Psalm 148:7-14 Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy wind fulfilling his command!  Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!  Wild animals and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds!  Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth!  Young men and women alike, old and young together!  Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his glory is above earth and heaven.  He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his faithful, for the people of Israel who are close to him. Praise the Lord!

The Christian community is a worshiping community.

When we worship together, we are not entertained- we are trained and equipped for our ministry, and we catch the fire of enthusiasm from being around other believers.

Worship is a communal activity, uniting us as we take our eyes off ourselves and our differences and become joyfully focused on God.

C.S. Lewis wrote about his change of perspective on communal worship.  “But as I went on, I saw the great merit of it.  I came up against different people of quite different outlooks and different education, and then gradually my conceit just began peeling off…. it gets you out of your solitary conceit.”

James Bryan Smith, in his book “The Good and Beautiful Community,”, wrote, “Worship is a gift, a blessing and something we long for once we have truly experienced it.”

Heavenly Father, we praise Your holy name, and we commit ourselves to Your teachings, to a life together, to the common meal, and to prayer.  Let us live in awe of You, and worship and live together in wonderful harmony.  (Based on Acts 2:41-43, MSG)