Cornerstone Curriculum, Official Certification Edition

LESSON 1 | THEOLOGY OF THE CHURCH: THE CHURCH AT WORSHIP / 269

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Grace I heard a story about a person who was doing an experiment in human behavior. This person stood by the pumps at a gas station in a big city and tried to give away twenty dollar bills to the people who pulled up to the station. To his amazement, no one would take the money. Those of us who live in cities are probably not so surprised at this response. Most people in big cities have learned the hard way that “you don’t get something for nothing” and that anyone who appears to be giving away something valuable for free is probably not to be trusted. We urbanites recognize that if something seems too good to be true, then it almost always is. It is natural for us to be suspicious of things that are free. Today’s lesson is about worship as a response to the grace of God. The Gospel is the good news that everything we need and could not have is being given to us by God as a free gift of grace. Like the people at the gas pumps, most of us probably did not recognize at first that the grace of God is a completely free gift. When did you first realize that the gift of salvation could never be earned and comes only as a gift to be received? Going a Little Too Far If your church had to answer this question, how would it do so: “All forms of worship and praise are enjoined to give to God, but as far as we are concerned, engaging in (X) is taking worship a little too far.” What might it mean in some of our church contexts to go beyond the acceptable boundaries of the way worship is understood in your congregation? Should there be boundaries to our expression of worship, and if so, what ought the standards be to hold such boundaries in conjunction with our freedom in Christ, and our desire to express our love to God in new and unique ways? Liturgy Is So Boring – Does God Like Us to Be Depressed? At the dinner table, one of the children of a church family commented on their view of the church service. In her 13-year-old opinion, church services were too formal, too similar, with a lot of language and activity that didn’t mean anything to her. She wondered why the songs were so old, and the music was kinda like going to a funeral home. The whole atmosphere seemed sad and depressing; she didn’t know why they had to chant, and sing at certain times, stand up sometimes, and read at other times. It all seems so boring and old-fashioned. She asked her

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