Worship in Machame

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord (Colossians 3:16).

We are left the Moshi District today.  But before we leaving for Arusha we visited our small congregation in Machame which is just off the road from Moshi to Arusha.  This is another congregation that, like Himo, has struggled with the effects of the court case over the Seminary building.  The pastor of this congregation is a former seminary student at Himo, and one of the men who graduated from there in 2008.  There was only a small number of people there, but they were eager to join in the worship of our Triune God for the gift of salvation He has won for us.  Before the service we were invited to the home of one of the members, where we had tea, bread and hard-boiled eggs.  Two members and the pastor joined us as we waited for service time.

Russ plays some "pre service music" at Machame on his Ukelele.

When the service started, it was very familiar.  Their liturgy is much like our back home.  It contained the Invocation, Confession and Absolution, Responsive Psalm, Confession of Faith, Scripture Readings, Responses, the Lord’s Prayer, and Benediction.  We even sang familiar hymns like Rock of Ages and God Loves Me Dearly!  I had been asked to preach and used the word of Romans chapter 5:1-5 once again.  I emphasized God’s work of Justification and the results of that work which are ours: Peace; Hope; and Comfort in Tribulation.

What a privilege it is to worship with fellow believers teaching and admonishing one another thought the readings, hymns and parts of the liturgy!  And thanks be to our God who has given His Word for this purpose.  How often we forget or fail to realize that our Lutheran Worship is full of God’s Word.  We don’t just hear God’s Word in the Scripture readings - we also hear it in the hymns and in the various parts of the liturgy.  Through and through it is a Biblical service teaching and admonishing us!  We dare not take this for granted, but understand that God is at work through His Word in our liturgy.  May the Lord continue to be with His people here at Machame and throughout the Moshi District.

Following the service we caught a shuttle which took us to Arusha.  It was a two hour trip through some very beautiful country.  It is full of banana trees, coffee plants, maize, beans, and various other crops.  Since it is so close to the mountains, there is lot of rain and the climate is very conducive to crops of various kinds.

We arrived in Arusha mid-afternoon and checked into our hotel on the north side of Arusha.  The prices have gone up quite a bit with the electricity shortages and economic problems, but it is still a good value compared to other hotels.  It even has wireless internet (when there is electricity).  We are glad to be able to settle in here, knowing that we will be here for a week.  It is always a good feeling when you know you will be in the same place for more than one or two days!  We also look forward to working in the seminary this whole week.  May the Lord bless our service to Him.

In Christ,

Nathanael