As February unfolds, many in our circles of concern naturally turn their thoughts to Valentine’s Day. It’s a season filled with heart-shaped decorations, expressions of love, and reminders to cherish those closest to us. (Dear Brothers, here’s your early reminder!) Love is in the air, and for many, this month becomes a time of intentional connection with family, friends, and significant others.

— When my memory allows it, I still shudder at the thought of my older sister forcing me to give the girl I liked in 2nd grade that valentine! I wonder if she knew how many emotional scars all this crazy drama would leave on a little boy?! —

But what if we also saw February as an invitation to deepen our love for God through corporate worship? While the world emphasizes romantic love, the true love story comes from above—the love of God for His people and His own glory—and this remains at the heart of our faith and hope. The Psalmist declares,

“Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds” (Psalm 36:5).

This love is nothing like 2nd grade love(!) It’s not embarrassing, nor fleeting, nor dependent on circumstance; it is eternal, unwavering, and life-transforming.

This love is not something we generate from within but rather a love that comes down to us. It is an ‘alien to us’—an ‘unlike us’—love, completely self-sacrificial, outward in its perfect source, and giving freely to all unworthy recipients. He forgives completely, casting our sins as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).

Just as any relationship thrives on intentionally spending time together, our relationship with the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit flourishes when we gather in His presence for the purpose of bringing Him glory, praise, and adoration that is eternally deserving to Him. Corporate worship must become a weekly routine, but not just a routine! It is every Christian’s duty, but not just a duty! It is, by definition, a supernatural interaction with the most important Divine Essence in the universe. J. Gresham Machen said,

“The truly penitent man glories in the supernatural, for he knows that nothing natural would meet his need.”

Many times, we approach the gathering with a sense of boredom instead of astonishment because we have totally forgotten the supernatural.

If you think seriously about corporate worship and any of these things ring true about your participation (or lack thereof)—a chore, a show, boredom, entertainment, manipulating emotional responses, manufactured process, mechanical, monotony, mystical, spectator, etc.—you get the idea. The issue is not with God, but with us. We have such stinking thinking! Worship is profoundly meaningful—not because of what we do, but because of what God is doing in and through us by His Spirit in our weekly habits that please Him!

Did you know that regardless of your feelings, something is happening when we worship? It’s happening to us, between us and the other worshippers, and between us and God. Your elders are reading a book called, What Happens When We Worship, by Jonathan Cruse, and I would highly commend it to everyone who has lost the burning desire for corporate worship!

As we move through this month, I invite you to reflect on the depth of God’s love and justice as displayed in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.  Join the church in genuine corporate worship in spirit and truth where the church meets every Lord’s Day.  Let this be a February where we celebrate love—not only in human relationships but in the divine embrace of our Savior.

Love you all – Bro. Tony