In a live stream this week, our senior pastor at CLC announced that because of the virus that is spreading in our country and around the world we will not meet together in our church on Sunday until the danger has passed. Instead, the worship music and sermons will be live streamed to everyone. This action comes as sporting and entertainment events are being cancelled and businesses and government offices are closing. I’m sure this crisis has already touched each person reading this. I want to address what affect this has, if any, on Christian faith and worship.
When we become Christians by faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, God’s Spirit dwells in us and not in a tabernacle, temple or church building. Each of us is a temple and together we form the true church; not a physical building, but a spiritual structure with Christ as the cornerstone. It is no longer where we worship, but how we worship that matters to God. (John 4:23-24)
Please don’t misunderstand. I am not minimizing the power that is released when Christians meet together for worship or fellowship. Jesus promised that where two or more of us are gathered in His name, He will be there with us. (Matthew 18:20) His presence is felt in a very real way and I have felt it sitting at a table in a restaurant early Saturday morning with my brothers in Christ and at church worshipping with my brothers and sisters. My point is; God is not waiting in the church building or any other place for us to join Him. We bring His Spirit with us to the church or wherever we go and when we meet together He magnifies His presence just as He promised.
All of this said, how will church at home affect us? A dear friend shared a long letter recently from a Christian woman in Wuhan, China, the epicenter of this pandemic. She and her family had been locked down in their high rise apartment for over two months. There was too much in that letter to share here, but what jumped out at me was how much closer her family had become; eating every meal together; praying together and worshiping together online. My hope and prayer is that all of the young families in our congregation will experience that same closeness.
For me personally, I had a sample of it this past Sunday when I decided to avoid the crowd and stay at home worshiping noon service in Tinley Park, Illinois. The worship teams and online. It wasn’t the same experience, but it helped when I “double dipped” watching the service and sermon of my young pastor friend in Hammond, Indiana, and then tuning in to my regular messages touched my heart and lifted my spirit.
By the way, I just saw photos from Wuhan, where things are finally beginning to return to normal. There is light at the end of this seemingly dark tunnel for us as well. God is good all the time and in every situation.