Viewing the World through God's Word
Today’s been rough for me. Not feeling well at all. Then I found an e-mail from my daughter, Meridith, who keeps me supplied with worshipful, heart-lifting music.
As I listened, I sat in solitude before the Lord, drinking in the peace of his presence. And when the song reached the last stanza, tears began to fall and my hands almost lifted themselves in worship. I hope it blesses you as it did me.
Thank you, Meridith, for letting the Lord use you like this today. I love you.
DON’T PLAY THE VIDEO YET!
The Christian church is doomed without a high view of Jesus Christ. That should be self-evident from the name “Christian church.” Yet, just as we take for granted (or even ignore) a familiar person, it’s easy to take for granted (or even ignore) the breath-taking heights of Christ’s deity.
I’m reading Dreams and Visions, a book of narratives about Christ appearing in dreams and visions to unbelievers in countries where Christians are persecuted. It’s a fascinating read I recommend.
In the chapter, “The Swords of Baghdad, Part 1”, is the section, “Two Faces of Iraq.” From it, I was reminded that Christianity has roots in (of all places) Iraq. In the 5th century a preacher named Nestorius became patriarch of Constantinople (in today’s Turkey), Nestorius believed Jesus had “part of God’s spirit”, but was not fully God. Because he enjoyed wide influence, church leaders in other jurisdictions of the church convened the Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D. The Council formally denounced Nestorius, removed and banished him to Egypt. But many of his followers moved east to Persia.
Here’s the map to understand the logistics. Turkey is big and orange on the left. Egypt is pink toward the bottom left. Persia is today’s Iraq in the middle, also pink. That’s where Nestorius’ followers ended up. (No extra charge for the map. If you want driving directions, though, I’d suggest Mapquest.)
In Persia (Iraq) Nestorius’ followers found listening ears for their “low-view-of-Christ” theology. The church they planted became known as the Assyrian or Syriac Church and even sent missionaries back to today’s Turkey. Today “Assyrian Christians” are scattered through most of the Middle East. In 1976 the Assyrian Church rejected some Nestorian beliefs, but debate remains over the church’s acceptance of the full deity of Christ.
Tom Doyle, author of Dreams and Visions, makes this telling observation: The Assyrian Church’s weak view of Christ explains, at least in part, why Christianity fell apart in Persia when Islam swept in. Without a proper view of Jesus, the church anywhere is doomed to a mediocre existence. If Jesus, the head of the church is (considered) weak, how can the church be anything but weak? . . . The most troubling aspect of this errant belief system in Iraq is the effect it has on individuals within the church. The understanding that Jesus is somewhat less than God leaves each Assyrian at a sharp disadvantage when faced with the overwhelming presence of Islam—that is, until he or she encounters the overwhelming presence of Jesus Himself (in dreams and visions).”
Most of our churches maintain proper doctrinal statements about the deity of Christ. But usually we picture him walking the roads of Galilee or hanging on the cross. Thank God he did! However, without being less than a man, he was and is so much more, more exalted than we can imagine . Here are just a few Scriptures to raise our sight of him.
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God (John 1:1).
Long ago, at many times and in many ways,
God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,
but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,
whom he appointed the heir of all things,
through whom he created the world.
He is the radiance of the glory of God,
and the exact imprint of his nature,
and he upholds the universe by the word of his power (Hebrews 1:1-3a)
He (the Son of God) is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation (i.e., like the “firstborn” who inherits all that is the father’s).
For by him all things were created,
things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—
all things were created by him and for him.
And he is the head of the body, the church.
He is the beginning and firstborn from the dead,
that in everything he might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell . . . (Colossians 1:15-19).
Then [Jesus] said to Thomas,
“Put your finger here, and see my hands;
and put out your hand, and place it in my side.
Do not disbelieve, but believe.”
Thomas answered him,
“My Lord and my God! (John 20:27,28)
NOW LET’S PLAY THE VIDEO ABOVE
AND WORSHIP OUR HIGH AND EXALTED CHRIST WHO IS GOD!
A few years ago, before retiring from pastoring, I suggested the church have a “Preparing for Worship” time—15 minutes of sitting in the sanctuary on Sunday mornings to “still our minds and hearts” before the Lord.
It went over like the proverbial lead balloon.
Here’s how I reasoned. In worship we are coming before the Holy God, the Creator of the universe, the Eternal God of our Salvation, the One Isaiah saw in a vision and shuddered, “Whoa! I’m a dead man!” (Actually I got my “whoa” wrong. It was, “Woe is me . . . “) Anyway, it seemed totally inappropriate for us to go from hollering “hi” to each and chattering about the hot weather or the cold Rays to singing, “Holy,Holy, Holy.” We needed some sort of transition to shift our mind’s gears.
That swift shift from the noise of people talking and laughing to consciously entering God’s presence reminded me of the drive-thru at MacDonald’s. One minute you’re yelling at your fighting kids in the backseat, the next you’re speaking like a sane adult to the order-microphone. But the gathered church isn’t a hamburger joint. (Well, some churches have a coffee-bar complete with Sunday edition of “The New York Times”, but that’s for another time.)
No matter. Critics thought the silence too somber. It reminded others of waiting in the grave (no pun intended)-quiet funeral home for the sad service to start . Then there was the occasional person (if I was brave enough I would say it was usually a woman) who came into the sanctuary, sat down next to a friend and held an even-the-deaf-can-hear conversation.
So I gave up.
Still I wonder: Shouldn’t we prepare for worshiping the great God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ? Maybe we could pray individually or as a family at home before leaving for church. (Right. Getting kids out of the house with clothes on is almost more than we can handle now!) Or maybe we could pray a brief prayer in the parking lot before we all climbed out of our car. (Besides, that might be a good way to end the family battle that typically breaks out on the way. Clean up the blood later or you’ll be late.) Or maybe, after greeting a few people in the sanctuary, those who wish could individually speak silently with our Father to ready their hearts and minds.
I’m not advocating a church program, just tossing out some ideas for us as individuals. If there’s a way you prepare for Sunday Worship, why not let us all know? And if this all sounds too “liturgical”, count this as not one of my best blogs and delete me.
Here’s my bottom line: I know that I need to prepare to enter our Lord’s presence in Sunday Worship. Brushing my teeth and taking my weekly Saturday night bath aren’t enough.
A Presbyterian worships standing with hands in his pockets trying to stifle a yawn while stealing a glance at his watch. Fair? Of course not. Neither is it fair to imply that all Pentecostals/Charismatics worship by working themselves into spiritual ecstasy, then flop on top of each other while speaking in tongues. Yet, while acknowledging not all evangelicals worship that way, one author in a recent book on Reformed worship implies that such carrying-on is rather typical, especially among charismatics. He also criticizes how we’ve lost “objective” worship in favor of “subjective” worship. By that he means we are making worship something we experience, instead of something we offer to God. (I’m not naming names, because I want to answer the criticism not the critic, who is my brother in Christ, though I don’t know him personally.
DISCLOSURE. I grew up and was originally ordained in a Pentecostal church. I am a continuationist; all the New Testament gifts of the Spirit are available today and should be exercised according to biblical guidelines. I consider myself sort of a Reformed Charismatic (though I’m tired of titles and wish we all could just be Christians). Some of our members in a church we planted years ago were significantly influenced by the Charismatic Movement. I’ve seen excesses that have angered me; I’ve read of others that disgusted me. That’s why I find it ironic to be defending Pentecostals/Charismatics.
OFFERING VS. EXPERIENCE. I agree completely that worship is something we offer to God. When we gather to sing, pray and hear his Word, we are offering our songs, prayers and lives to our Father in heaven. Worship is about him. An old charismatic-type praise chorus says it well . . .
We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord,
We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord.
And we offer up to you the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
And we offer up to you, the sacrifices of joy.
How simple that is compared to “Holy, Holy, Holy”! Here’s just the first verse . . .
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity.
Despite the differences, both help us offer God-centered worship. And both engage us in worship. We can’t truly worship with music like that and not be emotionally caught up in the goodness and holiness of God. In other words, we experience the presence of the God to whom we sing.
Why does worship have to be either offering or experience? Why can’t it be both? In fact, I would argue—due to the awesomeness of the God we are worshiping—it must be both.
DISCLAIMER. I’m not suggesting we design worship for our experience. Do that and we get experience-without-God. But if we design worship as a whole-mind, whole-heart offering to God, we get the experience of enjoying God.
STRAW-MEN VS. REAL-MEN. In the book I referred to above, the author (in my opinion) sets up “straw-men”. That is, he appears to use extreme examples of charismatic misconduct as characteristic of all. That’s simply not fair. I have no survey to offer, just my own experience in a Pentecostal church. Sure, our services were more “casual” than a Reformed Presbyterian one, but far from disorderly. No Spirit-slaying. No dog barking. No how-to-get-rich-quick prophecies.
I hope that when we compare forms of worship (or whatever) among our churches, we present the “other” position honestly (not citing the extreme as the example) and that we speak of our “different” brothers and sisters in love and with respect. Besides, when all believers in Christ get to heaven, I think we’ll find that all our systems and forms had a few holes in them!
DIFFERENT STROKES . . . I agree that the Scripture teaches us how to worship God. But within the boundaries of those instructions lie considerable freedoms. Is a worship order modeled after the Reformation more God-pleasing than one modeled after a freer, more spontaneous style? Or vice versa? Choose the one you believe most biblical (without condemning other choices) and the one in which you can best offer praises to God and enjoy his presence (without the spiritually superior attitude)! When it’s all said and done, though, maybe C.S. Lewis said it best . . .
“The perfect church service would be one we were almost unaware of;
our attention would have been on God.”
A Presbyterian worships standing with hands in his pockets trying to stifle a yawn while stealing a glance at his watch. Fair? Of course not. Neither is it fair to imply that all Pentecostals/Charismatics worship by working themselves into spiritual ecstasy, then flop on top of each other while speaking in tongues. Yet, while acknowledging not all evangelicals worship that way, one author in a recent book on Reformed worship implies that such carrying-on is rather typical, especially among charismatics. He also criticizes how we’ve lost “objective” worship in favor of “subjective” worship. By that he means we are making worship something we experience, instead of something we offer to God. (I’m not naming names, because I want to answer the criticism not the critic, who is my brother in Christ, though I don’t know him personally.
DISCLOSURE. I grew up and was originally ordained in a Pentecostal church. I am a continuationist; all the New Testament gifts of the Spirit are available today and should be exercised according to biblical guidelines. I consider myself sort of a Reformed Charismatic (though I’m tired of titles and wish we all could just be Christians). Some of our members in a church we planted years ago were significantly influenced by the Charismatic Movement. I’ve seen excesses that have angered me; I’ve read of others that disgusted me. That’s why I find it ironic to be defending Pentecostals/Charismatics.
OFFERING VS. EXPERIENCE. I agree completely that worship is something we offer to God. When we gather to sing, pray and hear his Word, we are offering our songs, prayers and lives to our Father in heaven. Worship is about him. An old charismatic-type praise chorus says it well . . .
We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord,
We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord.
And we offer up to you the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
And we offer up to you, the sacrifices of joy.
How simple that is compared to “Holy, Holy, Holy”! Here’s just the first verse . . .
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity.
Despite the differences, both help us offer God-centered worship. And both engage us in worship. We can’t truly worship with music like that and not be emotionally caught up in the goodness and holiness of God. In other words, we experience the presence of the God to whom we sing.
Why does worship have to be either offering or experience? Why can’t it be both? In fact, I would argue—due to the awesomeness of the God we are worshiping—it must be both.
DISCLAIMER. I’m not suggesting we design worship for our experience. Do that and we get experience-without-God. But if we design worship as a whole-mind, whole-heart offering to God, we get the experience of enjoying God.
STRAW-MEN VS. REAL-MEN. In the book I referred to above, the author (in my opinion) sets up “straw-men”. That is, he appears to use extreme examples of charismatic misconduct as characteristic of all. That’s simply not fair. I have no survey to offer, just my own experience in a Pentecostal church. Sure, our services were more “casual” than a Reformed Presbyterian one, but far from disorderly. No Spirit-slaying. No dog barking. No how-to-get-rich-quick prophecies.
I hope that when we compare forms of worship (or whatever) among our churches, we present the “other” position honestly (not citing the extreme as the example) and that we speak of our “different” brothers and sisters in love and with respect. Besides, when all believers in Christ get to heaven, I think we’ll find that all our systems and forms had a few holes in them!
DIFFERENT STROKES . . . I agree that the Scripture teaches us how to worship God. But within the boundaries of those instructions lie considerable freedoms. Is a worship order modeled after the Reformation more God-pleasing than one modeled after a freer, more spontaneous style? Or vice versa? Choose the one you believe most biblical (without condemning other choices) and the one in which you can best offer praises to God and enjoy his presence (without the spiritually superior attitude)! When it’s all said and done, though, maybe C.S. Lewis said it best . . .
“The perfect church service would be one we were almost unaware of;
our attention would have been on God.”
I missed our Worship Gathering yesterday because I wasn’t feeling well. By “missed”, I don’t just mean I was absent; I mean I felt the loss of being part of our church family singing together to the Lord. Nothing makes up for sitting among God’s people and hearing our voices lifted in praise to him.
This morning I read a Desiring God blog that lifted my soul with the possibilities of what our worship might continue to grow into. You can read Joseph Tenney’s post here (http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=94431c7fc1ffa54485d1c84fe&id=ce4ba09c20&e=fc22e1508a or just my references to it below. I especially found it interesting when he referred to beauty and mystery in worship.
BEAUTY.
. . . some of us might have a tendency to value songs for their usefulness rather than their beauty . . . While we rightly elevate theological richness in the songs we sing, we also would do well to appreciate music’s God-given beauty and power to lead people to the Transcendental Beauty himself, our Triune God.
This will require pastors and artists to recapture a vision of beauty that is not at odds with accessibility or practicality, but one that’s mindful of context and insistent on a rich theological aesthetic. We would do well to avoid reducing the role of music entirely to service to the spoken word. It may be that our good desire for right doctrine has so taken priority in our thinking that we’ve diminished the importance and possibilities of aesthetic in our gatherings, let alone our songs.
His language tends to soar over my head. But here’s what stays on my brain level: music’s beauty and power can lead us into the presence of our beautiful God. ” . . . we would . . . do well to appreciate music’s God-given beauty and power to lead people to the Transcendental Beauty himself, our Triune God.” Music isn’t merely something to connect correct doctrinal words to. Music certainly demands correct doctrinal truth, but music itself has beauty and power from God to lead us into the beauty of his presence.
Frankly, “beautiful” isn’t the adjective that comes to mind when I think of our worship team. I’m not disparaging our keyboard, drums, guitars and vocalists. I’m simply saying that we’re a handful of moderately-gifted musicians who play and sing to help lead a small, sometimes off-key- congregation. “Beauty”? Call the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center!
Wait. On second thought, don’t. Instead, read a few lines David wrote in Psalm 27:4 . . .
One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to inquire in his temple.
See what David implies? If we come and sing and play with a single-minded desire to enter the Lord’s presence to gaze upon his beauty, we can. It doesn’t take the New York Philharmonic. It takes the redeemed of the Lord singing with heart-felt longing to come into his presence and “see” the wonder of his beauty.
MYSTERY.
. . . we should consider opening ourselves to mystery and spontaneity . . . Christian worship is not a science class. These days we’re being fed nothing but information; but emotionally, I think we get less and less experience in our gatherings because our liturgy is so cleaned up and we’re losing the edge, the mystery of things.
. . . gathering together as the church [is] . . . where we actually carry out the science experiment and put behaviors and responses and postures to action and open ourselves to the unplanned and surprising work of God’s Spirit in Christ among us. Christian worship free from emotion and mystery produces unexceptional and tame views of God . . . .
I think by “mystery” Tenney means worship in which God’s Spirit in Christ occasionally does “unplanned and surprising work” among us. He’s not a tame lion you know, as C.S. Lewis wrote of Aslan, the Christ-figure in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. How tragic if our worship moves us to see him as “tame”! But, as Tenney points out, that’s what “worship free from emotion produces—unexceptional and tame views of God.
While Paul stood in awe of how God revealed much of his mystery in Christ (Ephesians 1:9; 3:4; Colossians 1:27; 2:2), he implied God hasn’t revealed all of himself. His judgments are yet unsearchable. His ways remain mysterious. The depths of his mind are still beyond our understanding.
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments and how inscrutable (mysterious) his ways!
For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? (Romans 11:33,34).
Thank God for his self-revelation in Scripture! Thank God that he has made himself knowable and established firm doctrine on which we can stand! But there is more to God than he has revealed. What remains hidden doesn’t counter what he’s revealed, but enhances it. If we come and sing and play longing to sense a wonder of God we’ve not yet experienced, perhaps he might surprisingly captivate us with more of his “mysterious” presence.
Worship of God always must be more, because God is always more. There remain wonderful mysteries of his presence we haven’t yet found. There is a beauty of his “face” we haven’t yet seen.
You have said, “Seek my face.”
My heart says to you,
“Your face, LORD, do I seek” (Psalm 27:8).
It’s 4 p.m. Saturday. In about 18 hours I expect to gather with other believers to worship God. Will I meet him in that gathering?
A rather rash question. (The British would say “cheeky.”) It leads to a broader one: can we actually meet God in worship? Put another way, when we gather for worship is God present in a “greater” way than when we pray alone at home?
Omnipresent. God is everywhere present. “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? (Psalm 139:7). The compelling impression of this psalm is that there is no place David can go where the LORD isn’t. Don’t confuse this with pantheism. Pantheism is the view that God is everything and everyone and that everyone and everything is God. Omniscience holds that God is everywhere present but distinct from everyone and everything. Therefore, God is “omnipresent” when we gather to worship him. But is he more?
Temple. “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?” (1 Corinthians 6:19). “Do you not know that you (plural) are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). In 6:19 Paul, asking a rhetorical question, affirms that God the Holy Spirit literally lives in our bodies. Therefore, when we gather we bring him with us. In 3:16 Paul affirms that gathered we are God’s temple because God’s Spirit lives in us. Therefore, God the Holy Spirit lives among us when we meet. He’s with us, not just in an omnipresent sense but in a “temple” sense.
Jesus. “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them” (Matthew 18:20). Here Jesus assures his disciples that when they try to win back a sinning brother he will be with them to authorize their actions. But is Jesus’ presence when two or three gather in his name limited to church discipline? In light of the above verses, I think not. We come as Jesus’ followers. We come to meet with him. Surely he will be there so we can.
Present. Back to our last question above: “When we gather for worship is God present in a ‘greater’ way than when we pray alone?” Based on the Scriptures we’ve considered, I believe YES. Therefore, it’s possible for us to actually meet him in worship. Not in all his fullness (we’d be vaporized). Not like Isaiah did (we’d be constantly saying, “I’m a dead man!”). But it is possible for us to get a sense, a taste, an awareness of his presence when we gather.
Craziness. I’m not talking about a church of people hootin’ and hollerin’. Or barking like dogs. Or falling down on the floor. I’m certainly not talking about handling snakes! I’m talking about enjoying in a “felt” way the sweet, loving presence of our Lord. Not craziness, just enjoying the presence of Jesus. We might cry or sit in silent awe or pray words of praise or sing in adoration or bow down to him. No telling exactly how we’d respond. But respond we must if he’s there. How could we not? Imagine if Jesus were present physically. What would we do? Probably not complain about the music or wonder how long the sermon will drag on!
Hope. So it’s Saturday afternoon. Tomorrow morning with other believers gathered in Jesus’ name, I hope to meet with him, to sense his presence, to be aware of his nearness. I’ve discovered, sadly, that it’s possible for the Lord to be present and for me to be insensible and unaware. That’s when I sing the songs, say “Amen” to the prayers, listen studiously to God’s Word preached, but leave feeling empty inside.
How I long to meet God in our worship gathering tomorrow! So I will come praying. I will come seeking. And by his grace, I will go home filled, because in songs, prayers and sermon I’ve actually been with him.
I almost didn’t go to church last Sunday. I didn’t feel at all well.
But—on auto-pilot—I shaved, showered, dressed, ate breakfast and by 8:30 a.m. found myself in my truck backing out of my garage. My truck knows full-well the way, so ten minutes later I slowly walked in the front door of our church . . .
Then Monday I read the blog below by Tim Challies—a simple, but profound reminder about why we shouldn’t “skip church.” (I was happy I hadn’t.) He called it “Why You May Be Tempted to Neglect Your Church”.
Here are two reasons you may be tempted to neglect meeting together with God’s people.
You Forget What You Bring. Hebrews 10:25 warns Christian against leaving local church fellowship, and the verse immediately prior gives the reason. As Christians, we all equally bear the responsibility to stir up one another to love and good works. We are to provoke one another to act in love and we are to provoke one another to promote good works. And the simple fact is that we cannot do these things if we are not together.
In the background of the book of Hebrews is the New Testament teaching that we, as Christians, are like a body—Christ’s body. In Romans 12 Paul says, “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have he same function, so we, though many, are one body in Chris, and individually members one of another.” In some way God looks upon Christians just like we look up the many parts of one body–many parts, but one person. In some way God looks upon the local church as many parts but one body. Paul explains the same theme in 1 Corinthians and in both of these passages he draws the same application–that just as each part of the body as an important function, each Christian has an important gift. Just as each part of the body makes the body function well and as a whole, each Christian’s gift is meant to make the church function well and as a whole. There are no superfluous body parts, and there are not superfluous Christians.
When you are tempted to disassociate from the local church, whether permanently or semi-permanently or even for a lazy Sunday where you just can’t be bothered, you have forgotten what you bring to the people of your church. You have neglected to understand and believe that you—yes you!—are a crucial part of the body of Christ. You have a gift to bring, and the church is only complete when you bring it an use it.
God has made you part of the body, and the body needs you to function well. When you neglect to meet with God’s people, you deny them the gifts he has given you—gifts that bring him glory when you use them for the good of others.
You Forget What You Need. If it is true that God has gifted you to be a part of the whole, there is an important implication: God has gifted them as well. You are incomplete without your church. God has not so gifted you of all people that you can thrive and grow without the gifts he has given to others. You are part of the body, but only a small and singular part of it. Unless you can imagine your thumb striking off on its own and building a life for itself, or unless you can imagine your appendix seceding from the body and thriving, you shouldn’t imagine yourself leaving local church fellowship.
In this way neglecting to meet with God’s people is a sign of overwhelming and outrageous pride. You have somehow determined either that the gifts God has given others are of no real consequence to you, or you have determined that you are so gifted that you can happily survive without them. The reality, of course, is that God has made Christians to thrive and survive only in community. Lone Christians are dead Christians.
God has made you part of a body, and you need the rest of that body to function well. When you neglect to meet with God’s people, you deny yourself the gifts he has given them—gifts that bring him glory when they use them for your good.
In those times where it just seems hard to be part of a local church, and in those times where neglecting the church seems so attractive, you are forgetting what you bring and what you need. Of course you’ve also neglected to consider how badly you need the preaching of God’s Word and the celebration of the Lord’s Supper and the witnessing of baptisms and the other beautifully ordinary means of grace that God dispenses through his gathered church. But first you’ve forgotten that you are part of a body—a body that you need, and a body that needs you.
I was convicted—not because I hadn’t gone, but because I had seriously considered it, not thinking at all about what I bring and what I need. But suppose you (unlike me) don’t play on the worship team or teach Sunday school or have some other leadership role? Suppose you just greet a few people, sing to the Lord, pray when the pastor prays, listen to his sermon, give your tithes and offering and go home? Suppose you don’t even know what your gift is? Do you still bring something? Yes. You bring you. And you are the gift. You are a new creation in Christ Jesus. When you bring you, you bring a living, breathing miracle of God’s grace. When you sing, you encourage others to sing in praise. When you listen attentively to God’s Word, you encourage others to be good students of Scripture. When you pray (even silently), your prayers are joined with the others’ and rise to the throne of grace and make a difference.
Tomorrow is Sunday. Neglect church? Don’t even think about it!
Last Sunday I heard our congregation sing!
Let me explain. I’m a member of our worship team. (That’s me up top trying to remember how to play the guitar!) I suppose it’s primarily because I’m surrounded by other team members playing and monitors playing back that I rarely hear the people singing. Last Sunday when we reached verse 3 of “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing” the instruments dropped out and we did “voices only.” Of course I heard everyone then. But when the instruments returned for the last verse I still heard the congregation singing. It was great. It was great because I was hearing our whole church family engaged in worship, not just the worship team.
This morning I read a blog by Jamie Brown entitled, “Worship at a Crossroads: Congregationalism versus Performancism”. http://worthilymagnify.com/2014/09/30/worship-at-a-crossroads-congregationalism-versus-performancism/ In it, Brown says that the “worship wars” (between organs and guitars, choirs and praise bands, etc.) are over. “They were mainly about style,” he explains. Now, he argues, the conversation is about substance. It’s about “two models of worship leading.” One he calls “congregationalism”. This views the congregation’s engagement as integral to the success of the worship service. The other model he calls “performancism.” This views the congregation’s engagement as incidental to the worship service’s success. In this model the people just “experience” or “feel” the “performance.” “Engagement” he defines as “the congregation’s active participation, in unity and with comprehension, throughout the majority of the service.” It’s important to note that this has nothing to do with traditional or contemporary music (that is, with style). Either, he insists, can be successful in the congregation’s engagement.
There’s no question where Brown stands. The worship leader’s work is to lead the congregation to engage in worship. He concludes with a prayer “that a fresh commitment to congregational worship will sweep across the church worldwide, overturning performcism, and drawing the Bride of Christ into increasing unity in the years to come.”
Our worship team isn’t caught up in performcism. We really see the congregation’s engagement as integral to “worship success.” But that can be tricky. The volume of the worship team can’t be too loud (or that’s all people will hear) or too soft (or some will be afraid to sing at all). The lyrics must harmonize with Scripture. (Not only do we want to praise God with truth; we want to be learning truth as we sing.) The melody must be “singable”, otherwise people will be so focused on singing the right notes they’ll be paying no attention to the words. The worship team must convey a demeanor of worship. In other words, the worship team must be worshiping. As our pastor says, “The worship team isn’t composed of worship leaders but lead worshipers.” Only then can we lead the people into engaged worship.
We don’t want to be slick performers. Nor do we want to be bumbling detractors. We want to be lead worshipers helping to guide the whole congregation after us into engaged worship. In the paragraph above I noted several “musts” for doing that. Here’s one more: we (worship team and congregation) must remember that when we gather, we are not just coming together, but also coming before our Lord and entering into his holy presence. David wrote of this in two psalms . . .
One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire (or, meditate) in his temple (Psalm 27:4).
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips . . . (Psalm 63:1-5).
In both Psalms David seeks wholeheartedly after the Lord. Like a man in a waterless wasteland, his soul thirsts after the Lord. He wants to praise the Lord with his lips, to lift up his hands in the Lord’s name, to bless the Lord all his days. As he does, he knows his very soul will be satisfied.
This is engaged worship of our Lord in whose presence there is joy. I long for more of it, don’t you? This Sunday I hope we all will hear one another sing to the Lord like that. If so, we will both sense his presence and go back out into the world full.
For a minute I thought Joe Biden (our gaffe-famous VP) was impersonating Victoria Osteen (wife of Joel, prosperity gospel-pusher). But no. It was indeed Mrs. Osteen. Take a look . . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00-6OyXVA0M&feature=youtu.be.
Truth vs. the Dumbest. Is that the dumbest thing you ever heard? Why? Because Mrs. Osteen creates a false opposition. One or the other. Here’s the truth: when we worship God, we give God glory (first) and we receive joy in the process (second). That’s what the Westminster Shorter Catechism claims in its first question and answer: “What is the chief end of man?” “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” So our highest purpose is to glorify God. And as we fulfill that purpose, we receive joy.
Getting the Order Right. The order is important. If we praise God so that we will be happy, we make God merely the means to our end–namely, our happiness. That makes happiness our idol and the LORD will not ultimately give his glory to idols (Isaiah 42:8). But if we praise God because God deserves our praise as God, happiness comes as a necessary by-product. As Ligon Duncan, Chancellor/CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary and former pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Mississippi , wrote: ” Our highest end cannot be experienced without our highest joy.”
Whole-Soul Worship. I’m not talking about worshiping God as if you were singing from the phone book. I’m talking about worship informed by who the Scriptures tell us God is and what they tell us he has done and will yet do in Christ Jesus. I’m talking about worship that is affectionate and emotional (not “emotionalism”). How can we be truly informed of who God is and what God has done and not have tears fall or hands raise or knees bow or hands clap? Informed worship in which we are engaged glorifies God first and fills us with joy second.
Contrary Gospel. The Osteens, though, have a bigger problem than Victoria’s “call to worship.” They preach “a different gospel–not that there is another one” (Galatians 1:6,7). Therefore, paste Paul’s warning on their foreheads: ” . . . even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8).
Theirs is a “contrary” gospel–a gospel without sin, without repentance, without Christ’s imputed righteousness and wrath-absorbing substitutionary death and death-conquering resurrection. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary writes what we’d rather not hear . . .
“America deserves the Osteens. The consumer culture, the cult of the therapeutic, the marketing impulse, and the sheer superficiality of American cultural Christianity probably made the Osteens inevitable. The Osteens are phenomenally successful because they are the exaggerated fulfillment of the self-help movement and the cult of celebrity rolled into one massive mega-church media empire. And, to cap it all off, they give Americans what Americans crave — reassurance delivered with a smile.”
Prosperity Theology–the promise that God rewards faith with health and wealth–is The American Heresy. Now it’s spreading around the world, deceiving not only middle-class Americans, but the nations’ poorest, assuring them they can walk out of their cardboard shacks free from disease if they only believe. It’s a lie from hell presented with a wide smile, gleaming teeth and well-coiffed hair.
And it sneaks in the back door of our brain while our Bible is closed and our body longs for better health and our mind wishes for more money.
Warning. Cosby is right. “We worship God for ourselves” is the dumbest thing we’ve ever heard. I think “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision” (Psalm 2:4). But when “dumb” comes slickly to hurting, God-believing people, it can sound reasonable. Slowly, almost unknowingly, we can start believing the lie–or at least hoping it’s true. Better to listen to what the LORD says: “Stand by the roads and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls” (Jeremiahs 6:16). The historic church–the church from the Reformation on–forged the “ancient paths.” Best to stick to the Gospel of Jesus and Paul. Because after the LORD laughs at those who foolishly speak against his Anointed One, “Then he will speak to them in his wrath and terrify them in his fury” (Psalm 2:5).
Promise. “Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).
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