Head and Heart
When we lead others in worship, there is so much more than singing going on. There is a battle for truth that is raging. That is why we must be careful in choosing the songs that we sing. There needs to be a healthy tension between our minds and our emotions as we worship. God calls us in Colossians 3:2 to 'set our minds on things above.' We are doing so much more than helping people escape from their lives for an hour, therefore the things that we say and sing about God must be intelligent and informed. This is the reason that we select songs based on lyrical content, not style. However, as we do this, we also must be careful that we do not worship God in a way that makes Him appear dull, because He is anything but dull! It is not our creativity that that brings excitement about the Father, it is helping people understand the truth of who He is that will do that. The danger in focusing too much on our minds is that we can end up leading a theologically sound but emotionally dead church. That does not bring glory to God.
We do want to stir the emotions of those we lead in worship. However we aren't trying to get them excited just for the sake of getting them excited. We aren't aiming for emotions that are shallow and fading. We are trying to stir in them deep affection for God that will last a lifetime. These emotions come from focusing on who God is and what He has done and is doing in our lives. When we really see God, it moves our hearts. We feel awe, sorrow for sin, gratefulness for mercy, and peace knowing that He is in control. When we fail to show that we delight in God, we are disobeying Him! We have more reason to celebrate than anyone on the planet!
That being said, emotional engagement can be misplaced. Our goal is to have people's emotions moving as a result of God's power in their lives, not just because they like the song we sang. Experience alone is not the goal, experiencing God is the goal.
This is much more than a debate on hymns vs. choruses. Each group has songs that fall into both of these categories. It is our job as worship leaders to make sure that we keep a healthy tension between our heads and our hearts, to anything less would not be glorifying to God. "We have to remember that neither biblical truth or deep emotion is out of place when we worship God; they're meant to go together. Let's keep the healthy tension strong."
Enjoy the Journey
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Transcendent and Immanent
Our God is both transcendent and immanent. Wow, now those are words we use everyday! "Transcendence means that God is independent from and superior to His creation." In other words, God is God, and we are not. It is helpful for us to remember that when we come together to worship. It takes our focus off of ourselves and places it where it belongs, on God. So how do we respond to a God that is independent from and superior to us? We should respond with reverence, honor, and respect. You see this throughout scripture, when people encounter God, they are stunned, they fall on their faces, some even pass out! Respect and awe are definitely part of the experience. That is why Cathedrals are built the way they are, the object is to inspire awe of our Creator. If you've visited one of these massive Cathedrals, you understand exactly what I am talking about. Hymns like Holy, Holy, Holy teach us about God's transcendence. "All Thy works shall praise Thy name in earth, in sky, in sea." Sometimes we come into worship too casually and we lose sight of this truth. Our goal is to make God approachable, which He is, but we must not forget that He is altogether unlike us. He is Holy, and He is to be respected. He says in Isaiah 46:9, "I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me."
God is transcendent, but He is also immanent. That means that He is near to us. Although He is superior to us, He doesn't leave us alone. Acts teaches us that 'in Him we live and move and have our being.' Jesus came to earth to dwell among us, how much more immanent can you get? I'll tell you, when Jesus left, He sent the Holy Spirit to come and dwell WITHIN us! Many praise choruses emphasize God's immanence. They help us to sing not just about God, but to Him.
So how do we maintain a healthy tension? We have to remember that different services will focus on different aspects of God. One may lean more towards His transcendence, while another to His immanence. As leaders, we have to learn when to be somber and when to be warm. The best way to maintain this healthy tension is to keep our focus on the gospel. God's transcendence demanded the death of His own Son for our sins! Yet through His immanence and Christ's death we are now adopted children of God!
Isaiah 57:15 says, "For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: 'I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.'"
Charles Surgeon said, "I can admire the solemn and stately language of worship that recognizes the greatness of God, but it will not warm my heart or express my soul until it has also blended therewith the joyful nearness of that perfect love that casts out fear and ventures to speak with our Father in heaven as a child speaks with its father on earth. My brother, no veil remains."
Our God is a consuming fire. The Lord of all creation. But praise God, no veil remains, and we can approach the throne with confidence, as a child of God.
Enjoy the Journey
Our God is both transcendent and immanent. Wow, now those are words we use everyday! "Transcendence means that God is independent from and superior to His creation." In other words, God is God, and we are not. It is helpful for us to remember that when we come together to worship. It takes our focus off of ourselves and places it where it belongs, on God. So how do we respond to a God that is independent from and superior to us? We should respond with reverence, honor, and respect. You see this throughout scripture, when people encounter God, they are stunned, they fall on their faces, some even pass out! Respect and awe are definitely part of the experience. That is why Cathedrals are built the way they are, the object is to inspire awe of our Creator. If you've visited one of these massive Cathedrals, you understand exactly what I am talking about. Hymns like Holy, Holy, Holy teach us about God's transcendence. "All Thy works shall praise Thy name in earth, in sky, in sea." Sometimes we come into worship too casually and we lose sight of this truth. Our goal is to make God approachable, which He is, but we must not forget that He is altogether unlike us. He is Holy, and He is to be respected. He says in Isaiah 46:9, "I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me."
God is transcendent, but He is also immanent. That means that He is near to us. Although He is superior to us, He doesn't leave us alone. Acts teaches us that 'in Him we live and move and have our being.' Jesus came to earth to dwell among us, how much more immanent can you get? I'll tell you, when Jesus left, He sent the Holy Spirit to come and dwell WITHIN us! Many praise choruses emphasize God's immanence. They help us to sing not just about God, but to Him.
So how do we maintain a healthy tension? We have to remember that different services will focus on different aspects of God. One may lean more towards His transcendence, while another to His immanence. As leaders, we have to learn when to be somber and when to be warm. The best way to maintain this healthy tension is to keep our focus on the gospel. God's transcendence demanded the death of His own Son for our sins! Yet through His immanence and Christ's death we are now adopted children of God!
Isaiah 57:15 says, "For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: 'I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.'"
Charles Surgeon said, "I can admire the solemn and stately language of worship that recognizes the greatness of God, but it will not warm my heart or express my soul until it has also blended therewith the joyful nearness of that perfect love that casts out fear and ventures to speak with our Father in heaven as a child speaks with its father on earth. My brother, no veil remains."
Our God is a consuming fire. The Lord of all creation. But praise God, no veil remains, and we can approach the throne with confidence, as a child of God.
Enjoy the Journey
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Healthy Tensions: Guiding Principles
Every church has a liturgy. All that means is 'a public way of doing things.' The question often arises, 'how are we supposed to do church?' We have to ask ourselves if what we are doing is biblical or just a preference, just the way we've always done it? This is not a new question. John Calvin, when he separated himself from the Catholic Church, started following what became known as the 'regulative principle.' In a nutshell, that means that if scripture doesn't clearly command that we do it, it is forbidden in worship. Some churches who follow this do not use instruments or songs other than Psalms in worship. Martin Luther on the other hand, followed the thought that whatever scripture doesn't forbid is allowed. Over the years, the two schools of thought have produced split after split, denomination after denomination. So why is it so hard to figure out what God wants us to do?
One reason is that God hasn't been extremely specific in this area. There is no service order that we are to follow anywhere in the pages of scripture. In the Old Testament we see choirs, musicians, processions, priests, robes, annual celebrations, and instrumental praise. However the New Testament rarely mentions those things. Should we praise God with singing, dancing, and instruments (Psalm 149) or with reverence and awe (Hebrews 12:28)? That depends on who you ask.
Another reason is that we tend to read the Bible through the lens of what we like to do! Charismatics focus on singing and dancing, Presbyterians focus on doing everything 'decently and in order.' Various churches emphasize 'holistic worship, cultural relevance, and ministry to the poor.' "Whether a tradition is three hundred, thirty, or three years old, the danger is the same. We start with Scripture but eventually invest ultimate authority in our own traditions and views."
Still another reason is that some people claim God hasn't said anything about how we should worship Him, so anything goes! The fact of the matter is that is false. Scripture teaches us to pray together, to have pastors preach and explain God's Word, sing praises, and how to participate in the Lord's Supper! God hasn't given us a detailed outline, but He certainly hasn't left us in the dark either.
So how do we decide what we do in worship? We try to follow three rules: 1. Do what God clearly commands. 2. Don't do what god clearly forbids. 3. Use scriptural wisdom for everything else. Just because God didn't give us a service order doesn't mean that we don't filter everything we do through the lens of the Bible.
There are things that are not negotiable. "God alone determines how we approach Him, what we call Him, and how we relate to Him. Jesus is the only Savior, who died and rose for all who would ever turn from their sins and rust in His atoning sacrifice for forgiveness. Worshiping god is impossible without the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. These are nonnegotiable truths that aren't open to discussion." Just about everything else on the other hand...is open for discussion.
We should always be seeking to learn from other in this area of worship. We can't afford to become locked in to thinking that our way is the only way to worship. We have much to learn from each other. It is like setting up a volleyball net. The net can only be set up when there is a healthy tension between the two poles, if one pole is not providing tension, the whole thing will collapse. Rather than viewing those who have different opinions about how worship "should be" as opponents, we need to learn to appreciate other perspectives. As long as it is not unbiblical, we should think of other perspectives as both/and rather than either/or.
Over the next several weeks we will be taking a look at healthy tensions. By default, we will lean one way or the other on pretty much all of these subjects. Our challenge is to remain humbly obedient to the scripture, and not rely solely on our opinions. In this way we will help to ensure that both poles remain standing. The danger here is examining these tensions may reveal to us changes that we need to make both in our church and in our lives. We have all undergone some pretty drastic changes recently, and we have to remember that our church won't change overnight. Truth must be patiently and humbly taught, retaught, and modeled, and I thank all of you for the role that you are playing in accomplishing this.
As we work together to glorify God, "may our meetings and churches be places where God is truly worshiped in spirit and truth, where people exalt God without having to choose sides, and where the glory of Jesus Christ is clearly seen in all we do."
Enjoy the Journey
Every church has a liturgy. All that means is 'a public way of doing things.' The question often arises, 'how are we supposed to do church?' We have to ask ourselves if what we are doing is biblical or just a preference, just the way we've always done it? This is not a new question. John Calvin, when he separated himself from the Catholic Church, started following what became known as the 'regulative principle.' In a nutshell, that means that if scripture doesn't clearly command that we do it, it is forbidden in worship. Some churches who follow this do not use instruments or songs other than Psalms in worship. Martin Luther on the other hand, followed the thought that whatever scripture doesn't forbid is allowed. Over the years, the two schools of thought have produced split after split, denomination after denomination. So why is it so hard to figure out what God wants us to do?
One reason is that God hasn't been extremely specific in this area. There is no service order that we are to follow anywhere in the pages of scripture. In the Old Testament we see choirs, musicians, processions, priests, robes, annual celebrations, and instrumental praise. However the New Testament rarely mentions those things. Should we praise God with singing, dancing, and instruments (Psalm 149) or with reverence and awe (Hebrews 12:28)? That depends on who you ask.
Another reason is that we tend to read the Bible through the lens of what we like to do! Charismatics focus on singing and dancing, Presbyterians focus on doing everything 'decently and in order.' Various churches emphasize 'holistic worship, cultural relevance, and ministry to the poor.' "Whether a tradition is three hundred, thirty, or three years old, the danger is the same. We start with Scripture but eventually invest ultimate authority in our own traditions and views."
Still another reason is that some people claim God hasn't said anything about how we should worship Him, so anything goes! The fact of the matter is that is false. Scripture teaches us to pray together, to have pastors preach and explain God's Word, sing praises, and how to participate in the Lord's Supper! God hasn't given us a detailed outline, but He certainly hasn't left us in the dark either.
So how do we decide what we do in worship? We try to follow three rules: 1. Do what God clearly commands. 2. Don't do what god clearly forbids. 3. Use scriptural wisdom for everything else. Just because God didn't give us a service order doesn't mean that we don't filter everything we do through the lens of the Bible.
There are things that are not negotiable. "God alone determines how we approach Him, what we call Him, and how we relate to Him. Jesus is the only Savior, who died and rose for all who would ever turn from their sins and rust in His atoning sacrifice for forgiveness. Worshiping god is impossible without the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. These are nonnegotiable truths that aren't open to discussion." Just about everything else on the other hand...is open for discussion.
We should always be seeking to learn from other in this area of worship. We can't afford to become locked in to thinking that our way is the only way to worship. We have much to learn from each other. It is like setting up a volleyball net. The net can only be set up when there is a healthy tension between the two poles, if one pole is not providing tension, the whole thing will collapse. Rather than viewing those who have different opinions about how worship "should be" as opponents, we need to learn to appreciate other perspectives. As long as it is not unbiblical, we should think of other perspectives as both/and rather than either/or.
Over the next several weeks we will be taking a look at healthy tensions. By default, we will lean one way or the other on pretty much all of these subjects. Our challenge is to remain humbly obedient to the scripture, and not rely solely on our opinions. In this way we will help to ensure that both poles remain standing. The danger here is examining these tensions may reveal to us changes that we need to make both in our church and in our lives. We have all undergone some pretty drastic changes recently, and we have to remember that our church won't change overnight. Truth must be patiently and humbly taught, retaught, and modeled, and I thank all of you for the role that you are playing in accomplishing this.
As we work together to glorify God, "may our meetings and churches be places where God is truly worshiped in spirit and truth, where people exalt God without having to choose sides, and where the glory of Jesus Christ is clearly seen in all we do."
Enjoy the Journey
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
To Live for God's Glory
If we are truly worshiping God, we are in a constant state of change. We are constantly becoming more and more like Him! Encountering God changes people, and it changes them every time they encounter Him. Worshiping God should make us more humble. "If we see even a glimpse of the glory and splendor of God, it will produce a genuine humility in our hearts. There is nothing about encountering God that should exalt us." It is impossible to be prideful and worship God at the same time? Why? Because when we worship God we come face to face with the fact that God Himself paid the price for our rebellion against Him! How backwards is that? "I am a worshiper of God because Jesus died and rose to make me one, not because I earned the right to be one."
Worshiping God should make us secure. So many of us rely on ourselves for our security. We rely on our homes, our families, our jobs, you name it, it all comes back to us. But our ultimate security comes from the unchanging love of God, which we see most clearly at Calvary. When Calvary isn't at the center of our focus, we start to drift back to the same things we used to rely on before we came to know Christ. Calvary is the reminder that nothing will ever 'separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.'
Worshiping God should make us grateful. On his radio show, Dave Ramsey almost always responds to the question, 'How are you doing?' with 'Better than I deserve!' I used to think that was kind of weird. I mean the guy has worked hard his whole life and is now a multi-millionaire who helps people get control of their finances using the teachings of the Bible. I thought, he does deserve to be doing that well! But "the truth is, we're all doing better than we deserve! Because of our sin, we deserve hell!" Maybe we should all start saying 'better than I deserve.' When I think of it in those terms, it is hard to not be grateful for every breath I take that isn't in hell. "When we gaze on the cross of Christ and truly recognize that we should be hanging there instead, what response can there be but overflowing gratefulness?"
Worshiping God should make us holy. Being holy means to be 'set apart.' God asks us to be holy because He is holy. He is fiercely opposed to all evil and sin. If He wasn't, He wouldn't be good, and He wouldn't be who He is. Although few of us really talk about holiness and many in our culture either mock or don't understand it, we have to remember that it is precious in God's eyes. We as worship leaders need to remind the church of this when we gather to worship Him.
Worshiping God should make us loving. 1 John 4:20 says, "If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen." Wow. Now that is a hard teaching. Because let's face it, there are some people who we just don't get along with at all. But God calls us to love those people. In fact, He says that if we don't love them, then we can't love Him! "It's inconsistent to profess that we love God while withholding love from those He came to save." We need to be reminded, and we need to remind others that if we are not displaying love to others, we cannot display love to God.
Worshiping God should make us mission minded. Jesus had one mission when He came to earth. To seek and to save the lost. When He left He gave His disciples one mission: to go and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey everything that He commanded them! God desires that all people come to know Him, and we are the instruments that He has chosen to fulfill that mission!
"If worshipers leave a service with no thought of becoming more godly in their lives, then the purpose of worship has not been achieved." Do you believe that? Do you come to worship each week seeking ways to become more godly? When you do, worship will be a joy. "The joy is ours. The glory is His."
Enjoy the Journey
If we are truly worshiping God, we are in a constant state of change. We are constantly becoming more and more like Him! Encountering God changes people, and it changes them every time they encounter Him. Worshiping God should make us more humble. "If we see even a glimpse of the glory and splendor of God, it will produce a genuine humility in our hearts. There is nothing about encountering God that should exalt us." It is impossible to be prideful and worship God at the same time? Why? Because when we worship God we come face to face with the fact that God Himself paid the price for our rebellion against Him! How backwards is that? "I am a worshiper of God because Jesus died and rose to make me one, not because I earned the right to be one."
Worshiping God should make us secure. So many of us rely on ourselves for our security. We rely on our homes, our families, our jobs, you name it, it all comes back to us. But our ultimate security comes from the unchanging love of God, which we see most clearly at Calvary. When Calvary isn't at the center of our focus, we start to drift back to the same things we used to rely on before we came to know Christ. Calvary is the reminder that nothing will ever 'separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.'
Worshiping God should make us grateful. On his radio show, Dave Ramsey almost always responds to the question, 'How are you doing?' with 'Better than I deserve!' I used to think that was kind of weird. I mean the guy has worked hard his whole life and is now a multi-millionaire who helps people get control of their finances using the teachings of the Bible. I thought, he does deserve to be doing that well! But "the truth is, we're all doing better than we deserve! Because of our sin, we deserve hell!" Maybe we should all start saying 'better than I deserve.' When I think of it in those terms, it is hard to not be grateful for every breath I take that isn't in hell. "When we gaze on the cross of Christ and truly recognize that we should be hanging there instead, what response can there be but overflowing gratefulness?"
Worshiping God should make us holy. Being holy means to be 'set apart.' God asks us to be holy because He is holy. He is fiercely opposed to all evil and sin. If He wasn't, He wouldn't be good, and He wouldn't be who He is. Although few of us really talk about holiness and many in our culture either mock or don't understand it, we have to remember that it is precious in God's eyes. We as worship leaders need to remind the church of this when we gather to worship Him.
Worshiping God should make us loving. 1 John 4:20 says, "If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen." Wow. Now that is a hard teaching. Because let's face it, there are some people who we just don't get along with at all. But God calls us to love those people. In fact, He says that if we don't love them, then we can't love Him! "It's inconsistent to profess that we love God while withholding love from those He came to save." We need to be reminded, and we need to remind others that if we are not displaying love to others, we cannot display love to God.
Worshiping God should make us mission minded. Jesus had one mission when He came to earth. To seek and to save the lost. When He left He gave His disciples one mission: to go and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey everything that He commanded them! God desires that all people come to know Him, and we are the instruments that He has chosen to fulfill that mission!
"If worshipers leave a service with no thought of becoming more godly in their lives, then the purpose of worship has not been achieved." Do you believe that? Do you come to worship each week seeking ways to become more godly? When you do, worship will be a joy. "The joy is ours. The glory is His."
Enjoy the Journey
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Cherishing the Presence of God
Have you ever experienced the presence of God? Are you experiencing it on a daily basis? Psalm 139 tells us that there is nowhere we can go to flee from His presence, and that is both thrilling and terrifying isn't it? While God is present all the time, I think that sometimes He displays His presence more powerfully than other times (example: Moses and the burning bush). God promised us that He would be with us when we gather together with just 2 or 3 people. He is present when we sing, and He reveals Himself through the Word when it is preached. No doubt we have had experiences in worship when we have thought, 'no doubt about it, God is here.' Sometimes God reveals His presence in a powerful way when we are all alone. He does it through that unexplainable wave of peace or joy at just the moment we need it most.
We need to realize that God's presence is with us all the time. We need to realize this because it is easy to assume that since we often feel God's presence during music and worship, that it is those things that bring us into His presence. But this is not the case. The truth is, only the death and resurrection of Jesus has made it possible for us to come into God's presence! His presence is something that we can experience on a daily basis, not just for the 20 minutes or so that we sing together on a Sunday morning.
As we've said before, worship is something that we do every second of every day. We worship Him and thank Him for His awesome presence in our lives. How much time do you spend thinking about the fact that you are in the presence of the Creator of the universe? It's a pretty awesome thought. Everything we do as we worship Him with our lives is preparing us for the day when we get to be with Him in heaven. God is present with us now, in this room, but when we get there we will experience His presence as never before!
"Very soon you and I will be standing before the majesty and glory of God. We'll take our place among the throngs of heaven, made up of people from every tribe, language, people, and tongue who have been purchased by the blood of the Lamb. We'll understand that our lives on earth were on the cover and title page to what lies ahead. We'll begin, 'Chapter One of the great story,' as C.S. Lewis writes, 'which goes on forever; in which every chapter is better than the one before.' We don't know when that day will come. It might be tomorrow. It might be decades from now. But it will come. We'll close our eyes momentarily-then open them up again, and we'll be home!"
Come quickly Lord Jesus.
Enjoy the Journey
Have you ever experienced the presence of God? Are you experiencing it on a daily basis? Psalm 139 tells us that there is nowhere we can go to flee from His presence, and that is both thrilling and terrifying isn't it? While God is present all the time, I think that sometimes He displays His presence more powerfully than other times (example: Moses and the burning bush). God promised us that He would be with us when we gather together with just 2 or 3 people. He is present when we sing, and He reveals Himself through the Word when it is preached. No doubt we have had experiences in worship when we have thought, 'no doubt about it, God is here.' Sometimes God reveals His presence in a powerful way when we are all alone. He does it through that unexplainable wave of peace or joy at just the moment we need it most.
We need to realize that God's presence is with us all the time. We need to realize this because it is easy to assume that since we often feel God's presence during music and worship, that it is those things that bring us into His presence. But this is not the case. The truth is, only the death and resurrection of Jesus has made it possible for us to come into God's presence! His presence is something that we can experience on a daily basis, not just for the 20 minutes or so that we sing together on a Sunday morning.
As we've said before, worship is something that we do every second of every day. We worship Him and thank Him for His awesome presence in our lives. How much time do you spend thinking about the fact that you are in the presence of the Creator of the universe? It's a pretty awesome thought. Everything we do as we worship Him with our lives is preparing us for the day when we get to be with Him in heaven. God is present with us now, in this room, but when we get there we will experience His presence as never before!
"Very soon you and I will be standing before the majesty and glory of God. We'll take our place among the throngs of heaven, made up of people from every tribe, language, people, and tongue who have been purchased by the blood of the Lamb. We'll understand that our lives on earth were on the cover and title page to what lies ahead. We'll begin, 'Chapter One of the great story,' as C.S. Lewis writes, 'which goes on forever; in which every chapter is better than the one before.' We don't know when that day will come. It might be tomorrow. It might be decades from now. But it will come. We'll close our eyes momentarily-then open them up again, and we'll be home!"
Come quickly Lord Jesus.
Enjoy the Journey
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