It is a singular kind of setting in which we are gathered just now - in the beauty of the sanctuary, before the altar of God. We are a varied people, of many ages and stations, with widely divergent backgrounds, interests, and pursuits. But here this morning there is one thing all of us are doing: listening.

In I Corinthians 14:10 the Apostle Paul writes: "There are so many kinds of voices in the world." and we know the truth of this, don't we? We hear these voices all the time, all through the week - loud ones and soft, bright ones and dark, saying this and saying that, and sometimes saying nothing. And it's all very confusing - how to separate them, to whom to listen.

Well, we are together this morning in this special setting to try to hear the voice of God. He also has a voice in this world, you know. Here we draw aside from the clamor and conflicting claims to which we are so constantly exposed; here we put ourselves into a position where it is easier for us to listen.

All we do here is intended simply to fix things so it will be less difficult for the voice of God to come through to each of us - the hymns we sing, the prayers we pray, the Scriptures we read, the word we proclaim - that somehow these may be the communication lines by which the voice of God may come through. As we worship together here or anywhere, today or anytime, let us be always mindful of what it is we are doing: listening - trying to screen out the interference, trying to unscramble the voices, trying to hear the one voice which is of greater importance to us than all the others.