Several weeks ago I was privileged to worship with the International Evangelical Church in Addis Ababa. The service was simple, beautiful, God-honoring. It lasted about two hours. We listened to a challenging message about the power of encouragement. We sang songs that were meaningful and moving. We celebrated the Lord's Supper.
But what touched me most deeply was something else.
But what touched me most deeply was something else.
All the nations you have made
will come and worship before you, O Lord;
they will bring glory to your name.
Psalm 86:9
will come and worship before you, O Lord;
they will bring glory to your name.
Psalm 86:9
The word "international" in the name of the church isn't there accidentally. I can't remember when I was part of a more international gathering. Seated in the balcony, we looked down on a sea of six or seven hundred people representing dozens and dozens of different nations and people groups. Some were dressed in national garb and were easy to identify. Some were singing the worship songs in languages different than English. Some proudly mentioned their country of origin during the welcome time. The diversity of the group was apparent at every turn.
Several times during the year, this church has what they call "a global worship gathering." On those Sundays, the worship leaders take time to acknowledge every country represented. They first ask everyone to stand. Then they warmly greet the people from Ethiopia - and they ask them to be seated. Then they do the same thing for people from the United States and Canada. (Those first few groups are usually fairly large.) Then the leaders move around the sanctuary and ask people to name their homeland. As each country is named, a warm welcome is extended. Eventually, every represented country is named.
I'm told that recently at one of these services over sixty different countries were named. And those names included places that we might consider to be "unlikely" to be represented in a Christian worship service. Sadly, it's often easy for us to assume that certain people and certain groups are beyond the reach of God's grace.
Notice the words of Psalm 86:9. We are not told that many nations will gather in praise before God; we are told that all of them will!
And, granted, every nation was not represented at the International Evangelical Church when we were there.
Even so, it was probably the most diverse worship gathering that I have ever seen. And I wondered if what I saw there might be a foretaste of heaven.
If we think that heaven is going to be filled with people who look just like us, we are going to be quite surprised. All the nations that God has made will come and worship before him. They will all bring glory to his name.
And the miracle isn't that those other people get to be included. The miracle is that we are . . .
Several times during the year, this church has what they call "a global worship gathering." On those Sundays, the worship leaders take time to acknowledge every country represented. They first ask everyone to stand. Then they warmly greet the people from Ethiopia - and they ask them to be seated. Then they do the same thing for people from the United States and Canada. (Those first few groups are usually fairly large.) Then the leaders move around the sanctuary and ask people to name their homeland. As each country is named, a warm welcome is extended. Eventually, every represented country is named.
I'm told that recently at one of these services over sixty different countries were named. And those names included places that we might consider to be "unlikely" to be represented in a Christian worship service. Sadly, it's often easy for us to assume that certain people and certain groups are beyond the reach of God's grace.
Notice the words of Psalm 86:9. We are not told that many nations will gather in praise before God; we are told that all of them will!
And, granted, every nation was not represented at the International Evangelical Church when we were there.
Even so, it was probably the most diverse worship gathering that I have ever seen. And I wondered if what I saw there might be a foretaste of heaven.
If we think that heaven is going to be filled with people who look just like us, we are going to be quite surprised. All the nations that God has made will come and worship before him. They will all bring glory to his name.
And the miracle isn't that those other people get to be included. The miracle is that we are . . .