“First Day”

By Tim Keesee

“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.” (Luke 24:1-2)

One of the quiet witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus is that every Sunday, the first day of the week, all around the world in thousands of languages Christians gather in worship of the risen Christ. It is a twenty-centuries-old practice that is so deeply and deliberately connected to that first day—that every Sunday is like another Easter.

Church in Sakrieng, Cambodia

Christians around the world meet in ancient edifices and quaint steepled structures. Some worship in big buildings on corner lots with a sea of asphalt for parking, while others meet in an apartment and pray the police don’t come again to interrogate, take their Bibles, and arrest their pastor. Others meet in school gyms, empty shopping malls, and beneath mango trees, as I did in Cambodia this past Easter Sunday.  The places are different. The people are different. The languages, songs, and styles are different. But all are part of something so much bigger than what they see on a given Sunday. These little, local expressions of worship are part of a worldwide expression of worship of the One-and-Only Savior. Jesus calls these redeemed ones His Body, His Bride, His Flock, His Church. There’s nothing more diverse yet more unified in the whole wide world than what happens every Sunday when Christians gather.

“The Church is not a man-made organization. It is Spirit-made.”

The reason this is possible is because the Church is not a man-made organization. It is a Spirit-made, blood-bought family ransomed for God “from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev. 5:9). Peter put it this way, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).  Such praise and worship can ring out from a Christian’s heart and voice at any moment on any day, but the gatherings on the first day of the week join our voices into a chorus of worshippers around the world. This weekly ordinary-yet-extraordinary day is a beautiful fulfillment of Psalm 113:3:

“From the rising of the sun to its setting,
the name of the Lord is to be praised!”

Tim Challies, Ronny Marmol, Pastor Ivan, and Tim Keesee near Villarica, Chile

Tim Challies and I want to tell this grand, globe-circling story, so we are undertaking the Worship Round the World project. We plan to track with the sun as we gather with believers in twelve biblically-faithful, culturally-fitting churches—places that look and sound and sing like where they are. Up to this point, we have filmed five of the twelve planned episodes and plan to film two more, Lord willing, this month. We have scheduled stops throughout the fall and plan to finish up early in 2024. Tim and I have learned so much already, and we are eager to share what we are experiencing and introduce you to some dear brothers and sisters in Christ whom I know you will love like family!

For more information about this project, please go to www.worshiproundtheworld.com. There’s an overview video as well as a short film we made when we were on location in the South Pacific. You will also find a FAQ section and a link to give. We are continuing to raise funds for this project because our original budget was set four years ago, but costs for international travel have increased significantly since then.

Church in Recife, Brazil

Thank you for considering helping financially, but whether you can give or not, please pray for us. We know this is an audacious and daunting project and we can’t do it without God’s strength and help. Pray for the travel, for weather, for filming, for the writing of both the films and the book, and for the creative and technical aspects of putting together each episode. Especially pray that we can capture all the little stories of local churches and believers around the world that are a part of the really Big Story of God building His Church!

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