Monday, October 07, 2013

Monday Musings- Thoughts on the Monday after Sunday 1



We didn't go to church yesterday, rather we ventured up to Halls Gap for the first time in six years. We were catching up with some family enjoying a picnic and some time together. After lunch we ventured up to the Venus Baths and it was while wandering midst the soaring natural buttresses of the the Grampians National Park that I started to reflect a little on how we as Christians worship on a Sunday morning. The Christian faith is one that affirms God as creator of this world and although the creation has been marred by sin our faith celebrates this fact. Many scriptures bear witness to this celebration of creation especially in the book of Psalms; for example

Psalm 8: 3-4
When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?[c]

or

Psalm 19 1-4

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.

The church in its worship music also celebrates Gods creation , be it hymns such as How Great Thou Art

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.


or modern worship songs such as God of Wonders
Lord of all creation
Of water, earth, and sky
The heavens are Your tabernacle
Glory to the Lord on High

God of wonders, beyond out galaxy
You are holy, holy
The universe declares Your majesty
You are holy, holy


Whether in the scriptures or in worship music Gods creation is celebrated as something that in its beauty and in the moments when it takes your breath away that points us to God.

Why then do we worship God inside buildings that at best reflect the beauty of what man has made and at worst have no beauty at all.

Church we need to get outside more, into the world that God has made for us to enjoy and not seal ourselves inside a box .