Dear Church Family,
Even though we can’t gather together as we normally do, it is still of vital importance that all of us give focused attention to worshipping the Lord on his day. As previously announced, we will be livestreaming a service of preaching and prayer at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.
We must remember that COVID-19 has not put the roaring lion out of business—he is still seeking to devour each and every one of us. Genuine worship never takes place without intentional effort and without genuine worship our spiritual life will atrophy faster than any of us would like to think possible.
We must work together with our families to continue to make Sunday Mornings a time of intentional worship. Here are some of the ways that this could be done:
1. Watch the livestream during the time that we would normally gather. As we learned in our recent book of the month, habits are vitally important in shaping our heart—and the habit of setting aside the morning of the Lord’s day for his worship is one that none of can afford to lose.
2. Gather together as a family to watch the livestream on one screen in one room. Though we might not be able to gather the congregation together, we can at least gather our families together!
3. Continue to train your children to give the same reverent attention to the Word of God that you would expect if we were able to assemble. Training our children to worship is a vital part of parenting from which no parent can afford to take a break during this time.
4. Though we have not (at least not yet!) come up with a way to engage in corporate singing via livestream, make sure to make time before and after the preaching to sing together with your family.
Though none of these things will make livestreaming at home the equivalent of gathering together, all of them are necessary if we and our families are to stay spiritually fit during this difficult season.
Because the Lamb that was slain remains worthy of our worship,
The Pastors of Westside Baptist Church
P.S. For additional encouragement on this topic, please check out this video posted by our supported missionaries Sam and Debbie Wood.
