During this period, corporate worship on a Sunday looks very different from meeting physically. We do not want to settle for the virtual as the new norm in the church as we were made as humans for physical not virtual interaction but we recognize this is a season God has brought to us. That said, we recognise the livestream medium poses new challenges and temptations. The parable of the sower shows that God is always sowing his word with the aim of making our lives fruitful even in a time of social distancing. However, the enemy is constantly looking to snatch God’s word away from people or cause distraction to choke it so that it fails to bear fruit. In this season, we must be mindful of how the enemy is seeking to do this and take counter-measures.
However, having spoken to a number of people who have been encountering God and very blessed through this time via livestream, we wanted to share some ways that we can do this most effectively.
Prepare your heart beforehand
Do not merely roll out of bed and turn on the computer. If you live with others, you could do the following together.
- Get up at least an hour before the service starts.
- Read a Psalm beforehand to prepare your heart. (e.g Psalm 103, 115-118, 121-127, 145).
- Pray to encounter God through this time
- Pray to encourage someone else through what God ministers to you.
Designate a place & posture to watch
- Avoid watching on your bed or on the most comfortable sofa where you know you’ll end up nodding off. You could put an exercise mat or cushions on the floor.
Fight distraction
Watching a screen for 1hr15 can be hard to concentrate. So use every aid to enable you to engage and concentrate.
- Remove all distractions in front of you. Turn off your phone or computer (whatever you’re not watching the livestream) and put it in ANOTHER room. Don’t keep it in the same room – that’s too much temptation!
- Bring your physical Bible and follow along with the passage
- Bring a notepad and pen and take notes during the sermon
- Ask yourself 3 questions during the sermon: what does this tell me about God/Christ? What does this tell me about myself? How should I respond today in the light of this?
- Write down your answers to these questions during or after the sermon time
Actively engage during the sung worship and prayer time.
- Stand, kneel or dance during these times. David “leapt and danced before the Lord” as the ark returned to Jerusalem (2 Sam 6:10) without fearing the critical opinion of Michal his wife. God loves us to worship him physically. Some of us from keep-calm-and-carry-on cultures (e.g more emotionally repressed British people!) could experience a new physical liberation to worship more expressively.
- Sing the words out loud, don’t just mumble them under your breath, use your whole body to worship God. And let this continue when we meet back again physically!!
Engage with others afterwards
- If you’re with others, take 10-15 minutes to discuss your answers to the 3 questions and share how God has been speaking to you.
- If you’re by yourself, arrange beforehand to have a Zoom or Whatsapp call with 2-3 CG members or Watermarkers to discuss it.
- Pray together for you to be doers of the word not just hearers.
Share the link with others
- Send the livestream link to Christian or non-Christian friends. Share briefly anything that struck you from it. It will be available for 1 week.