Give to the Lord the glory due His name;
Bring an offering, and come into His courts.
Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!
Tremble before Him, all the earth.
Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns…” – Psalm 96

I want to start with a comment my friend George made yesterday during our weekly Saturday morning men’s small group gathering. We were talking about “being present” with one another and how valuable it is for our group to continue meeting, praying, supporting, and encouraging.

“We are present this morning,” he said, “present with and for each other. Presence is not about occupying the same physical space!” 

George is exactly right. I can’t tell you how many times I have been in the same room with another person when neither one of us were “present.” It takes a lot more than the attendance of a visible, corporeal human body for us to be “present.” Likewise, it can take a lot less. What presence requires is the heart, the soul, the spirit, the intention, the caring, and the wanting.

Sunday worship is a great example. This morning it is Sunday March 29th, and I would like to invite you to be “present” with us in worship today, right here with the community of believers known as Wake Forest Presbyterian Church. If for some reason you are reading this later in the day, then you can still join in (I think it’s some kind of time travel!) by going to our Facebook page and starting the LiveFeed at your earliest convenience.

Here at WFPC we are committed to worshipping God “in spirit and in truth.” This means that we are not doing church the same-old same-old, but reinventing the service to match the on-line nature of our community gathering. This is real, in real-time, and from the heart. No “production” no “do-overs” – we are not performing worship and wondering if you will watch, we are doing worship and inviting you to join us via the ministry of being present.

“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” – Jesus, John 4

Sad to say, the restrictions placed on gatherings of any kind have tightened, so that means fewer worship leaders actually present. But understand this, friends, where two or three are gathered in the name of Jesus, there God is!

So please join in with web-worship today. It’s not virtual, it’s not approximate, it’s not almost, it’s not nearly there, it’s not an attempt… No! This is The Church gathering in the name of Jesus and because of the love of Jesus to worship God and offer our grateful praise!

Be there! 10:00 in the morning. Join us via Facebook livefeed at Wake Forest Presbyterian Church, or tune in later. God is good, and the message is packed full with hope and grace and promise.

Called to bear witness to light and love and grace and mercy – DEREK

sanctuary usually teeming with life