Welcome to our service today. It is great to have you here and we would love to invite you to stay after the service and join us for tea and coffee.
People often ask “do I have to go to church to be a Christian?”. Of course we know the answer is no, but it is also a biblical instruction. Corporate worship is more than just a good idea. It is crucial to God’s purposes for His people. The spiritual passion of Israel under leaders like David, Josiah and Nehemiah was accompanied by a commitment to authentic corporate worship. The same should be true of the church today.
Corporate worship provides encouragement and support for those around us. We grow spiritually by spending time alone with God but when we come together we can help and encourage others to grow. Corporate worship means God receives the greater glory – we can praise God individually but there is something powerful about praising God together. When we gather together we also learn together under those who teach us, we care for each other and we can pray for one another. There is opportunity for the gifts God has given each one of us to be used in ‘body ministry’. Finally, corporate worship reminds us that we’ve been drawn apart from the world and drawn together to God. Gathering together is a physical demonstration of our unity in the gospel. It causes us to rub shoulders with those who may not be like us and to recognise our need for mercy at the foot of the cross – together.
Blessings, Sandra
Beckenham Baptist Church 