Read: Psalm 95:1-7

I read an interesting article this week about a new concept called “Shared Work Space.”  In this past year the pandemic has forced many people (who are able) to work from home.  Some companies have realized that this can be a workable solution and actually save the company money on office space, utilities, and other expenses.  Some workers love this setup and others have had trouble adjusting to being alone at home instead of in the presence of others.  Shared work space buildings offer a low cost office space in which workers from different industries do their jobs remotely but are still around others to converse with, share coffee breaks, talk about the days weather, or whatever else might come up in this shared work space environment.

This made me realize once again how important shared worship space is for God’s people.  I think we have all realized that this past year (during the pandemic) when at times we were worshiping on our phones and laptops each Sunday.  We can worship Jesus alone and we can worship Jesus in our day to day responsibilities.  We should do that throughout our week, but there is something powerful about the gathered church coming together in person to worship, fellowship, and be together that is irreplaceable.  That’s one thing we have learned to appreciate even more this past year if we didn’t before.

Psalm 95 says, “Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord.”  Several other verses in this Psalm stress the word “Come” and the phrase “let us” as it speaks of worshiping the Lord, bowing down before the Lord, and praising the Lord’s name together.  This is a reminder that shared worship space, and shared worship times together as God’s people was important then and is also important today.  We need people, we need each other, and we need the church to gather together basically because we can’t do this on our own.  We need Jesus and we need to be with each other, in person!

Make it Personal:  The reason we have had to worship in different ways this past year is due to safety and precaution on the part of many.  This is understandable and each person must do what they are most comfortable with during these difficult times.  But we can never forget about the longing people have and need for fellowship, touch, and shared worship space. Let’s move forward together and worship together in the days ahead.