October 19, 2017 My dear Friends: I hope that you have been enjoying Sunday Evening Praise as much as I have been. It has given me such joy to see the generations together singing so well, greeting one another, hearing of God’s work in our lives, and responding to God’s Word from Song of Songs. My only wish is that more of you were there. Why is that the case? And for that matter, why are we doing this in the first place? What’s the thought behind what we are doing? How should we view all of this? I know that many of you have questions or thoughts about what we are doing on Sunday night—not just about Sunday evening, but how it relates to Sunday morning and our larger trajectory as a worshipping church. I thought I might take this opportunity to raise and answer some questions that you are likely to have and respond to thoughts (articulated or not) that may cross your mind. What I want to mention here is that Sunday evening worship isn’t really an “add-on” service. There was a pattern in the Old Testament of morning and evening sacrifice that continued on in the New Testament church and throughout church history in morning and evening prayers. By the fifth century AD, the Rule of St. Benedict actually prescribed seven times for prayer throughout the day for monks and a pattern of praying the entire psalter each week! By the time of the Reformation, there was a move toward restoring worship as the work of the people, not the work of monks or priests; but in order to make it doable for laypeople who have other vocations, the biblical pattern of morning and evening prayer was reestablished—both as a daily pattern, and also as the Sunday pattern. All of this sacrifice, praying, and worship finds its roots back in the Fourth Commandment, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” One of the best ways—God appointed ways—of remembering the day and setting it apart is beginning and ending the day with worship and praise. Morning and evening corporate worship on Sunday—like morning and evening daily prayer—frames the day and reminds us that the entire day belongs to God, which he has given to us as a gift to rest and worship him. That means, then, that Sunday Evening Praise isn’t really an add-on; it’s a way for us to enjoy the day together as God’s people and to recognize that these people at IPC are my primary community. Whatever other communities to which I belong—school, work, country clubs, civic organizations—they all take second place to our church with whom I worship and praise God. But it is hard to foster a sense that IPC is your primary community if you only come one hour a week, even if you come every week. Thus, morning and evening worship shapes our day and engages us with our church. That’s the first thought on Sunday Evening Praise. I’ll mention a second thought briefly and then pick up some other thoughts next week. Sunday Evening Praise isn’t the JV service. It certainly isn’t for me: I’m committed to preaching both Sunday morning and evening; I put in the same amount of time and effort on both messages; our worship team puts in the same amount of thought and care and excellence too. So, if it isn’t a JV service for those of us who are preparing it, then maybe the thought that it is a “less-than” service should be one that we banish from our minds and our conversations. We are bringing our “varsity” and our best efforts to praise our God together, both morning and evening. And that’s because he is worthy. Our Triune God who has come to us in Jesus is beautiful and excellent and glorious, worthy of all that we have and all that we are. I’m so looking forward to worshipping him with you this week and having him shape us into new people for a new Memphis. Will you join me? In the grip of God’s grace,
Rev. Sean Michael Lucas, PhD Senior Pastor Independent Presbyterian Church Memphis, TN