Why Worship?

Saying for the day-The instinct to worship is hardly less strong than the instinct to eat. Dorothy Thompson
My Church is asking its members to write a little essay on why they worship. Then each month one is printed in the monthly mailing.
So I have been thinking about why I go to Church to Worship.
I am an ordained Pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America therefore if anybody can pray, read the Bible, praise God, and even have Communion without the Church it would be me. I could hold a little service with Betty and then have the rest of the morning to myself.
So why do I go?
Why do I worship in Church?
A long time ago a wise man named Martin Luther said of the second commandment.
“ We should so fear and love God that we do not despise His Word or the preaching of it but gladly hear and learn it.”
Lutheran worship centers in the Word.
That Word has power to change us.
It has the power to renew us.
It has the power to bring us into the very Presence of God.
It has taken a long time but worship is no longer a task it is something I do gladly. It is something I look forward to.
Today is Sunday and I am going to Church. Praise God!

####News from Pigeon Falls-The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal. Cynthia Ann Gertz is being baptized today at Last Lutheran. Pastor Joan will work the Baptism into her sermon. She always does that. In addition to becoming part of the Last :Lutheran family Cynthia will receive a baptismal candle. It is to remind her to let her light shine so that others might come to Christ. She will also receive a necklace with a glass bottle shaped like a cross that will contain some water from her baptism. That’s to remind her that God made her his own through water and the Word. The Church also makes a DVD of the event so that when she gets older she can see her baptism. Pastor Joan uses copies of those DVDs to show Sunday School children their baptism. Baptism is very important at Last Lutheran.
Cynthia’s mother is an active part of Last Lutheran. But her father will be in church for the first time since last Easter. He says he has nothing against the church he just doesn’t feel like going. Today, however, he will be there for his daughter’s baptism. He will make some promises and be given a Small Catechism so that he can teach his daughter the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, and the ten commandments. Only time will tell if will keep those promises.
After the service there will be a baptismal party. The church will provide coffee and a big cake. The cake says Cynthia Child of God . It has a bible on one end and water on the other. There was a big fight at Last Lutheran over the cake or to be more exact the providing of them. The council decided over Pastor Joan’s objections to cut out the cakes to save money. So Pastor Joan is paying for the cakes herself. A party isn’t a party without a cake.
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Today's link-Freedom-The very beginning of a new ministry.
Very good day . Church service went well. here were two baptisms. The bell choir played. There was a brunch after the service. Came home and Peter, Luke and Bree came to visit. Later we went to Perkins for pie. Then to Office Max. I bought a new computer and a new digital camera. It will be a few days before I am ready to use the new computer. There are so many programs to transfer over.Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA