Fluency

This past Sunday I finish a brief 3 part series, Worship in the Book of Revelation.  Revelation gives us wonderful image of God—Sovereign Holy King (ch 4), Redeemer who gives hope (ch 5).  I have been reminded increasingly that worship, since it centers on God requires submission.  As I look through all the “worship hymns” in Revelation and see the way the book ends—I am reminded that an encounter with God always leads to worship.

Any “worship wars” or “crisis in worship” seem to have at their root a failure to encounter God.  When we encounter God, we are changed and He is worshipped.  When we encounter God our eyes are either fixed on Him or at least removed from us.  When we encounter God worship is always transformational.  When we encounter God worship is real and relevant.  When we encounter God worship is no longer about style.

Surveying the Crisis of Worship

from R.C. Sproul

There is a crisis of worship in our land. People are staying away from church in droves. One survey indicated that the two chief reasons people drop out of church are that it is boring and irrelevant.

If people find worship boring and irrelevant, it can only mean they have no sense of the presence of God in it. When we study the act of worship in Scripture and church history, we discover a variety of human responses to the sense of the presence of God. Some people tremble in terror, falling with their faces to the ground; others weep in mourning; some are exuberant in joy; still others are reduced to a pensive silence. Though the responses differ, one reaction we never find is boredom. It is impossible to be bored in the presence of God (if you know that He is there).

Neither is it possible for a sentient creature to find his or her encounter with God a matter of irrelevance. Nothing—and no one—is more relevant to human existence than the living God.

Coram Deo: Do you find worship boring and irrelevant? If so, pray for a renewed sense of God’s presence.

Psalm 95:6 “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker.”

Psalm 34:1 “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”

Psalm 50:23 “Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; and to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.”

Quote from John Ortberg

Those of us who are older tend to under-estimate the difference between generations. We think that what feels comfortable to us will not—or should not—be a barrier to those who are younger. Those of us who are younger tend to over-estimate the difference between generations. We feel as if those who are older are a different species and could never understand our experience. One of the most important concepts along these lines has to do with the notion of connection. Who feels “connected” at our church?

I used to think that connection had primarily to do with relationships. But it does not. Connectedness is a separate notion. It has to do with whether or not, when I enter a church, it feels like a place for “people like me.” How people dress, how they talk, what the music is like—many details create a sense of connection or disconnection.

If I feel connected, I am likely to overlook how disconnected people of another generation may feel. So we have to have constant conversations about the experience of people in our generation at our church. We will never be able to make all people feel totally connected at all services. But at least we have to be aware of the dynamics.

Just hear this song for the first time today in the car.  I was struck with its simplicity and clear message.  So I looked the lyrics up online (see below). Even though the title is “Song of Jabez” it should not be equated with the popular book by a similar title.

By the way, John Waller is the artist who wrote While I’m Waiting from the movie Fireproof.

The only place I found it to post is as the background for this video--focus on the song.

Song of Jabez

lyrics by  John Waller and Scott Johnson
music by  John Waller

According to Your will
According to Your will
I’m praying, I’m praying.
According to Your word
According to Your word
You hear me, yes You hear me.
According to Your heart
According to Your heart
You answer, when I pray

Father bless me indeed
You’re all that I need
Expand my horizons beyond what I see
Put Your hand upon me,
and keep me from evil today
This is what I pray

According to Your plan
I’m waiting
Yes I’m waiting
According to Your hand
You lead me
You lead me
According to Your love
You seek me
When I stray

Father bless me indeed
You’re all that I need
Expand my horizons beyond what I see
Put Your hand upon me,
and keep me from evil today
This is what I pray

The only blessing that I seek
Is to know You’re using me

So Father bless me indeed
You’re all that I need
Expand my horizons beyond what I see
Put Your hand upon me,
and keep me from evil today
Father bless me indeed
You’re all that I need
Expand my horizons beyond what I see
Put Your hand upon me,
and keep me from evil today…

According to Your will
According to Your will
I’m praying.

It’s Christmas Time!

Time to celebrate, to remember the birth of our Savior.

This coming week my wife will be sharing, with one of the classes I teach, one of our family traditions.  You can read about it here.  I think it is a great resource for families.

Free Music

25 Days of Christmas at Amazon.com

Two great songs by Red Mountain and two from Sojourner Music posted by Justin Taylor.  I really enjoy some of Red Mountains songs, they also remind me of Tenth Avenue North.

Justin Taylor also had a post on Advent and Children that might be helpful to those with young families along with a couple other post for teaching children about the Old and New Testament.

Learning Advent Together, Old Testament, New Testament

Fun

12 Days of Christmas?

There are a variety of ways to define worship; here are a few of mine.

Encounter and Expression

Encounter: Meeting with God, seeing, who He is, understanding His attributes and character, what He does for you
(It is thanksgiving focused on the source.)

Expression: Celebrating what God has done, who God is based on your encounter with Him, acting on what God has done

Authentic worship is seeing God while looking life squarely in the face

Jeremiah 9:23-24 Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” (ESV)

Worship is a verb, it must be active. It is not simply knowing that God is great, but it is proclaiming it and acting on it so that God will be glorified.
Worship involves life actions not just words.

Worship is getting impressed by God

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.

The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God.

For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. This is true not only of the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the Church. Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God.”

–A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy (New York: HarperCollins, 1961), 1.

So what impresses you about God?

The deepest kind of transformation takes place in us when we become so deeply impressed with God and His purposes in and through our lives that our will, our volition, becomes engaged in the process of change and growth. (Richard E. Averbeck, © “Transforming Discipleship: Foundations of Christian Spiritual Formation.” Spiritual Formation Forum, May 19, 2004)

I great song.

Nicole C. Mullen
Redeemer
Album: Redeemer: The Best Of Nicole C. Mullen

(Song starts at 1:15 in the video)

I was challenged recently by a statement in a sermon by David Loveless, pastor of Discovery Church in Orlando, Florida. He made a statement to the affect of, “I get tired of hearing people, in prayer, tell God, ‘thank you for who you are.’ If you said that to your wife, she would say, ‘Who do you see me as?’”

As I reflected on that challenge, I realized how often I have done just that, simply stated, “Thank you for who you are.” That really is shallow, lazy speech that does not honor God the way I should. So, I challenged myself to look not only at the character of God, but how I should respond to His character. The goal is to discipline my mind to think more deeply on the character of God, with the result that my character is changed.

So, here is my attempt to again think more deeply on who God is.

Who you are. . .

You are…
The Invisible God I long to see
The Infinite God I long to know

The Almighty God I must surrender to
The Unchanging God I must depend on

The Wise God I must listen to
The Kind God I should enjoy
The Good God I should thank

The Righteous God I must obey
The Just God before whom I must repent
The Holy God I must fear

The God of grace I must praise
The God of mercy in whom I must rejoice
The God of hope I should trust
The God of love I should love

The Triune God with whom I can have fellowship
The Sovereign God I must worship

−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

Here are some support text
Who you are. . .
You are…
The Invisible God I long to see
Romans 1:20; Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:17
The Infinite God I long to know
Hosea 6:6; Romans 11:33 Job 9:10; 11:7; Revelation 11:17

The Almighty God I must surrender to
Job 42:1-6; Psalm 68:14
The Unchanging God I must depend on
Hebrews 6:17-18

The Wise God I must listen to
1 Corinthians 1:20-25
The Kind God I should enjoy
Ecclesiastes 5:19; Titus 3:4-5; 1 Timothy 6:17-19
The Good God I should thank
1 Thessalonians 5:18

The Righteous God I must obey
Psalm 11:7; Romans 2:21-26; 2 Corinthians 5:21; James 1:20
The Just God before whom I must repent
Acts 26:20
The Holy God I must fear
Proverbs 2:1-5; 1:7; 9:10; Deuteronomy 6; Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

The God of grace I must praise
1 Corinthians 1:4
The God of mercy in whom I must rejoice
Philippians 4:4
The God of hope I should trust
Romans 15:13; Psalm 146:5
The God of love I should love
1 John 4:8-16

The Triune God with whom I can have fellowship
1 John 1:1-4; 2 Corinthians 13:14
The Sovereign God I must worship
Psalm 24:1-10; 47:7; 50:15

A wonderful song to help us prepare for our time with God in His Word (privately or corporately). It serves as a reminder that we need to hear and act on the truths of God’s authoritative Word. We never should approach the Word simply to accumulate knowledge or even just for answers for others. The Word is always to lead to the transformation of our lives—leading to impact on our circle of influence.

Words and Music by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend
Sung by Kristyn Getty
©2005 Thankyou Music (adm. by worshiptogether.com songs)

This video includes the wonderful words of the song.

Awesome!

I Will Rise
By: Chris Tomlin
Album: Hello Love

There’s a peace I’ve come to know
Though my heart and flesh may fail
There’s an anchor for my soul
I can say, It is well

Jesus has overcome
and the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

And I will rise
When He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise, on eagle’s wings
Before my God
fall on my knees,
and rise…
I will rise

There’s a day that’s drawing near
when this darkness breaks to light
and the shadows disappear
and my faith shall be my eyes

Jesus has overcome
and the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

And I will rise
when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise, on eagle’s wings
Before my God
fall on my knees,
and rise…
I will rise

And I hear the voice of many angels sing
Worthy is the Lamb!
And I hear the cry of every longing heart
Worthy is the Lamb!

And I hear the voice of many angels sing
Worthy is the Lamb!
And I hear the cry of every longing heart
Worthy is the Lamb!
You are worthy! You are worthy!
Worthy is the Lamb!

I’ve been praying for a friend who is going through a very painful and difficult season so this song is for him--with the encouragement that our Savior never fails, He knows and cares, He sees and understands. And even when we don’t understand, we can trust Him.

So when we cry for mercy and feel like there is no hope left--hold on and keep trusting.

Always
Building 429

I was standing in the pouring rain one dark November night
Fighting off the bitter cold when she caught my eye
Her face was taught and her eyes were filled, and to my surprise
She pulled out a photograph and my heart just stopped inside
She said, “He would’ve been three today
I miss his smile, I miss his face”
What was I supposed to say, but

CHORUS
I believe always, always
Our Savior never fails
Even when all hope is gone
God knows our pain and his promise remains
He will be with you always

He was living in a broken world, dreaming of a home
His heart was barely keeping pace when I found him all alone
Remembering the way he felt when his daddy said goodbye
Fighting just to keep the tears and the anger locked inside
He’s barely holding onto faith
But deliverance is on its way, cause

CHORUS
I believe always, always
Our Savior never fails
Even when all hope is gone
God knows our pain and his promise remains
He will be with you always

Friend, I don’t know where you are and I don’t know where you’ve been
Maybe you’re fighting for your life or just about to throw the towel in
But if you’re crying out for mercy, if there’s no hope left at all
If you’ve given everything you’ve got and you’re still about to fall
Well hold on, hold on, hold on, cause

I believe always, always
Our savior never fails
Even when all faith is gone
God knows our pain and his promise remains
Always, always, He will be with you always

Jason Roy © 2008 Shadow of Angels Publishing (BMI)/admin by Simpleville Music, Inc.