Gathering for Worship

Fellowship – Snacks or a Meal (10 minutes with snacks; longer, obviously, if there is a meal).

Gathering Time (5-10 minutes). In pairs or groups of three, have participants answer, “What images come to you when you hear the word “gathering”?

Group Dialogue (Approximately 30 minutes). Read 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19.

• Reflect on a recent worship service you attended. What aspects of the service helped you feel closer to God?
• Why did David gather thirty thousand men? [To carry the ark of God on a new cart.]
• In 2 Samuel 6:5, what did David and all the house of Israel do before the Lord? [“David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the LORD with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.”]
• Imagine you are planning a worship service that embodies the joy and reverence seen in David’s actions. What elements would you include to ensure it is both heartfelt and inclusive?
• “As the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart” (In 2 Samuel 6:16). Have you ever experienced someone’s disdain when you were worshiping God? How did it make you feel? What did you do after that happened?
• The sermon note for July 14 says,
  “In this series, we invite you to consider that for David worship was life. Worship wasn’t something David did, we might say, it wasn’t a specific time in the day or week. Rather worship was who he was. Daivd lived and breathed worship. Yes, sometimes he got it wrong, sometimes he followed impulses that led him astray. And sometimes he got confused as who was the object of this worship and got in the way of the God he loved. But through it all, David lived as though his life was an offering to God.”
  
• How might you, like David, incorporate joyful and wholehearted worship into your daily lives? Can you think of practical ways to express your faith through actions and celebrations?

Prayer (10 minutes). Share prayer requests and respond appropriately.

Sending Forth (2 minutes). End with the following prayer, a similar prayer, or the Lord’s Prayer:

Gracious God, we thank you for the joy and reverence David showed in worshiping you. Help us embody that same spirit of wholehearted worship in our daily lives. Guide us to remove things that distract us from you. Lead us to live and breathe and worship you. Amen.