The Transformational Power of Corporate Worship



God’s people have always assembled together on a weekly basis as a corporate spiritual discipline.  Post-exilic Jews met on the Sabbath to read and discuss their Scriptures in the synagogue.  The early church continued the weekly pattern but gathered on the first day of the week – the day of Resurrection – the Eighth Day.  The writer of Hebrews specifically warned us to “forsake not the assembling together as is the habit of some” (Hebrews 10:25). Why?

Consider these facts about corporate worship:

·         For over 1500 years most Christians did not have a personal copy of the Bible.  How did they grow spiritually and how did the Church expand?

·         At the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, those who believed Christ was fully divine were virtually at an impasse with those who believed that Christ was less than fully divine.  The reality that the Church was already worshipping Christ as fully divine was the deciding factor in formulating the doctrine of the Trinity.

·         At the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, the doctrine of the Trinity was formulated and articulated.  At the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD the complexities of Christ’s dual human/divine nature was articulated into Church dogma.  Both doctrines are foundational for the faith.  A major Church Council was never convened to formulate and articulate the doctrine of salvation.  Why?  Because the people enacted the Christ Event every week when they partook of the Lord’s Table.  They understood salvation from their regular worship practice.

Lex orandi, lex credendi.  What we pray is what we believe.  Join us Tuesday, September 13th at 6:30 p.m. as we launch our second year of the Growing in Worship teaching sessions and we consider the transformational power of corporate worship.


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