Sermons

Introduction:

There is a therapeutic quality to participating in worship.
Today’s preacher is a passionate advocate for participatory worship. Sincere worship is an act of faith.

H. Beecher Hicks puts it this way in his book, “Crossing River Jordon”:

…I come to church because I know there is an opportunity for me to be healed. Authentic worship has therapeutic value in that it leads to individual and collective healing.

When I come to church, I’m not seeking anything on the surface…

When I come to church, I want to get in the healing water. I’m looking for a shower of blessings. I’m looking for a balm in Gilead. I’m looking for a healing for my body and a healing for my soul. I want to tell somebody, “Whereas once I was blind, now I see.” Like the woman with the issue of blood, I want to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment. I want my head anointed with oil and my cup running over. I don’t come to shout just for the sake of shouting; I come to shout in anticipation of and as a consequence of my healing.

Worship can be cathartic; it can be a fulfilling experience to pour out your soul. It is God’s blessing that we have a story and we have a voice. And it is fine to use that voice with enthusiasm in telling God’s story. You are already qualified. You do not have to have a degree in homiletics to say “Praise the Lord.” You do not have to have a bona fide license to preach to shout “Amen!” You do not have to be ordained by the Bishop to sing “Glory, glory Hallelujah! The Lord has blessed me this day!” All you need is to be filled with the Spirit of God’s redeeming, renewing, recreating LOVE.

May I hear an “Amen!”? May I hear a “Hallelujah”!

Let us praise our God, through whose mercy we ascend grand mountain peaks and through whose sustaining love we grind onward, one weary step at a time, toward his glory.