The Call to Worship: God’s Invitation
Every Sunday, you will find that the Call to Worship is the true beginning of our worship service.
It is not merely a formality or a signal that the service is beginning; it is a divine invitation that initiates our hearing from God.
As the first element in our liturgy, the Call to Worship reminds us that worship is fundamentally a response to God’s gracious initiative.
God Speaks: The Divine Invitation
The Call to Worship is a powerful declaration that God is the initiator of our worship. It reflects the truth that our approach to God is always prompted by His action. From the earliest pages of Scripture, we see that it is God who calls His people into His presence. He called Abraham, spoke to Moses from the burning bush, and summoned Israel to Sinai.
In contrast, religions outside of Christianity often depict worshipers striving to summon their deity through acts of devotion. Whether it’s worshipers of Dagon or Baal, they are portrayed as attempting to garner the favor and attention of their gods through their own efforts.
However, the God of the Bible reverses this dynamic. Every Sunday, He calls us out of our routines and distractions, inviting us into His holy presence. This call is not based on our worthiness or ability to worship but on His grace and His desire to commune with us. It serves as a reminder that worship begins not with our initiative, but with God’s gracious outreach to His people.
Scriptural Foundation
The Call to Worship is rooted in Scripture.
Consider Psalm 95:6:
“O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.”
Here, the Psalmist not only calls the people to worship but also grounds this call in the identity and grace of God. We are His people, and He is our Shepherd. This relationship compels us to respond in worship.
Similarly, Isaiah 55:1 invites us with these words:
“Come, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
Here, Isaiah extends an invitation to all who thirst, showing is that our approach to God requires no prerequisites other than our need for what He provides. This gracious offer underscores that worship is not about our ability or worthiness but about responding to God’s invitation to partake freely of His abundant provision and respond to His gifts with praise. Together, these passages highlight the call to worship as a response to God’s identity as our provider and His invitation to come and receive from Him.
Essence
The Call to Worship serves several key functions in our liturgy:
- Divine Initiative: It emphasizes that worship is a response to God’s call. We do not come into God’s presence uninvited or on our own terms. Nor do we attempt to convince God to meet with us. Rather, He beckons us with grace, and we respond.
- Gathering the Body: It unites us as the body of Christ. In a world of individualism and isolation, the Call to Worship gathers us together as God’s people, reminding us of who we are in Him.
- Setting the Tone: It sets the spiritual tone for the service. The Call to Worship orients our hearts and minds toward God. It reminds us that we are not gathering to bring anything to God, we are not coming with our best, nor are we there to serve God in any way. He has come to serve us. We have come to receive and respond in praise
- Reminding: It reminds us of our identity as recipients of God’s grace. We are not spectators or performers; we are recipients of the gifts of God.
Examples
Consider a few examples of what a Call to Worship may look like:
Minister: Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
People: Amen.
This Call to Worship, drawing from the Psalms, captures both the grandeur of God as Creator and the intimacy of God as Shepherd. It transitions the congregation from everyday life into a place of worship.
Implications
Understanding the Call to Worship as God’s invitation has several implications for how we approach worship:
- Humility: We come humbly, recognizing that it is God who invites us. We bring nothing, because there is nothing that God needs from us. We are coming to be served by Him.
- Expectancy: We come expectantly, ready to meet with God. The Call to Worship should stir within us a sense of anticipation for encountering God through His Word and sacraments.
- Congregational: We come collectively, aware that worship is not a solitary activity but a corporate one. The Call to Worship gathers us as one body, united in our response to God’s call.
- Focus: We come focused, setting aside distractions and preparing our hearts to engage fully in the worship experience. The Call to Worship helps us transition from the mundane to the divine.
As we hear the Call to Worship each Sunday, let us reflect on why we do it, and what it is. It is a moment that draws us into the narrative of God’s redemptive work. It is an echo of the divine summons heard throughout Scripture and throughout history, calling God’s people to draw near, behold His glory, and to receive from His hand. We do not gather out of duty but out of delight.
Anticipate this aspect of the worship service as you make your way to church next Sunday. Hear those words not just as a welcome and a signal that the service is underway. Hear them as a reminder of the promise that God is near and is inviting His people to come to Him.
The previous blog in our series on the liturgy can be found here: Liturgy, A Gospel Conversation