"We're gonna get started now so those of you in the atrium, please grab a beverage and make your way in." This is something you might expect to hear, say, before a show of some sort at some casual entertainment venue. I heard it right before church yesterday morning.

Sometimes at church I worry we forget what sort of God we come to worship. God's not some deity that's been put there to entertain us. No, for those that believe in this sort of churchy stuff, he's the omniscient God who has been there since before we were around to think about time; he created us and knows us intimately and completely. That thought itself fills me with awe, let alone all that I believe he's done for me. And so when I think of going to church, I remember Moses' first encounter with God, as this is the very same God I worship. There isn't a burning bush at my church and I don't take off my shoes every Sunday when I get there, but it is with fear and reverence that I approach my God that meets me there. And just as Solomon considered his trips to the temple, I try hard (although often failing) to not be quick with my mouth or hasty in my heart as I come before my God who is in heaven.

I don't judge others for their approach to worship or church--that role should never be mine. The one thing I really appreciate about my church is that they offer some personal space in a corporate setting to allow those present to commune with God in his or her own way; I'm grateful I can use this time to contemplate my relationship with him. I'm fine with other people sipping away at the coffee or chuckling at the videos that they use for illustration as long as they don't bother me. In fact, if these things help them get into an appropriate state of heart and mind, I'd gladly pour them a second cup and together eagerly await the next video. My hope for those who have gathered at church with me is simply that they never forget the awesomeness of whom they've gone to church to worship.