E pluribus unum

Problems. Disunity. We see it in the Church of Corinth. Paul identified four factions in the church. Those claiming to follow Paul, Apollos, Cephas and Christ. The problem is that all four people preached the same Gospel, so those claiming to follow any one of them were really only following their own sinful desires…….

Preaching the Gospel is easy. If you can get over your fear of public speaking and you understand the gospel message, you can preach it.

We were made by God to have fellowship with Him.

Our sin prevents that fellowship.

Christ died as punishment for our sin.

If we accept His free gift of grace we can be reconciled with God the Father through God the Son and receive God the Holy Spirit.

What is difficult is truly leading a group of people in corporate worship. It is difficult because we are all sheep. (Me included) We wonder around falling into holes, following one another into the much and the mud, getting ourselves tangled into thickets. And my charge is to somehow lead us at a group into harmonious worship of the Father.

In order for us to be ready for worship, you have to be free from sin. The sin of anger, jealousy, bitterness, unforgiveness, lust, pride and whatever other hole or thicket you have found your way into.

But God is gracious. He will show you the way back to Him.

There are many reasons we come to church

A sense of belonging.

To forget about the outside troubles for a time.

To see your friends.

To be encouraged or to encourage others.

BUT Our main purpose it to worship GOD and if you aren’t prepared to do that, then you are missing the main reason you are here.

We are going to now, prepare ourselves for corporate worship.

If you are losing a struggle with sin, in order for you to participate in worship, you must confess, repent and be reconciled with God.

If you are angry toward someone, now is the time to confess that to the father and allow His peace to fill you.

If you have sinned against someone here, not is the time to go to them, confess that and seek their forgiveness.

If someone has sinned against you, First and foremost, forgive them for your benefit, then go talk to them, take them in the back room and confront them (with all gentleness and kindness) not so that you will feel better, but to hopefully lead them to restoration with God and then to you.

If you can’t wait to leave church and gossip about people in the church you are allowing yourself to be an instrument of satin whose purpose is to set the body of christ on fire according to James.

If you have allowed the lust of the flesh to cause you to sin, now is the time to confess and repent.

If you are more worried about what other people are going to think about you rather than letting go and worshipping God, you are allowing pride to prevent your worship.

I’m being vague, but I have become aware that worship here has been hindered because of some of the things that I’ve alluded to. So here is what we are going to do.

Drew is going to cue up “I surrender all” and we are going to individually do business with God so that we might be able to worship him together as one.

If you need to confess something to one another, do that. If you need to lovingly confront someone, getter done. If you need to confess your sin to the church, we will pause the song and the floor will be yours. If you need someone to pray for you specifically, go ask that person to pray for you.

If , however, you are not ready to worship with every other person in here, and you are not willing to allow the Holy Spirit to get you ready, then understand you are wasting your time. So here is what I want you to do. Take the day off. Go for a drive or a ride. Get your head clear and ask God to prepare you for next week. If you are not willing to worship publicly this morning, as the song plays I encourage you to quietly gather your things and go get ready for the next time you come. Know that I love you and want nothing more than to lead you in worship of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but ultimately I’m just a fellow sheep. You have to listen to the shepherd.

If you are sitting here thinking I’m having a mental breakdown, know that I’m probably not talking you you, but that there are spiritual battles going on that until they are won, we can’t effectively worship together.

Before the song even starts, I want to say to you, I am sorry and seek your forgiveness. I have been a decent preacher, but feel like I have failed you as a Pastor. I have failed to lead you in Unified and harmonious worship.

Lets pray.