Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
– Colossians 3:16
I hope and pray that your Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday worship was deeply meaningful and rich for you. I know it was for me here at LifePoint last weekend. Worshipping together is both a gift from God and an expectation, and for us here in the United States, a blessing to be able to do so in freedom.
Below you will read an excerpt from a school paper written by Caleb Dieudonne. Caleb was born with spina bifida and has recently endured a series of surgeries in Cincinnati. He is the son of Dino and Shelley Dieudonne. Caleb has long enjoyed worship at LifePoint. As a young boy, I remember him wanting to be brought down close to the platform in his wheelchair on Sunday mornings so that he could gaze up at the musicians as they played. Here are his thoughts concerning Resurrection Sunday worship as he looked forward to it this year from his hospital bed. I share this with his permission:
It is a 25-minute journey to church on Resurrection Sunday and everyone is dressed in their best attire as they wait for an exciting day of worship to begin. Pastor Jym officially opens the service with “He is risen!” to which the congregation enthusiastically replies, “He is risen indeed!” The smiling choir sings a new energetic song before congregational worship begins with “Christ Arose.” The excitement continues with Easter classics like: “Christ the Lord is Risen Today,” “Crown Him with Many Crowns,” and “Shout Hosanna,” before turning to a time of prayer and proclamation of God’s word. I do my best to pay attention to the sermon, even though I am on the edge of my seat and my heart is pounding with excitement.
Finally, Pastor Jym prays to conclude the sermon and the worship team is back on the platform when I open my eyes. Pastor David says, “Let’s stand together and continue our time of worship on this Resurrection Sunday.” We sing “Christ is Risen” and “Forever,” and then the moment I’ve been waiting for all year finally arrives, and the electric guitar intro to “Alive Forever Amen” begins. Dad and Mom both turn to look at me and flash wide grins. I’m smiling so hard my teeth could fly out of my head. I can’t hold back my emotions and I burst into song with the congregation. The bridge is the best part of the song. It is almost like a chant: ‘Worthy is the Lamb, worthy of all praise, worthy is the one who has overcome the grave. Let the people dance, let the people sing. Worthy is the Mighty King.’ And right around the middle of the bridge, Pastor David gets up from the piano and starts dancing, which always gets the congregation even more excited. I love this song so much that I wish we could repeat it forever. After “Alive Forever Amen” ends, I don’t want to leave the sanctuary, but little does anyone know, I am going to stay for the second service!
The Resurrection Sunday worship service is like none other in the entire year. As I meditate on these songs and how beautiful they are, I wonder about the true meaning of beauty. Beauty is inspirational, creates a sense of wonder. It brings joy and calmness and happiness. It makes me want to linger. I want to share the experience with others. When the experience is over, I feel a longing and I want to go back to that beautiful place or experience or person. It is the beauty of God that makes us want to draw near to him.
I cannot write any more poignantly than Caleb has from his experience how beautiful worship can be. We are a people who are called to worship a glorious God who has revealed himself to us gloriously through his Son and his Spirit.
Do your best not to take our corporate worship for granted friends. It is a gift from God, and it is not guaranteed to us, not even here in the States. It is certainly possible to worship God individually, and we should do so. But the gathering of God’s people for worship is one of the tastes of glory we get to experience here on earth. Be glad for it and rejoice!
Grace and peace,
Pastor Jym