Advent Reflection: Psalm 95
Read Psalm 95 (NIV) Joy is experienced in community. The commands of the psalms makes joy a communal imperative to worship the great God, the Lord, the great King, the God above all gods, the creator. So we are called together: Let us sing for joy. Let us shout aloud Let us come before him with thanksgiving Let us extol him music and song. Let us bow down in worship. Joy celebrates what God has done for me, but also what he has done for us to form us into a new people. The prophet Hosea said, and Peter repeats in his epistle, “Once you were not a people, now you are the people of God... who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." (1 Peter 2:9-10) God is not only my God; God is our God. I am not only God’s man, we are God’s people. God not only created me, he created us, the world, humanity, his church, his flock, to respond to him together. That’s really the essence of our worship gathering. We worship and express joy because t...