By the time this devotion is published, it will have been four days since Governor Brian Kemp’s shelter-in-place executive order became effective for the citizens of Georgia. This requires all Georgians to stay at home, except for those engaging in essential or necessary travel, to fight the spread of COVID-19. Not only are we fighting a nasty viral disease, but it is also Holy Week. Though all of these days seem to be running together, you need to know that there is nothing insignificant about this week. This is a time when we remember that there is an empty tomb in Jerusalem where Jesus sealed the salvation of his sheep. However, his flock will not be gathering together this week for passion plays, Good Friday services, musical programs, communion observances, and Easter Sunday worship. Instead, many of us will be looking at the same four walls we have been looking at for weeks. Some of us will be working with an altered work schedule or working from home. Though weekly schedules will vary from person to person, one thing that we all have in common is that we will not be under the same roof this Easter.

What does this mean for Christian worship during this season of remembrance and celebration? Hopefully, it does not mean your satisfaction in Christ suffers, but some of you may begin to face the problem of seeing your worship grow stale. If this is the case, it may be because you have a deceiving perception of where the Lord can be found. If your worship is exclusively tied to a building, you have not experienced true Christian worship. If your hearing of God’s Word relies solely on listening to a man behind a pulpit, your praises will be few. If you have no song to offer the Lord because there is no one to lead you from a stage, or if your giving has decreased because no one is passing around an offering plate, your worship is limited to your man-made church building. You may not be in the church house this Easter, but that does not mean you are taking a break from church membership.