Journey of Worship

Archive for the ‘Ponderings’ Category

It’s easy to worship God when things are going well. At those times, it is easy to celebrate God’s goodness and rejoice in His greatness. The challenge of worship comes when things in our life aren’t going so well. It’s in those moments that we need to remember that even though our circumstances have changed, God hasn’t.

This is something my wife, Beck (who blogs here), has been learning and experiencing over the past year. This month in our church’s newsletter, I asked her to share some of what she has been learning about worship in the hard times.

“My husband has allowed me to share with you this week about the journey of worshiping in the dark places of our lives. I imagine all of us at one time or another has struggled to worship God in the midst of pain, disappointment, sorrow. Maybe that’s you this week. I understand; I’ve felt the choking burn of tears hovering near the surface and the nagging pull of fear. I’ve struggled with some health concerns in the last year and the doctors don’t have answers. Recently I was talking to Jesus about the concerns and fears in my life; asking for His provision, teaching, empowering. In that moment I heard Him so sweetly say, worship Me. And I did. Romans 11:33-12:2 gives us the reason why He deserves worship at all times.

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
“Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”
“Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?”
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

“As I obeyed and worshiped Him I poured out my heart, my worship, my trust, my need, my love as an act of faith and adoration. I felt like the woman in Luke 7, anointing Jesus feet with perfume, weeping and kissing those precious feet that came in search of me. And I knew that it was the Son who had drawn me to worship and the Spirit that had ignited the desire and ability to worship and the Father that had provided EVERYTHING I needed to worship Him in the first place. I am completely aware that even worship is something I can’t give Him on my own. And as I worshiped He gave to me; peace, joy, rest, His very presence.”

This is the second of a two-part post about Good Friday. Last week I talked about an experience I had many years ago on Good Friday, and this week I’ll be wrapping up with why I think it is so important for evangelical Christians to also take time for Good Friday. Check out the first post here.

Remembering Good Friday helps us reconnect with the roots of our faith. The first Good Friday was definitely not seen as “good” while it happened. It was as the early church began to organize its pattern and flow of worship that remembering these events gained importance. The y believed the principle that external rites can order internal experience. As we understand what was accomplished through the event of Jesus’ death, it definitely was a good day as the powers of darkness were defeated.

Good Friday is part of a grouping of days known as the Great Triduum that also include Maundy Thursday (when Christ established communion, washed His disciples feet, and gave the new commandment of love) and the Great Paschal Vigil of Saturday (when Christ’s body was lying in the tomb). These days that resolve in Easter Sunday and the resurrection are at the core of our relationship with Christ and our spirituality. The events commemorated in these days cannot be taken lightly as they are some of the most holy, solemn, and serious events at the center of our faith.

These days allow us to again remember God’s saving work in human history. Good Friday is the part that focuses on the death of our Lord and Savior so He could become our Lord and Savior. Without death, there is no resurrection. The connection of Good Friday and Easter Sunday allows us to experience vividly the contrast of suffering/loss and celebration. We cannot fully understand God’s love for us unless we grasp what He gave for us.

Even though we worship the resurrected Christ every day and live in Him because He is alive, this is the time of year when we again can gain a clearer focus on that fact. I am married every day, but taking time to remember and celebrate our anniversary only serves to increase the commitment and joy of our relationship. By taking time to remember and reflect on the events that led to the greatest event in history, we can only benefit as our understanding and love for all God has done grows and the depth of our relationship increases. As much as we may know about the events of Christ’s death and resurrection, there is much that is still a mystery.

This year, make it a priority to be present in the events the church offers to help remember and celebrate. Instead of just looking at the Easter season as a time for vacation or taking it easy, take time to reflect and mediate on Christ and what He did for us. Take time to prepare for the celebration that will happen on Easter Sunday.

May God remind us of how much was given so that we might have life.

This is the first of a two-part post about Good Friday. This week I’ll be talking about an experience I had many years ago on Good Friday, and next week I’ll wrap up with why I think it is so important for evangelical Christians to also take time for Good Friday.

While I was serving at in my first pastoral position, there was a young man in the youth group who was Catholic. He came to services and events at our church and also attended mass at his Catholic church. There was always an open invitation to go to mass with him, and I wanted to be able to do that. But it was hard because I obviously had to by at my church on Sundays.

Growing up, the only exposure that I had to events such as Maundy Thursday or Good Friday was seeing them on the calendar, knowing what they represented, and understanding that mostly liturgical and catholic traditions highlighted them. We were focused (and rightly so) on the celebration of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday. It was a huge deal, but the preceding events weren’t as emphasized.

The only way we could figure out how to attend mass with this young man was to go to a special non-Sunday mass. The first opportunity that came was Good Friday. So, off we go to Good Friday mass. I didn’t really know what to expect since I had never attended a Catholic service before.

Being there was a moving experience. While the rituals and such were different than what I had previously experienced, I was drawn into the somber mood and reflection on the death of Christ. There wasn’t a need to tidy things up at the end and remind people of what was to come. I was able to see and comprehend the significance of the death and sacrifice of Jesus – His body broken for ours – in a new way. I was also surprised to discover that the Gospel was fully present, even though most of the people there probably were not hearing the depth of God’s love for us.

I left very moved and reflective upon what I had experience and, more importantly, what Christ had experienced for me. The effect of that was most evident a few days later as I led the congregation in worship on Easter Sunday. I had a fresh and renewed desire to fully celebrate the resurrection because I had come face to face with Christ’s death in a much more significant way than before.

I walked away from that Easter season with a new understanding of the importance of focusing on the entirety of the Easter season, and not just Easter Sunday. Taking time for Good Friday should be just as important for us as coming to church on Easter Sunday.

Come back next Friday to read part two of this topic. Thanks for stopping by.

It’s been said that our life betrays what we believe. Or that our beliefs are betrayed by our life. Either way, most, if not all, Christians say that Christ is the most important thing to them, but their living says they are more concerned with life, work, status, homes, cars, retirement plans, etc. Most aspects of life reflect a forgetting of our Maker, Redeemer, and Savior. I’m not here to tell you how a life that has Christ as the most important thing will be played out in you specifically, but to simply cause you to think.

This aspect of drift and forgetting is a common occurrence in all of our lives. The issue isn’t so much if it has happened (because it will at some point), but recognizing it and making appropriate course corrections.

The season of Lent, at its core, calls us back to God, back to basics, and back to the spiritual realities of life in Christ. Back to the things that we say we believe in. It’s a time when we can ask Christ to once again put to death sin and indifference toward God and others so that we might fulfill the Greatest Commandment to love the Lord our God with all of who we are and to love our neighbors as ourselves. We can once again enter fully into the joy of the Lord Who is our strength. Read the rest of this entry »

What does worship look like?  As the practical, pragmatic, and action-oriented Americans we are, how do we do this thing that is supposed to draw our attention to God so that we can give Him all glory and honor with our whole being?

The event of worship takes many forms.  One of the biggest ways that worship happens is through music.  This is true today and has been for centuries.  Psalm 69:30 tells us that “I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.”  Music, in its various forms, provides an avenue where worshippers can open their hearts to God and one another.  There is power in the corporate application of music.

Martin Luther (the one who nailed the 95 theses to the door and kicked off the Protestant Reformation), was a huge proponent of the role of music in worship.  Charles Moss in The Musical Reforms of Luther writes that “Martin Luther viewed music as having powers to repulse evil and to glorify God at the same time.”  In the forward to his Symphoniae, Luther himself wrote that “next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world.  It controls our thoughts, minds, hearts, and spirits. “

As vital as music is, there is a downside to the association of music with worship.  Unfortunately, we have made worship about music and the two have become synonymous in our minds.  Instead of music being an aspect of worship, worship is music.  Then we find ourselves in a place that says we can’t worship without music.

The fact of the matter is, as songwriter Paul Baloche says, “worship has more to do with relationship than with music.  Worshipping God with music is simply a tool to help us connect relationally to a living God.”

So, we return to our original question of what does worship look like.  We know one way is music.  But what other ways can we connect with the living God?  How about things like reading, hearing, and applying the Word of God, tithing, living generously, serving, loving others, meditating on who God is, making our prayers more than just requests, developing an attitude of thankfulness, surrendering full control of our life to God, and responding to the truth of God by living it out in our daily lives.

There’s a reason why the event we attend each Sunday is called a “worship service.”  All of the elements that take place in it should facilitate our whole self connecting with God and choosing to live for Him.  It’s not called a “music service” as music is but a part of the whole.

Worship looks like a lot of things. We can connect with God in a variety of valid ways both corporately and personally.  We should not be limited in our ability to worship the living God based on whether there is music available or not.

What does worship look like to you?  What helps you connect with God?  Let me know in the comments.

It’s the time of year when we look to new beginnings. We seek to gain a greater understanding of some things, and in other things seek to do better at them. For some people, we might desire certain revelations to come about that will cause pieces of the puzzle of life to fit together better.

One of the greatest revelations of all time is celebrated at this time of the year. Whether or not it actually happened date wise at this time of the year isn’t important. What’s important is that it happened.

What is this that I write of? The time of the Christian year known as Epiphany, or the time when God appeared.

A few days ago I received an group email from Dan Wilt, a leader and scholar in the world of ancient/future worship, talking about the significance of Epiphany and the new year. With his permission, I’d like you to read what he wrote… Read the rest of this entry »

Advent is the time when God breaks in on us with new surprises and touches us with a renewing and restoring power. –Robert Webber, Ancient Future Time

It’s the time of year when we enter into the season of Advent, which comes from the Latin adventus, meaning arrival or coming. Advent is traditionally a time when people slow down and take time to celebrate and prepare for Jesus’ birth at Christmas time. Many religious traditions choose not to sing songs of Christ’s birth until Christmas Day since Advent is not a time of joy, but of longing for the coming of the Savior. Read the rest of this entry »

I have heard about you, LORD, and I am filled with awe by the amazing things you have done. Show us your power to save us. (Habakkuk 3:2 nlt)

Something that has struck me as important recently is the significance of remembering. When I lead, I’ll often ask God to help us remember who He is, what He has done, and how He wants us to live. I do this rather frequently. You may wonder, why?

The aspect of remembering is huge for us. We go to great lengths to remember things that are important like significant moments in life, treasured relationships, birthdays, and more. We do so through pictures, videos, treasures, and conversations to help jog our memories. We feel sad when people forget about events that were meaningful to us, and it’s heartbreaking to watch some people forget as they age. We will also go to great lengths to block memories of situations that were painful, hurtful, or destructive.

Remembering is a huge necessity in our lives. We need to remember the stories, memories, and commitments of our life because we are forgetful people and are easily distracted. When we don’t remember, we lose a part of ourselves. We forget how God has used the events of life to shape us and reveal Himself to us. Author Robert Webber once wrote that “forgetting brings death, but remembering brings life.”

God knew this about us. As sin entered the world, He knew that we would need help in remembering who He is and what He told us. You can trace this theme throughout the Bible. God constantly told the Old Testament Israelites to build monuments to remind them and their children of the great things He did for them. He encouraged them to takes steps to remember His grace and mercy so that would not get distracted by other gods. He wrote down the 10 Commandments so they would not forget the essential things to live a God-honoring life.

As the early church began to meet, they meet weekly on the first day intentionally so that they would not forget the importance of the resurrection. Meeting together in fellowship was important throughout the week so that they would not forget each other or what God was doing. The writer of Hebrews recognized the importance of this as he told his readers to not give up meeting together. God’s message for us was that when we stop meeting together, we stop remembering and begin to forget.

So, why is remembering the greatness and character of God so important? When we remember, we are not distracted by temporary things or drawn away into sin. I think author David Powlison captures it well. “If you could remember just one true thing in the moment of trial, you’d be different. Bible ‘verses’ aren’t magic. But God’s words are revelations of God from God for our redemption. When you actually remember God, you do not sin. The only way we ever sin is by suppressing God, by forgetting, by tuning out his voice, switching channels, and listening to other voices.”

Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. (Psalm 103:2 niv)

I read this the other morning, and wanted to share it.

It is my experience that the totality of our Christian lives-our entire attitude as person–must be towards the worship of God!

If you do not know the presence of God in your office, your factory, your home, then God is not in the church you attend either!

I became a Christian when I was a young man working in a tire factory in Akron, Ohio. I remember my work there–but I remember my worship there too! I had plenty of worshipful tears in my eyes. No one ever asked me about them, but I would not have hesitated to explain them.

You can learn to use certain skills until they are automatic. I become so skillful that I could do my work and then I could worship God even while my hands were busy.

If the love of God is in us and the Spirit of God is breathing praise with us, all the musical instruments in heaven are suddenly playing in full support! Even our thoughts become a sanctuary in which God can dwell.

Dear Lord, I pray that Your Spirit will so fill me today that my heart and mind will overflow in praise to You.

These words were written by A.W. Tozer, a pastor and author in the mid-20th century. His was a voice that called people to pursue God and live for Him fully. His words still carry weight today. You can find more writings like this in Mornings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings.

Harvey Mackay was waiting in line for a taxi at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie and freshly pressed black slacks, Wally the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back door. Harvey noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside — spotlessly clean.

As Wally slid behind the wheel, he said, “Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.”

Jokingly, Harvey said, “No, I’d prefer a soft drink.”

Wally smiled and said, “No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice.”

Almost stuttering, Harvey said, “I’ll take a Diet Coke.”

Handing Harvey his drink, Wally said, “If you’d like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today.”

As the taxi pulled away from the curb, Wally handed Harvey a laminated card and said, “These are the stations I get and the music they play if you’d like to listen to the radio.” As if that weren’t enough, Wally told Harvey the air conditioning was on and asked if the temperature was comfortable.

The driver then advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that time of day. Wally also let Harvey know that he’d be happy to chat and tell him about some of the sights or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts.

“Tell me, Wally,” the amazed passenger asked, “have you always served customers like this?”

Wally smiled and looked in the rear view mirror. “No, not always. In fact, it’s only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard the personal growth guru Wayne Dyer on the radio saying that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you’ll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, ‘Stop complaining. Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don’t be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.”

“So I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked at the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers unfriendly and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.”

“I take it that has paid off for you,” Harvey said.

“It sure has,” Wally replied. “My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year, I’ll probably quadruple it.”

Wally the cab driver made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like a duck and to start soaring like an eagle.

When I first read this story, I was immediately struck by the parallels between the cab driver’s choice in living his life and our choice in how people choose to live as Christ-followers. For some, the choice is to quack like a duck in complaining about how bad things are getting, what’s wrong with the world and society around us, and how everything is changing in life (and often in church). For others, they choose to rise above the complaining and grumbling to live a life of justice, mercy, and love in the name of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. They choose to live the abundance spiritual life Christ promises so that they can in turn point people to the living God.

But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:31 niv)

That’s a life of worship. May we soar life eagles in the days before us.

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