O LORD, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your maidservant.
You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving
and call on the name of the LORD.
18 I will pay my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the LORD,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the LORD!
I am visiting my granddaughter Harriet this week and for the first time since 1994, find myself seeking instructions on diapers and onesies. If you have not been to church since seemingly 1994, you can look no further than Psalm 116 for the perfect instructions for the gathering together to worship. It is a psalm of praise. That is the first clue. It is about him. Then we need to identify ourselves as the Lord’s servants and followers. Next, identify God as the one who set us free with the gospel and the cross.
Now comes the step by step instructions once you enter the gathering. Call on his name and give thanks for what he has done. Present your offering and your promise of worship “in the presence of all his people” in the house of the Lord. Repeat.
It is time to gather together in the house of the Lord and worship him in the presence of each other. There may still be fear but perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). His love for you and your love for him is a relationship and relationships need presence. Your final instructions upon entering church are…
Praise the Lord!
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church