. There is no 4th of July on God's calendar.

The Holy Gospel for this Sunday is from Matthew 11:28:

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

The sermon title: "The REST of Your Life!"

A FEW COMMENTS ON WEBCASTING THE WORSHIP:

As "fine" as our webcasting is, it is crucial for us to realize that making Youtube videos the meat-and-potatoes of our Christian life is not (ever) "good". It perhaps is a necessity from time to time - but God forbid that it becomes anything of a "norm" in our congregation's life. In other words, if you have the option of attending a "real deal" worship service, you need to take advantage of it. Online worship is ultimately no substitute.

The Lutheran Church Canada seminary faculty recently came out with a paper that warns against changing our assumptions about what it means to be a congregation in worship. One interesting quote here speaks to only some of what we are truly missing when we just assume that "online" worship is the new norm of our Christian life:

"For better or worse, screens alter the character of what they present. A medium that is primarily used for entertainment, information, or even manipulation can never be a wholly appropriate vehicle for conveying the holy things of God. Reverence falls victim when the service is delivered to our televisions and computers, when worshippers sit on couches and rightly feel awkward about standing and kneeling, involving their bodies in an event that is so obviously not "real". A one-way medium cannot accommodate the two-way path of worship. Proclamation that is not accompanied by prayer, praise, and thanksgiving is as dysfunctional as a heart that pumps out but fails to draw back the depleted blood. Thus, while it is obvious that the Lord's Supper cannot be received online, there are good theological reasons to be cautious even in trumpeting the value of virtual preaching."

So, for the present moment, we will continue our "online" broadcast of our worship. There really ARE legitimate reasons for not being in worship. In those cases the videos are important. But the big problem will be if our membership falls victim to the devil's lies and believe that online worship will always be "good enough". It is not. It never will be.

We are bending over backwards to make sure that everything is safe with outdoor worship (and even masks). If you have been thinking about coming to worship, but the temptation of the online services has been an easy "out" for you, please have a change of heart. Can we say "repent"? It is time to make your way back to the true family time of God.

Heb. 12:28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe..

Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.