Called to Worship in His Presence

Last week we saw that the summons to follow Jesus is first and foremost a summons to be with Him, to abide in His presence. We noted that to be with Jesus means to seek Him where He has promised to be found – in the Word, Sacraments, and Prayer. And you could think of the Call to Worship in much the same way. When the Lord calls you to worship Him in Spirit and Truth, He’s calling you to worship in His presence. Now, obviously you can worship Him privately, or as a family, but what we do here is different. Though God is generally present throughout His creation, He has also promised to be present in a special way when we gather around the Word, Sacraments, and Prayer. This is what the psalmist is getting at when he says, “The LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all dwellings of Jacob.” He’s saying your houses are great, but they’re not My church. In heeding the call to worship, “you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.” And that means this is different than your prayer closet or your living room. Your feet are soon to be standing on holy ground because you will have come “to God the Judge of all” and “to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant.” This is where Jesus abides and where you must seek Him. What we do here this morning is at the very center of what it means to follow Him. This morning we follow Him through the parted heavens into the very throne room of heaven. Let us do so with heart’s full of faith, hope, and love.