OP/EN 6 - 'op/en and clo/sed'

The Jewish people in the time of Jesus and the early church used very complicated rituals to worship God in the temple:  for example  only the High Priest was allowed into the Holy of Holies where the ark of the covenant was kept.  You can read more about this in Hebrews 9 1-10.

From the beginning Christians have believed that  we can all have direct access to God through Jesus, to know him and worship him for ourselves, and our churches should help us to do this.

But we may not always find it easy to worship.  As you make your way around the next section, which we have called CLO/SED, you will find questions and suggestions about some of the things in our lives that may get between us and God.

Puzzles

Difficult puzzles and foreign language newpapers can act to alienate and make inaccessible.

Enjoy the Maze

What are the things that get between you and God? What holds you back from worship? Are there things about your lifestyle that make it difficult? What are you afraid of?
Are you worried about the image the world might have of you? What might your friends and family think? Is church a help or a hindrance? Where is God in your list of priorities?

Distractions

How do all the things you thought of on the way here stop you from getting close to God? In front of you is a sand tray with a compass in the centre and a collection of magnets. The needle of the compass points to “true north” but the magnets all represent “false norths”.

Try moving the magnets around in the tray.  See what happens. The false norths pull the needle away from the true north. What are your false norths?  Take some time to think about this. When you are ready to move on you might like to write some of your distractions, temptations and roadblocks on post it notes and burn them. Then pass through into the place of free worship – the OP/EN space.

Welcome to the OP/EN worship area

Here you can spend time enjoying the direct access we have to God.

• There are books, icons, pictures and music for contemplation
• plasticine, paints and pastels for creative worship
• newspapers (in English this time) so that we can pray for the world,

  and a place to do that
• tea and coffee for refreshment and relaxation

and an open door out into the world to take worship with you into the week ahead.

Further images from op/en 6 can be found in the Christ Church image gallery