Fork Union Baptist Church

The idea behind this type of worship is that it is not person-led, it is Christ-led, and everyone is welcome to participate in some way.  It is based on what we believe was the way the Christians in the first century worshipped from 1 Corinthians 14:26 (NIV) “What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.”

To prepare for this time of worship, I suggest that you pray, read and think on the suggested Scripture passage, and ask God how He wants you to participate.

• It might be that sometime in the service, as the Spirit leads, you will suggest that the congregation sing a certain hymn or worship song, or He may lead you to sing a solo, or get together a few others ahead of time and prepare an ensemble piece.
• Maybe God will prompt you to play an instrument during the service, or to accompany us all as we sing.
• It might be that God will lead you to read aloud a portion of the theme Scripture, or another Scripture that relates.
• It might be that God will lead you to prepare and deliver a Bible lesson/instruction on a part of the theme passage, or maybe, just raise a question or two about the passage for us all to think about. That means that I, as the Pastor, may not be the one, or the only one, to bring us a message from God, if indeed there is one.
• It might be that God will lead you to read an appropriate poem or lead the rest of us in prayer during the worship time.

Whatever God wants you to do during the worship time, I believe that the Holy Spirit will reveal it to you.  I also believe that He can do it weeks, days, hours, or minutes ahead, as well as during the worship time itself.  Just have faith and make yourself available.

This is Body worship as I believe the early church did it. Even though there won’t be a printed order of service, the Bible says that God is a God of Order, and that we must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth, and do it decently and in order. Therefore, we’ll be relying on the Holy Spirit and one another to monitor ourselves.

The goal is to glorify God and strengthen the church. I know this seems really different than many of you have experienced before, but it’s not much different than an old fashioned hymn-fest, or prayer meeting. All I ask, is that you pray about your participation, and allow God to lead you. If you have any questions, please email or call me or come by to see me. I’ll be glad to talk with you about it.

In Christ,

Warren

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