When we gather together to worship, God pours out His grace on His people. We should love the gathering of the saints. We should value the corporate nature of the weekly worship of God’s people. Let it drive away our sinful individualism and let us learn to highly value the gathered church. 

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD”

Psalm 122:1

Do you ever feel that way? Are you glad when you know that you about to “go to the house of the LORD”? I love when we get to gather with the saints. I love to hear God’s word preached, and sing God’s word in praise. I love to hear the prayers and to take communion or see a baptism. It is such a joy to be with God’s people worshiping God. I want to take a minute to talk about the implications of worship that is specifically “corporate”.

First, we should be people who worship God all the time. We should worship Him in the secret place. But we also get the great privilege of worshiping Him together. God has built it into the fabric of the Christian experience that we are to “meet together” (Heb 10:25). He has literally called us the ekklesia, the assembly, the church. And when we gather, we gather to, “exalt His name together” (Psalm 34:3). If the church, by definition, is corporate, so also should our worship be.

(Corporate) Worship is Not About You

Maybe the most obvious thing about corporate worship is that it is not about you. We are sinfully prone to individualism in our modern culture. Does the music fit my perceived need? Does the sermon style work for me? I’m just gonna close my eyes and try to ignore all those other folks standing around. It’s just me and God.

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