Sermon 2019.03.17
Passionate Worship
(Psalm 84; sermon 3 of 5 in Lent series “Bearing Fruit,” based on Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations)

1. Bearing fruit.  This Lent, we are considering the call of John the Baptist to “bear fruit worthy of repentance.” Repentance is something we need to do individually and collectively. Bearing fruit is both a personal effort and a goal of our church.

To guide us on our journey, we are reading Bishop Robert Schnase’s book Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations: Revised and Updated. In this new version of his important book – available online or in our office for $15 – Schnase pushes us to practice fruitful ministry both inside the walls of the church and out in the world. Fruitful churches don’t just have a “come and see” attitude… they have a “go and do” mission.

Last week we talked about radical hospitality, and what it really means to say that we “love unconditionally,” and “all are welcome.” This week we are going to talk about the practice passionate worship – worship that celebrates God in the church, and how we live worshipfully in the world. Passionate worship bears fruit both in attracting new disciples and in transforming the world.

2. Just OK isn’t OK.  Worship is central to what we do as a church. If you ask the average person on the street what church is all about, they would probably describe a worship service as they imagine it. And folks – how the world imagines worship is not good enough. 

AT&T has recently been showing a series of commercials to make the point that “just ok isn’t ok.” Here’s one about an okay babysitter…

	babysitter ad (21 seconds; https://youtu.be/Heycx6R2F5Q)

And here’s one about an okay tattoo artist…

	tattoo artist ad (20 seconds; https://youtu.be/ClXfWgKAIEI)

What do people say about an okay church? 
	Our musicians play with all their… fingers.
	During the God Moment, people stand up and share… stuff. 
	Our pastor preaches with all his… words.
	When we pray, you can really feel… the ceiling fans moving air.

Church as people imagine it isn’t good enough: boring old music sung without gusto, prayers stumbled through by rote, readers who haven’t practiced, preachers who sound like Charlie Brown’s teacher: wa wa wa wa wa.

In Revelation 3:15-16, Jesus describes a just okay church in Laodicaea: “I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot... So, because you are lukewarm, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Jesus says a just okay church is not okay. Ptooie!

3. Passionate worship.  Worship is central to our lives as Christians. Worship is where we get our spiritual batteries recharged. Worship is where our hearts and minds are shaped as Christians. Worship is where we are given new eyes to see the world transformed as the good creations God wants it to be.

Schnase says, “Among the many competing interpretive contexts in which people are immersed – fierce individualism, acquisitive consumerism, intense nationalism, political partisanship, hopeless negativism, naïve optimism – worship helps people perceive themselves, their world, their relationship, and their responsibilities in ways that include God’s revelation in Christ.”

We worship passionately “for the love of God.” We also worship passionately for the love of our fellow churchgoers. We don’t want to bore each other to death! 

One of my favorite features of the red United Methodist Hymnal are John Wesley’s “Directions for Singing.” Open your hymnal up to page Roman numeral vii. I think Wesley’s directions apply to worship and to Christian life as much as they do to music. Let’s read the 4th rule together:

“Sing lustily and with a good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed of its being heard, than when you sung the songs of Satan.” 

Whatever your guiltiest pleasure is, whatever you find the most fun… you need to have the same excitement and energy when you worship God. Worship God with the same commitment as binge-watching Netflix. Worship God with the same enthusiasm as going to the bar with buddies on Saturday night. Worship God with the same thrill as waterskiing. Worship God with the same relish as eating ice cream. Worship God with the same passion as singing in the shower.

4. Take it out of the house.  Passionate worship cannot be confined to the four walls of the church. Let me share examples of people who took it out of the house and onto the streets.

Today is St. Patrick’s Day. Behind all the green beer and Irish pride lies a Roman teenager named Patricius who was kidnapped by pirates and grew up as a slave in Ireland. Six years later he escaped back to England, where he became a priest. But Patricius felt a call to take the Christian faith out of the safe houses of England and back to Ireland. 

Through Patrick’s tireless work taking the faith to the people, Ireland became a Christian nation – and in fact, helped to preserve the faith through the barbarian raids that destroyed much of Europe during the dark ages.

Likewise, Methodism as we know it would not exist if it were not for John Wesley’s commitment to “field preaching.” Although he was most comfortable in a church pulpit, and indeed felt it was almost a sin to preach outside the walls of the church of England, Wesley decided to go where the people were. He preached to thousands of working-class folks in fields, and factories, and town squares. Wesley’s movement of committed lay preacher transformed England and eventually the world.

Recently, I’ve started leading occasional services at the La Crosse County Jail. I was scared at first. You have to be trained to go in there, in case things get out of control. But what I’ve found are women and men who are serious about worshipping God with passion. They bring dog-eared bibles to Sunday night services. When it comes to prayer time, they don’t ask for stuff for themselves: they want to pray for their families and children who are on the outside.

5. Celebrate God in all we do.  There’s an old saying: “Life imitates art.” But for Christians and the church, it might be better to say, “Life imitates worship.” 

The hour or so a week we spend in God’s house are critical. As Psalm 84 says, “A day in [God’s] courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.”  

But what we pick up here we must take out of the house and into the world. Our daily life is also worship, and we need to also live for God passionately and with courage, not half dead or half asleep. What would it look like if we worshipped God while watching Netflix, or at the bar, or waterskiing, or eating ice cream, or singing in the shower?

Remember, during Lent we are called to “bear fruit worthy of repentance.” What do we need to repent of? We need to repent of our boring, self-centered lives. And where do we bear fruit? In lives of passionate worship, inside and outside of the church.

We are God’s house. Our lives are where God lives. As the psalmist sings, “And how blessed all those in whom you live, [Lord,] whose lives become roads you travel.”

Our church vision statement calls us to “CELEBRATE GOD in all we do.” We worship passionately in church, and in our lives. We celebrate God with everything we’ve got – mind, soul, heart, and strength – both inside these walls and outside of this house.

- Amen.