Why We Do What We Do: Call to Worship

By Amy Rager

You know that feeling when you walk determinedly into a room, stop short, look around and think: ‘Now why did I come here?’   Of course. We all do.  If you’re like me, you've had about 15 unrelated thoughts on that walk from the kitchen to the bedroom so it’s no surprise that it’s difficult to swim through the miscellaneous and arrive back at what’s important. 

Wouldn’t it be nice if in those situations there were someone in the room that could say ‘You came for your sweater, silly’?

Often, when we walk into the theatre on Sundays we’re in autopilot mode:  We’ve come out of habit, we’re there for our friends, or it’s our week to serve in Kid’s Ministry.   The music starts and like Pavlov’s dogs we finish making our coffee and walk to the Main Stage. On a good day we may look around and think ‘Now, why did I come here?’ but most days we are so deeply distracted or so efficiently engrained in routine that we don’t even consider our purpose in gathering together.  We’re not excited to see, savor or sing of the goodness of God. 

Enter the ‘Call to Worship,’ when one of your brothers or sisters in Christ comes forward and shares a Scripture, a prayer, or a way that the LORD has spoken to him/her this week for the sole purpose of stirring your heart to worship God.  In love they say: ‘You came here for your God, silly.’

This practice is nothing new.  The book of Psalms - ancient hymns of God’s chosen people - contains numerous calls to worship:

‘O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.’ - Psalm 95:1

'Praise the LORD!  Praise God in his sanctuary,’ - Psalm 150:1a

‘Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!’ Psalm 100:1

Isn’t it good to know believers have always needed admonition to still their minds (or wake them up!) and see the glory of the LORD?  And isn’t it lovely that our God has graciously provided a way to fix our eyes on him so that we don’t miss out on adoring him in community?

Christ is first - in our hearts, in our vision statement, and in our worship - so we make the call to worship Him the first thing in our gatherings.

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