Wednesday, July 8th

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 A couple of weeks ago (thanks to the generosity of a friend from church) my family and I had the chance to go to a Chicago Blackhawks game together.  We had a terrific time together as a family, the United Center was sold out and the Hawks won!  During the course of the game I had a couple of very interesting experiences that have taught me something about what it means to worship.

The first experience happened during the singing of our national anthem.  I know that they sing the Star Spangled banner at just about every sporting event, but I don’t think they do it the way the Blackhawks do.  The organ was cranked up, the singer was belting it out and 20,000 people all singing and cheering at the top of their lungs. Mid-way through the song the noise was deafening, by the last few lines of the anthem, I thought the roof was going to blow off of the United Center!  I felt chills the whole time, it was a truly thrilling experience.

The second experience happened during the course of the game itself.  Because we didn’t have 5 tickets all together, I ended up sitting one section over and a few rows up from the rest of my family so that they could all sit together.  I found myself sitting between a couple of businessmen on one side, and a fellow who looked like he might have slept in the United Center on the other side of me.  Each time the Hawks scored or made a great play, I found myself turning to my right and to my left to high five these strangers that I had never met before.  The Hawks dominated the game and ended up scoring 6 goals that night so there was plenty of high-fiving going on, and after the 6th goal, I actually ended up embracing the rough looking fellow to my left!  I didn’t even know these men, and I was laughing, cheering, high-fiving, and hugging them over a hockey game!?

I have thought a lot about that experience, about how it compares to the common experience of corporate worship in a church service today.  I think we have bought into the great cultural misconception that religion and worship are private matters and we should keep them to ourselves.  Most Sundays, we come together to “worship” and to praise our God in church, yet we act like complete strangers to each other when we share a love for the great God of all creation!?

This is certainly not the message of the Bible and it is certainly not the picture that the Psalms paint for us of what it should look like when God’s people praise His name.  In fact, the Psalms call us to praise, they command us to praise the name of our God together.  Take a moment and read/pray/worship through Psalm 150, the last chapter in the Psalms, and as you read pay attention to how this incredible book ends.

Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
    praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power;
    praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
    praise him with the harp and lyre,
praise him with timbrel and dancing,
    praise him with the strings and pipe,
praise him with the clash of cymbals,
    praise him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.   - Psalm 150

Jeff Frazier