As we find ourselves just over a week before celebrating the 100th anniversary of our beloved sanctuary, I am reminded of the central place of this sacred space in our hearts and lives. In my 27 years at First Baptist I have been a part of no fewer than 1400 Sunday worship services plus many special liturgical gatherings. Indeed, the sanctuary is a place where many of us have experienced the presence of God in a unique and profound way.
But God doesn’t really inhabit a building. God inhabits people who inhabit a building. When I come to a worship service I bring the Presence, or the lack thereof, with me. It is in our gathering in the sanctuary that our common ground becomes holy ground.
Paul reminded us, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16) That is why it is so important for us to gather. It is why the writer of Hebrews wrote “Do not neglect meeting together…” (Hebrews 10:25) In our gathering for worship common ground is transformed into holy ground.
Yet transcendent spaces, in buildings and in nature, point us to the God who is intimately within us and the God who is bigger than anything we can imagine. Those spaces are so important in our worship lives and should be recognized and celebrated. I am grateful that our spiritual ancestors envisioned just such a space as the setting for our worship together. One of the first Bible verses I memorized as a child was Psalm 122:1. “I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord.” What a gift we have in this sacred space. Let us give thanks and be glad!
- Pastor David