The only thing more overdone than our use of the word "Awesome" is criticisms of our overuse of the word "Awesome."That being said I will attempt very carefully not to add to this pile, another useless argument that "Awesome" is overused. Instead I want to remind us of the "Awesomeness" (Though that may not be a real word) of God and its implications for our church.
About the time you'll be reading this the Worship team will be singing "Our God is an Awesome God" by the Late Rich Mullins, a staple of 1980's and 90's praise choruses and one of the first of such choruses I learned at a time when I was learning that there were other songs of praise used by Christians other than the Hymns of the 1930's green Presbyterian Hymnal and a few other tunes I had learned in Catholic school Chorus. "Awesome God" resonated with me (and I'm sure a couple of generations of praise chorus singing Christians) both for its simplicity and it's Truth. In fact, as you'll hear the Sunday we sing it it often gets stripped of its verses and sung just as a chorus. Not only are the verses harder for novice guitarists to play, but in their casual imagery they are almost at odds with the majesty of the chorus. (Sorry Rich, but to be fair you get to live with Christ in person now while I'm stuck here writing opinions about your songs)
If you don't know what I'm talking about, here is the Chorus:
Our God(our God) is an awesome God
He reigns(He reigns) from heaven above
With wisdom(with wisdom) pow'r and love
our God is an awesome God.
Now the first verse:
When He rolls up His sleeves He ain't just puttin' on the ritz (our God is an awesome God)
There is thunder in His footsteps And lightning in His fist (our God is an awesome God)
Well, the Lord wasn't joking When He kicked 'em out of Eden
It wasn't for no reason that He shed his blood
His return is very close and so you better be believing that our God is an awesome God
My point is that the song, a lot like church sometimes, is cute and quaint when Majesty is what we aim for. The fact is that God IS an Awesome God and we naturally, struggle to capture that in our worship. However striving to really grasp and reflect praise for the indescribable and mind-boggling holiness of God is what worship is about.
If we are to be revived as a church we must begin to realize the utter Holiness and "Awesomeness" of our God. In a culture that accepts "good enough" and confuses "reverence" with "boring" and "honor" with "formality" It is hard to know how to "Give your best to the master" as the old hymn goes.
It begins with pausing (the purpose of Sabbath) perhaps the night before worship and reminding yourself (and your family if you are a parent or grandparent) of the importance of what you will be doing Sunday Morning. Pause and read Scripture, perhaps a Psalm or portion of the Gospels that reminds you of who it is you are going to Worship. Recall that you are not "going to church" to perform a routine or religious duty, (or a job if you are the pastor) but you are going to offer real worship to the King of the universe who gave you life and who saved you from the terrible consequence of sins that you chose freely to commit. You have been invited by that God to get to know Him better through His word and to participate in some way in being reminded of what he has done.
When you go to worship prepare. For some that might mean wearing your best clothes. Not to impress others or to meet a dress code (hear me on this. No matter how you come I want you here and I will accept you whatever you wear), but for yourself as you would prepare to meet with anyone you loved and who was important to you.
Confess your sins. I know you'll do this again when you get here, but do it for your own sake so that you can be assured that you are in fact "good enough to come" because Jesus has taken your sins away. The roof will not fall in if you show up and you have not failed so badly that you don't belong at church.
Come expecting. Even if my sermon is not the greatest, God has something for you here whether in what I say or in just one piece of the Scripture that you read and trail off thinking about it to miss the rest of the sermon. Realize that if God grabs your attention with one thing and makes a difference in you with it then that was the part of the sermon that you needed. The rest was probably for someone else.
Be present. Not just showing up, but really present and glad to be here with God and His people. If at all possible hang around a bit after or come early to get to spend time with the rest of the local family of God. Enjoy God's presence and His people. You were invited by the King of Kings.
In all this remember that God is an Awesome God and we were greated as the Westminster Shorter Catechism teaches to "Glorify God and Enjoy Him forever."
In Christ and on the Shepherd's Path,
Pastor Mark--
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Rev Mark R. Simonds
Pastor, Oakdale UP Church
"Declaring Teaching and Living God's Word of Grace"
President, West Allegheny Ministerial Association
"Worshiping and Serving One Triune God Together"
