Picture this scene:
A crowd gathers, singing praises to God our Father. Everywhere you look, you see people lifting their hands and their voices in worship. You see men and women. Little children and those who are elderly. People of all skin colors and all ethnicities, joined together in the unity of the spirit.
Sounds like a scene that would take place in heaven, doesn’t it?
It reminds me of Revelation 5:11-14:
11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they were saying:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!”13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!”14 The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
Worship in Times Square
Would you believe the scene you just imagined actually happened in Times Square? This past summer, thousands of Christians gathered in New York City as Matt Redman sang “10,000 Reasons” live. What an amazing sight to see this crowd of worshipers in one of the nation’s most secular locations!
As the camera pans around the crowd, it’s obvious that some of the onlookers are unfamiliar with such a public display of worship. Perhaps this might even be their first exposure to the gospel. We can only hope that by hearing the words of this song and seeing so many believers glorifying God, the seed will be planted.
So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.
Father, I thank you that we live in a country that still allows us to worship you publicly, without fear of persecution. Thank you for this small glimpse of what heaven must be like, where those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior will spend eternity in praise and adoration to You. In this dark world, please help us as Christians shine your light and your glory to those around us. Help us plant the seed of the gospel so that souls may be won over to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
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Amen! I think we take our religious liberty way too lightly. It is such a blessings that we don’t have to be afraid to worship, but it probably won’t last forever.
Amen! (“…bless the Lord, oh my soul…”) 😀
I love Matt Redman. How awesome it would be to worship in Times Square!
This blessed me. I pray Christians put their minds together and we do more public displays of worship like this. Let’s start changing the environment in our cities! Let’s lift him up everywhere!