Fluency

Quote from Tullian Tchividjian, pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church.

We, too, ought to experience God with the totality of our being in worship. Worship services ought to inform the mind intellectually, engage the heart emotionally, and bend the will volitionally. God wants thoughtful worshippers who believe, emotional worshippers who behold, and obedient worshippers who behave. God-centered worship produces people who think deeply about God, feel passionately for God, and live urgently in response to God. Therefore, when we meet God in worship, we should expect a combination of gravity and gladness, depth and delight, doctrine and devotion, precept and passion, truth and love.

Read the whole article, Worship is a Big Deal.

I was exposed to this hymn written by John Newton on the Challies blog.

Though I grew up in a tradition where hymns were the dominant form of congregational signing, I don’t think I had heard this one before.

Having read the words I was intriguer to hear it song.
I found it on the iGrace music online hymnal (for those who want the music they have the piano and guitar music available to print).
And a rendition on YouTube (below).

Before watching the video, ponder the words.

Approach, My Soul, the Mercy Seat

words by John Newton
based on Ps. 32:5-7

Chorus: Approach, my soul, the mercy seat,
Where Jesus answers prayer; 
There humbly fall before His feet, 
For none can perish there.

1. Thy promise is my only plea, 
With this I venture nigh; 
Thou callest burdened souls to Thee 
And such, O Lord, am I.

2. Bowed down beneath a load of sin, 
By Satan sorely pressed, 
By wars without and fears within,
I come to Thee for rest.

3. Be Thou my shield and hiding place, 
That, sheltered near Thy side,
I may my fierce accuser face, 
And tell him Thou hast died!

4. O wondrous love! To bleed and die, 
To bear the cross and shame,
That guilty sinners, such as I, 
Might plead Thy gracious name!

©1998 Kevin Twit Music.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Additional Verses
courtesy of Michael Lyman

5. “Poor tempest-toss-ed soul, be still;
My promised grace receive;
I’ll work in thee both power and will;
Thou shalt in me believe.”

Love Has Come
by Mark Schultz
Album: Come Alive

Well I know this life is filled with sorrow
And there are days when the pain just lasts and lasts
But I know there will come a day
When all our tears are washed away with a break in the clouds
His glory coming down and in that moment

Every knee shall bow every tongue confess
That God is love and love has come for us all
Every heart set free every one will see
That God is love and love has come for us all

For anybody who has ever lost a loved one
And you feel like you had to let go too soon
I know it hurts to say goodbye
But don´t you know it´s just a matter of time till the tears are gonna end
You´ll see them once again and in that moment

Every knee shall bow every tongue confess
That God is love and love has come for us all
Every heart set free every one will see
That God is love and love has come for us all

Oh and on that day we will stand amazed
At our Savior God and King
Just to see the face of amazing grace
As our hearts rise up and sing

Glory glory hallelujah
Thank You for the cross
Singing glory glory hallelujah
Christ has paid the cost

Glory glory hallelujah
Thank You for the cross
Singing glory glory
Christ has paid the cost

And every knee shall bow every tongue confess
That God is love and love has come for us all
Every heart set free every one will see
That God is love and love has come for us all

Love has come for us all
Love has come for us all

And every knee shall bow every tongue confess
God is love and love has come for us all
Every heart set free every one will see
God is love and love has come for us all

Every knee shall bow every tongue confess
God is love and love has come for us all
Every heart set free every one will see
God is love and love has come for us all

I love theologically accurate moving worship music.

I listen, then bought, Only  Your Blood from the album Over the Grave from Sojourn music.

If you are on Facebook you can listen to a number of their songs (or their Myspace page).

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.

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

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!