Worship – lies at at the heart of the Christian life. It is in worship that we express our faith and understanding of God.
(theology) and define our identity – it is through encountering God within worship that we are formed (and transformed) as his people.
One of the glories of the Church of England is its liturgical worship.
Liturgy is a word that comes from the earliest times of the Church, deriving from Greek and meaning ‘work of God’s people’. Liturgy refers to the patterns, forms, words and actions through which public worship is conducted.
We all have a lot to thank God for
Christians believe that we have everything to thank God for. In love God creates us and everything in the world – all those things which give sustenance and fulfilment and meaning to our lives. Every day and every moment is a gift from God, so we feel the need to thank him frequently for all we have and all we are. We also want to stay close to God and come to know him better.
Concern also for others, and difficult situations
As well as the good things in life, we also see the suffering of many people in the world – the poverty, the war and the injustice. And our own lives can be filled with just as much pain and bewilderment as anybody else’s.
So, as well as the good things, we are moved to bring to God all these bad things as well, asking him to bring wholeness and peace. We also hope that we might come to some understanding of why these things happen, what they mean in the greater scheme of things, and how to recognise God’s love shining through the world, even in its frailty and imperfection.
Inspiration
It is all of these concerns – wanting to thank God, wanting to know him better, wanting to bring life and world before God in prayer, wanting him to bring wholeness and peace to the world he created and loves – that brings us together in prayer and worship each day.