Lent Devotional Series, Day 32

This post is part of a series of devotional videos put together by New Covenant Community Church. For more information, view my first post of the series here.

Here are my thoughts on Deuteronomy 8:1-16.

The Greatness and Goodness of God

When it comes to relating to God in the Old Testament, a prevalent theme is that of awe, mixed with a bit of fear. In Genesis 28, Jacob has a vivid dream of God. When he wakes, he is strongly aware of God's presence, and his reaction is awe and fear. Why?

The wonders and signs of God are sort of unimaginable. Through our 21st century lens, we view stories in the Bible—of a flood that covered the earth, or an army bringing down the walls of Jericho with a loud shout, or a man healing the blind, or raising another man from the dead—with skepticism. If these stories are true, then it changes our reality: what we thought was impossible is possible by the greatness of God. For the people who witnessed these events first hand, the same shift must surely have occurred, and they must have felt a sense of fear. We hear them ask questions like, "Who among the gods is like you, LORD? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?" (Exodus 15:11)

The same God, called mighty and awesome over and over in the Bible, is not only a great God, but also a good God. We see God working good in the life of Joseph for Jacob's family in the midst of some pretty dire circumstances (Genesis 37-50). Over and over again, God blesses, leads, sustains his people. Again, some of the stories—of God leading the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, or providing miraculous food for a woman and her son, or rescuing the disciples from a storm at sea—we view with skepticism. If God is this good, then it may challenge our reality: it's easy to see the darkness and pain around us and wonder at this great God. It might bring comfort to know that the people of the Bible often wondered the same thing. We read questions like, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?" (Psalm 22:1)

When we find ourselves asking these questions, we must always look at Jesus. He is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). He encompasses the greatness of God, in the miracles he performed and his resurrection from the grave. He shows the goodness of God, in the compassion he shows the widow, the child in his presence, and the outcasts of society. In Jesus the Church—the people of the kingdom of God—grows and shares the good news with the nations. Followers of Jesus have throughout history shown God's greatness and goodness: through founding hospitals, establishing relief organizations, rescuing women from sex trade, serving soup to the homeless, crossing the street to a neighbor in need. These things, big and small, show forth God's goodness and greatness, and prove true the miracles we see in the Bible.

When we sing songs of God's goodness and greatness, as we have the past two weekends, may we remember. May we be in awe, may we let God shift our reality. And may we live through that lens, letting God guide us to a world that needs Jesus more than ever.

Lent Devotional Series, Day 26

This post is part of a series of devotional videos put together by New Covenant Community Church. For more information, view my first post of the series here.

Here are my thoughts on Hebrews 4:1-13.

Lent Devotional Series, Day 20

This post is part of a series of devotional videos put together by New Covenant Community Church. For more information, view my first post of the series here.

Here are my thoughts on Ephesians 1:3-6.

Have You Ever Seen the Wonder?

I’m grateful that I grew up in a strong family environment, with parents who found ways for my brother and I to experience the world at its fullest. We savored food grown in the garden, or game hunted afield. We went to concerts together, from choral Christmas music to Pink Floyd. We took road trip vacations more often than not, in a time without built-in DVD players; I remember watching the country go by and wondering at the places and people and stories we passed. We swam in boundary waters, laughed with family and friends, shared books with each other, sat around the wood stove, listened to coyotes at night. “Wow” was as common a word as “hello” or “goodbye.”

I think this foundation has led me to do the same with my family. Not only do I love making memories with them, I also love seeing my three kids wonder at new experiences. Many of them are old to me now, but through them I get to revisit the joy and awe of a clear, quiet night under the stars, or a twist ending of a good book, or a perfect chocolate chip cookie right out of the oven. I feel alive running around an amusement park with them, exploring a forest on foot trails, or seeing their laughter the first time they meet Chunk, Sloth, Mikey and the rest of the gang in The Goonies. 

To take a familiar but favorite experience, and to see someone else experience it for the first time is a gift.

And that’s what Jesus gives us. In Christ we have a chance to view the world with a new sense of wonder and awe. Creation is beautiful and full of life and color. Relationships long worn thin are given a second chance at substantive connection and love. The world is not a place full of danger; it’s a place full of opportunity. To share, to love, to heal, to restore: this is the invitation of the Gospel. We get to join in the work of re-creation that God is doing in us and around us. And then we get to invite others in, and experience the wonder of it all themselves.

What stands in the way of you seeing the wonder of Jesus today? “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8:38-39)

Nothing comes between us and God’s love. Jesus paid the price completely on the cross. 

Wonder at the deep and powerful love of God, shown in Christ Jesus. 

Wonder at the gift of each day, each minute, each breath.

Wonder, and walk in the light.

(Inspired by the song “Wonder,” from Hillsong United.)

Lent Devotional Series, Day 14

This post is part of a series of devotional videos put together by New Covenant Community Church. For more information, view my first post of the series here.

Here are my thoughts on Psalm 19.

Lent Devotional Series, Day 8

This post is part of a series of devotional videos put together by New Covenant Community Church. For more information, view my first post of the series here.

Here are my thoughts on Romans 3:21-31.

Praise the Lord, My Soul

On Sunday we opened the service with Psalm 103:

"Praise the Lord, my soul;

all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

Praise the Lord, my soul,

and forget not all his benefits—" (v. 1-2)

Isn't it interesting that David, who has followed God since he was young, first must rouse his soul to praise God? He prompts himself to worship. He attends to his inner life and exhorts himself to praise God. I don't think he's revealing a heart that doesn't praise God in any way. After all, he's writing the music, he's playing the song. Instead, I think he's meditating and preparing his heart, encouraging himself to praise God in every way. David wants to make sure he is wholly focused on praising/blessing the Lord.

David does this often: he prepares himself to worship. It makes me feel more comfortable, because there are times when I'm not ready to sing God's praise at the start of service. My mind, or my heart, or my soul is elsewhere. It takes intention and sometimes a laying aside of myself in order to fully praise God. If I'm focused on how my coffee is too cold, or what I'm doing later in the day, or my family, or my friends, or anything other than Him, then I'm not fully engaged in worship. Praise the Lord, my soul. Put your attention and your hope in God.

Then David gives himself a little more direction, pointing to all the ways God blesses him:

"who forgives all your sins

and heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit

and crowns you with love and compassion,

who satisfies your desires with good things

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's." (v. 3-5)

Every day, every moment, we are reaping the benefits of a loving God. In Christ, we know complete forgiveness of sin: past, present, and future. In Christ we know redemption; more than that, we are crowned in Christ with love and compassion. In Christ we have our needs and even our desires satisfied with good things. God is so good to us! Praise the Lord, my soul.

He goes on to recount God's deeds of the past, God's character. And then, with the fullness of what God does and who God is resonating throughout his whole self, David turns to the rest of creation, exhorting everything to praise God:

"Praise the Lord, you his angels,

you mighty ones who do his bidding,

who obey his word.

Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,

you his servants who do his will.

Praise the Lord, all his works

everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul." (v. 20-22)

David attends to himself before he calls on creation to worship God. If we want the world to change, we must first work to change ourselves. If we want every nation, tribe and tongue to worship God, we must first attend to our own worship. Are we going to live a life that is half-heartedly following Jesus? How will this be seen in the world? We must drink of the living water and remember how Jesus satisfies. Then, from the deep well of knowing God's goodness ourselves, we can give a drink to those around us. Praise the Lord, my soul.

Lent Devotional Series, Day 2

This year New Covenant Community Church put together a reading plan and devotional video series to follow through Lent. We've done something similar in the past, but never a series of videos from our pastoral staff. Our hope was to create a greater sense of community, inviting all of our congregation to read a daily passage, watch the video, respond in some way, and pray.

Readings were picked from the daily readings of the Revised Common Lectionary, Year B. Devotional videos were recorded and edited with my old iPhone and shared on Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter. We divided the devotional videos between the five members of the pastoral team.

Here are my thoughts on Psalm 25:1-10.

Every Tribe, People, Language

Worship is spiritual formation. Every Sunday, when we gather, we are being shaped and molded by the message, the songs we sing, the order of the service, the announcements, the prayers, standing, sitting, closing our eyes, raising our hands... everything we do together on Sunday helps us yield more of ourselves to worship Jesus Monday through Saturday.

This week I was particularly excited for our worship service because I asked Elba and Danielle, both from Brazil and both of whom speak Portuguese fluently, to sing parts of "10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)" in their native language. I was inspired to have a foreign language reach my ears and heart as we worshiped God together, for several reasons:

1. It gives us perspective.
It's easy to get focused inward and only see our small corner of the global Church. The Church--capital 'C' denotes the universal collective of Jesus followers, from the first disciples of first century, to the expanding Church of today, to the believers that will follow us, until Jesus' Kingdom comes--is so much bigger than we usually imagine! When we remember this truth, we are prompted to celebrate and thank God for those who have gone before, to pray for those under persecution today, and to commit to God those who will believe the Gospel tomorrow.

2. It tells the Biblical story.
Acts 2 has this great scene where tongues of fire fall on the gathered disciples of Jesus, and they begin speaking in foreign languages. As a result, people overhear the praise of God in their own tongue, and it sets up a moment of witness: many put their trust in Jesus.

Likewise, the New Testament gives us a picture of people from diverse backgrounds and cultures coming together under the banner of Jesus. Sometimes this leads to friction, but God's invitation is clearly open to everyone, no matter their background.

Likewise, Revelation (John's vision of heaven and Kingdom come) portrays God's throne as a place where people of every tribe, nation, people, and language are gathered in eternal praise. When we hear/sing in different languages, we get a sense of the diversity of believers, and the diversity of heaven.

3. It opens our doors wider.
I know from conversations with people over the years that visiting a church can be intimidating, especially if there is a language or color barrier. I pray our church can be a place that welcomes everyone. When we include diversity in our leadership, in our songs, and in language, we practice hospitality.


For the sake of the world, and for our sake as worshipers, let us be people who celebrate the diversity of language, tribe, nation and people who make up the collective Church of Jesus Christ!

Surprised By God

Troy's message on Sunday had me thinking the rest of the day. We are loved by a God who loves to surprise us. Just think about Mary and Martha in John 11. As Troy pointed out, they couldn't even conceive what was about to happen. If you had been here, they told Jesus, you could have healed our brother. In their minds, the chance was lost. Lazarus, their brother, was dead, and that was the end of the story.

But they were wrong.

With Jesus, the end of the story is just the beginning of something new, unexpected, surprising.

I love movies with big plot twists. I like realizing I was watching an entirely different plot unfold, just hidden from view. When the twist suddenly comes to light, I want to watch again, to find the clues scattered through the film. There's a new joy in seeing the movie with new knowledge. Think of the first time you saw M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense, or Christopher Nolan's The Prestige. Suddenly all the throw away lines and moments that seemed insignificant are revealed to be telling their own story. I love watching these movies over again to see the new story just beneath the surface.

"God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8 reminds us that God loves to surprise us. When we were helpless in our sin, when we couldn't help ourselves out of our situation, when we thought all hope was lost, that's when God surprised us: it is finished. 

The price is paid. Our sin has been atoned for. And God did it for us. He came and willingly went to the cross on our behalf. That's how much He loves us. If that isn't surprising, I don't know what is. With Jesus, the end of the story is actually the beginning of redemption, sanctification, new life, pointing always to the day when He will return for us. When we realize that plot twist, we see the real story just under the surface. 

(Side note: my daughter and I have been reading through The Jesus Storybook Bible. It's a great way to read the story while also seeing the bigger story of Jesus within all the smaller stories of the Bible. I highly recommend it.)

When was the last time you recognized being surprised by God? It happens all the time, if you look for it. In the light of knowing the plot twist, that God loves you so much that He would do everything to be with you, look at your story again, and see God's story just under the surface...

You are loved.

You are His.

You are part of the greatest, the best, story.

How Great You Are

In 1885, coming home from a church service in Kronobäck, Sweden, Carl Boberg observed a quickly growing and advancing thunderstorm. The lightning, the thunder, the winds and rain that came, were awesome to see and experience. After arriving home, Boberg opened his window to the clear sky that followed the storm to hear a thrush, as well as funeral bells tolling in the distance. The stillness of the nearby water, and the warm air following the rain, were powerfully beautiful. That evening, inspired by all he experienced, he wrote the song "O Store Gud" (O Great God).

In the 1930s, British missionary Stuart Hine first heard a Russian translation of the German version of "O Store Gud" in the Carpathian Mountains (Ukraine). Inspired by the song, he paraphrased it into English under the title "How Great Thou Art." He added his own verses to Boberg's. The third verse ("And when I think...") was written after Hine and his wife entered a Ukrainian village just in time to witness the repentance of several villagers, the result of Hine giving a woman in the village a Bible several years prior. The fourth verse ("When Christ shall come...") was written following World War II, when Hine met an exiled Polish man separated from his wife, who knew he would probably never see her again on earth, but joyfully looked forward to their reunion with Christ in Heaven.

And centuries before Jesus was born to Mary, the psalmist praised God as Creator of the many wonders around him in Psalm 104. On Sunday we read just the opening and closing of Psalm 104, but if you delve into the interior verses, you'll discover the psalmist gushing over it all, from mundane and practical vegetation (v. 14) to the vast and terrifying sea (v. 25-26). He marvels at darkness and the creatures hidden within (v. 20-21). He beholds the powerful cedars of Lebanon, home to the birds and storks (v. 16-17). He takes joy in wine, and oil, and bread (v. 15).

The message of Psalm 104, and of "How Great Thou Art," is to recognize God's greatness displayed all around us in his creation. Have you done that today? It may be hot out... isn't the life-giving sun amazing? As you prepare dinner tonight... thank God for the goodness of food and drink! When you are talking with your friend... isn't it incredible how God intertwines our souls with others?

Take a moment as often as God prompts you to look, taste, touch, listen, or smell the world around you, and praise God for it. See his creativity in everything from the scent of the morning dew to the beauty and diversity of music.

Worship is found in these moments.

When we allow God to speak into them, we see his glory, and we can respond with praise.

"May my meditation be pleasing to [God], as I rejoice in the LORD." (v. 34)

Galatians 2:20

What was your take on Sunday's message, and Tim's four challenges to New Cov in 2017? I can tell you that, this time last year, one of the challenges would have filled me with a sense of guilt and frustration. Let me explain my reaction, and why I don't feel the same now about this particular challenge.

As a follower of Jesus, one of my least favorite questions to be asked has been, "What are you reading in your quiet times?" It brings to mind glaringly the discipline of Scripture reading. I have struggled with consistency in this discipline, sometimes going through periods of barely reading the Bible at all. Definitely not daily. I knew I was pushing aside something important. I just didn't know how to change my pattern.

This past Sunday, one of Tim's challenges was that we commit to daily time with Jesus in Bible reading. I've heard that challenge before, and in the past I've wilted inwardly, knowing I'm not doing it. This time was different, though, for two reasons: new perspective, and new patterns.

I took a sabbatical break in June. My family went on a road trip. We camped, we visited friends and some amazing places... we broke the usual pattern. The very first morning on the road, our family read a devotional together that reminded me that God loves me no matter what. Something about the simple words, and the first person voice (it was written as God speaking to us) broke through to me. In front of my family, I got weepy remembering God's incredible, unfailing, unchanging love for me and all the ways He moves and works in and around me constantly. He loves me even when I'm not reading the Bible every day.

Then I attended the Exchanged Life Ministries conference we hosted in August. That was a paradigm shift for me. I believed that my closeness to God depended on me. What I learned was my closeness to God was never the issue. The issue for a growing Christ-follower is to allow God's Spirit within you to lead, and to put to death selfishness. We are crucified with Christ: it is no longer us, but Christ living in us (Gal 2:20). This freedom—that God loves me no matter what, and that I can choose to follow the Spirit instead of the flesh—interrupted the mistaken thinking that my walk with Christ is all up to me. It's up to God working in me, and me choosing to let Him work.

Disciplines—time alone in Bible reading, tithing, corporate worship, prayer, service—are not means for salvation. The work of salvation is complete, finished when Jesus died on the cross. Instead, spiritual disciplines are part of our sanctification—a process for growing and knowing Christ more so that we become more like him.

These new perspectives on freedom in Christ led to new patterns. In July I started a year Bible reading plan, through the Bible app on my phone. The M'Cheyne Reading Plan reads through about 4 chapters per day. In a year, I'll have gone through the Old Testament once, the Psalms and New Testament twice. I'm a few days behind right now, but I've spent many more days reading God's word these past 6 months than not. And in the process God has changed my heart, opened my eyes to His work around me, and given me reason to praise Him! Plus, it has kept me grounded on these truths: God loves me no matter what, and I can choose to follow the Spirit instead of the flesh.

If you struggle in this area, I want to echo Tim and invite you to give one of the New Cov pastors a call. Any of us would be happy to talk with you about a Bible reading plan that fits you. I could go on and on about this, because I've seen how God is using this discipline to speak, to strengthen, and ultimately, to sanctify me. Hallelujah: praise be to God.

Behold: Song Story

"Behold" is a beautiful reminder that Jesus is Emmanuel: God with us. No matter what happens in life, we should have no fear, because God is with us through our failings, our hardships, our doubts. In Jesus we find hope that prompts us to give glory to God forever.

It's a simple but powerful statement of God's goodness and love. The song was written by Aerie and Bella Camp, two sisters. And if you don't recognize those names, maybe you recognize their dad: worship leader and songwriter Jeremy Camp. In 2015, when Aerie brought the song to her dad, he suggested they go in the studio and record it. In the original recording (here on Youtube) you hear and see every member of the Camp family singing: daughters Aerie and Bella, Jeremy and his wife Adrienne, even their 4-year-old son Egan.

What's amazing about the song and the story is that Jeremy's life portrays clinging to the hope in Christ in the midst of terrible loss. Tragically, Jeremy's first wife died of ovarian cancer in 2000. Then in 2009, Jeremy and Adrienne lost a child to a miscarriage. It's inspiring, then, to hear the family sing, "He is our shepherd and He is our strength, I won't be afraid. He is our comfort and He is our fill, I won't be afraid."

I'm grateful for songwriters like Jeremy and his daughters. I'm grateful for people who can point me to Christ, even when I know their story is marked with grief, loss, and despair. When I can hear and sing their songs, I feel less alone in my grief, loss, or despair.

Add to the Beauty

I’m sure I’ve mentioned before my affinity for an album by singer-songwriter Sara Groves called Add to the Beauty. The first song I heard from the album—over 10 years ago now—was “You Are the Sun.” It presented the allegory that Jesus is the source of all light, beauty and warmth, and that we are the moon, cold and lifeless until we reflect the light of Jesus.

Listening to it reminds me of Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night.” I love the colors that swirl and move among the heavenly bodies, a tapestry of light over the village at night. The stillness of the town below the dance of the heavens reminds me that there is a place where the worship of God continues eternally, unabated by the darkness that sometimes worries or even frightens us. It gives me hope.

The steeple in the village of that painting makes me think of two churches I’ve stood before in Nebraska. One is south of Lincoln, near Holland, I think. The other is in central Nebraska in a small town I can’t even find on a map. Both are in the middle of wide open spaces, pointing toward heaven, visible for miles.

Which reminds me of a song called “Stand on a Steeple.” Which reminds me of a mountaintop in Colorado. Which reminds me of laughter and friends at a Young Life camp. On and on, memory upon memory… music, color, architecture, language, poetry, lyric, drama, experience, light. All of it: art. It is powerful, and it speaks in a way that words alone can not.

We worship a God who is a Creator. In Genesis 1 God’s story opens with six days of God’s voice singing forth all that we know. His magnum opus is humanity, which God makes “in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Gen 1:27). We are endowed with the ability to create and be creative. 

We are artists. Whether or not you believe yourself to be artistic in practice, it’s right there in black and white: you are made in the image of the Creator. Your identity, your DNA, is imprinted with the desire and ability to bring forth something new, unique, beautiful. You are reflective of the God who made stars and starfish, galaxies and grapevines, each hair on your head and every mountain height.

How will you add to the beauty? What has God made you to do? Your answer is your worship.

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

Have you ever met someone from another place and timed how quickly the conversation moves to talking about the weather? Not just the weather: I notice that there’s a sort of “one-upmanship” that happens. 

“You have storms? Well, we have tornadoes.” 

“You think that’s cold? Well, you should try winter in my part of the country.” 

We move quickly to talking about how bad we’ve got it. 

I think the same thing would happen talking with someone from another time and place. Not just talking about the weather, but comparing our eras in terms of all the things that make life hard: discrimination, political corruption, oppression, fear of the future. And invariably, we’d think and say we’ve got it the worst. I bet there’s no time in history when people didn’t think the end was near, and we were better off yesterday. This kind of lament for the failing of one’s culture, one’s society, is so prevalent today, even among Christians, that I wonder if we’ve forgotten that Jesus has overcome the world (John 16:33).

This isn’t the kind of life or worldview God has given us. Search your bible for “do not be afraid” or “do not fear.” Over and over, God speaks peace to his people and reminds us that we have nothing to fear. Romans 8:18-39 is a powerful statement of courage and hope. Nothing can separate us from the love and power of God shown in Jesus Christ.

I think we find ourselves in trouble when we let the voices of this world crowd out the proclamation of the resurrection. We listen to the chaos around us to the point that we stop listening to the still small voice reminding us of His presence (1 Kings 19:12).

There’s a great hymn called “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.” And it’s all about the voices we allow to shape the reality around us:

O soul, are you weary and troubled?

No light in darkness you see?

There’s light for a look at the Savior,

And life more abundant and free.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face.

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.

We need to keep our eyes on Jesus. We need to meet for worship. We need to spend moments in prayer. We need to read God’s word and meditate on his story. Not for our salvation: this is not legalism. We need to do these things because if we don’t we will be weary and troubled by the things of earth.

And then, with eyes on Jesus, we need not hide from the injustice we see around us. Instead, we can run toward it, bringing the hope and peace of Jesus Christ. 

Because the world needs us to tell Jesus’ story. It’s a story that overcomes.

Pray, Then, In This Way

Perhaps the simplest form of worship is prayer. Every expression of worship that I can think of has an element of prayer to it because every expression of worship carries a message. We sing (action) songs of praise (message). We tithe (action) to show trust and gratitude (message). Prayer can also be both action and message. It doesn’t require memorizing lines, or a formal space, but it can include those things if we want. Prayer can be as simple as a quick, “Thank You, God!” or “Help me, Lord!” Or it can be a dedicated time of speaking and listening to the Creator, petitioning Him with the desires or the praises of our hearts.

So prayer is simple. But it’s not easy for many of us (myself included). Why is that? I think partly, we have formalized prayer into an activity that only takes place on Sunday morning and before meals. It’s usually led by someone else, and maybe it’s something we just listen to. If you feel that way about prayer, you’re not alone. And I’d venture that over centuries, church has taught us to pray like this: bow your head, close your eyes, and listen to the person praying. Many of us have slid into this view of prayer gradually.

When I look at how Jesus prayed, and how He taught us to pray, I see something entirely different. Jesus says pray when no one is looking. He lays out a simple prayer in Matthew 6 that praises God and asks Him for help. And when Jesus prays (John 17, e.g.), it is with an intimacy that is available to us thanks to Jesus’ death and Resurrection.

That’s how I want to pray. A lot of times I feel like I don’t know how, and I feel awkward doing it. But I’m taking steps to make it feel less awkward, because I think it’s important. Too many times, I’ve felt a tug to ask someone, “Can I pray for you?” but I’ve ignored that tug because I feel too embarrassed to pray in front of them. So here are some steps I’m trying out, that you might want to try, too:

Praying out loud. I like praying silently, but my mind tends to wander, or I get tired if I’m praying before bed.

Praying passages from the Psalms. The Psalms express a lot of emotions: joy, pain, fear, anxiety, peace, contentedness, hope. Sometimes I’ll come across a passage and I’ll just read it out loud, because the Psalmist gives words to something I’m feeling. So I’ll say it out loud.

Try a prayer book. You don’t have to memorize prayers. Actually I’d advise you to memorize scripture, like the Psalms, first. But prayer books give us another lexicon of prayer language, which can be helpful if you feel like you don’t know what to say.

Say “Amen.” When someone else is praying, listen, but then actively say, “I agree, and I pray this, too,” by saying “Amen” aloud.

A New Year and A New Song

The new year always feels like a fresh start to me. Sometimes I get the winter blues this time of year, but for the most part I feel hopeful for all that God may bring in the next calendar year. There’s so much possibility! So much could be accomplished, so many changes will take place.

I honestly feel that same hope on Sunday mornings. As the Pastor of Worship, I am privileged and blessed to see people experience these moments of intimacy and wonder in worship. Sometimes I see them happen during the service, which is inspiring. Other times I hear from someone about a moment that caused them to open their eyes to see, or their mouth to sing, or their heart to receive God’s grace in a new and fresh way. We all long for these moments, though they may look different to each person. But when they happen, when God’s Spirit speaks to us and we find ourselves responding openly to Him, those moments can sometimes sustain us through periods of silence.

If you feel like you’re stuck in a rut, I want to suggest some spiritual practices you might try this year. Worship is rhythm: revelation and response. When we embrace the rhythm of spiritual practices, like praying each morning, or attending a worship service each week, the rhythm helps shape us. It becomes part of who we are, and we can find strength in it. Spiritual disciplines may help you realign with God the Father, who is always looking for you to come running to Him.

Get a devotional book. A devotional is usually a brief meditation on God’s word or character that you read regularly to remind you of His presence. There are tons of options out there. Maybe you’re best reading a brief reflection once or twice a day. Maybe you’d rather read a longer chapter each week. Many devotionals are topical, so find something that helps you take a step closer to Christ.

Start a reading plan. There’s no substitute for regularly reading scripture. I’m a big fan of the YouVersion Bible app. It has many different Bible reading plans, as short as 3 days or as long as several months. Choose a topical plan, or an area of the Bible to focus on. I’d recommend starting with Matthew, Mark, Luke or John.

Carve out some quiet time. Maybe it’s getting up each morning with a cup of coffee and a prayer guide. Maybe it’s listening to worship music or Christian radio programming over your lunch break. The idea is to push out of mind the busy-ness of life, and just listen to God. Get a notebook to write down what you think God is saying, and to keep track of prayers.

This year, this day, this moment is full of possibility. Try “singing a new song” this year. Not literally, necessarily. But try something new. Keep pursuing God. Trust Him with your tomorrow, and decide how you will seek Him today. 

The Essentials of Biblical Christian Worship

As a preface, let me state that the following, my final paper for MWS 501 (A Biblical Theology of Christian Worship), is not even close to comprehensive. This is a huge topic, and I have read so much over the past few months. There is so much more to talk about in this area. But we're limited to 3,000 words (the following is 2,997) so this is what I came up with.

I'm pleased with the result, and though it was difficult to write, the process of writing really helped to clarify it in my head.

So, brave reader, enjoy the following. Or fall asleep trying.

The Essentials of Biblical Christian Worship:
Responding to the Revelation of God

“Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.”[1]

Latreuein is a Greek term occurring about 90 times in the Septuagint. Based on its use in Biblical and non-biblical literature, it would probably be best translated “to serve.”[2] Yet we see it in verses like Exodus 3:12, which reads, “When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”[3] In other words, God told Moses that God’s people were to serve Him at Mount Sinai, as a form of worship to Him.

Do we recognize this truth? What is our concept of the word “worship”? Do we incorporate service, homage, reverence, and awe into these seven letters, or do we have a much smaller picture of what the word means?

Worship is more than activities that take place on the weekend. And yet the language of today suggests that worship is a few well-rehearsed and well-transitioned songs. We in the church ask each other questions like, “How was worship today?” This gives the impression that worship is a measure of human experience or performance. Worship leaders use phrases such as, “Now let’s continue to worship,” or “Let’s spend some time in worship.” This implies that worship is confined to a specific time in the worship service. Just as the word “worship” is full to the brim with meaning, so also do these phrases sometimes overflow with unintended connotations. Over the history of the church, and perhaps the last half-century in particular, we have limited the scope of what it means to worship.

To redefine worship, to regain the richness of what it means to worship, we must look to the Bible. The Bible is at its core God’s story, the true story of God and the world He created.[4] Creation came forth from the words of God, and to gain an understanding of what it is to worship the Creator, we must look to God’s word to us, the Bible.

God has, throughout the history of man, initiated and defined the relationship between Himself and his people. At Mount Sinai, as part of his covenant with Israel, God gave Moses detailed instructions on the sacrificial system, the building of the tabernacle, and the laws which would guide the Israelites.[5] These were the boundaries for worshiping God. In Jesus we see the fulfillment of each of these boundaries, and Christ confirmed this with his words, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”[6] If we are going to understand worship, we must first acknowledge that God, through Jesus Christ, has established the foundation, and is the foundation.

With that in mind, this paper will seek to define and defend the essential elements of Christian worship from a Biblical perspective. Drawing from Scripture’s examples in the Old and New Testaments, we will explore four essential facets of true worship. First, worship needs to be Trinitarian in theology and in practice. Second, it must recognize the struggles of the present age but anticipate the coming kingdom. Third, true worship, though not limited to the “worship service,” is demonstrated by the structure and content of believers’ gatherings. And finally, authentic worship encompasses all aspects of the worshiper’s life and faith.

Trinitarian

We live in an individualistic culture that sways dangerously into the realm of narcissism, concerned with my rights, my life, my liberty, self-esteem, self-worth, self-realization.[7] It is only natural that when worshiping God, we see worship in the same light: my baptism, my offering, my church.

The problem is that this way of thinking is antithetical to one of the great mysteries of God: the Trinity. This way of thinking is—in practice—Unitarian. By contrast, Trinitarian worship recognizes the importance of the Trinity and articulates the view that “worship is the gift of participating through the Spirit in the incarnate Son’s communion with the Father.”[8] In other words, worship is not our own. Worship is participation in Christ’s worship of the Father.

One of the key elements of Trinitarian worship is belief in the sole priesthood of Christ. When God established his covenant with the Israelites at Mount Sinai, the Day of Atonement was provided to deal with the sins of Israel. The high priest would each year carry out the appropriate rites to remove the sins from the people of God. In this way Israel would remain holy and continue to be the nation that God blessed and through whom God blessed the world. In the letter to the Hebrews, we see that Jesus was the ultimate high priest, offering once and for all atonement for the sins of mankind. “The perfection of his sacrifice makes it possible for him to enter heaven itself, ‘now to appear for us in God’s presence.’”[9]

This is crucial to our understanding of worship. The only way that our sacrifice, our offerings, and our worship is acceptable to God is through Christ, our high priest. In other words, we must understand our worship as a participation in the perfect worship of Christ. We can not view our offerings as our own, but by the Spirit we participate in Christ’s worship of the Father. “It is he who leads our worship, bears our sorrows on his heart and intercedes for us, presenting us to the Father in himself as God’s dear children, and uniting us with himself in his life in the Spirit.”[10] This removes any chance of pride or performance from our worship.

Our view of worship will also carry into all aspects of faith and spirituality. John Witvliet had it right when he wrote that worship “both reflects and shapes our view of God and the world.”[11] Thus, a Trinitarian view of worship causes one to understand life in Christ as participation in the Trinity. Communion, for example, is an extension of the Son’s communion with the Father. [12] Baptism, too, is not our own, but a participation by the Spirit in the baptism, death and resurrection of Christ.[13]

A Trinitarian view of worship recognizes that worship is not about us. It is not by our own power or righteousness. Instead, worship is about Christ. The only way we have access to the throne of God in heaven is because He is our mediator, our high priest, and our lead worshiper. With this truth we can rest in the assurance that Christ has offered all the offering and sacrifice necessary to secure our salvation. Our worship is not a means of gaining favor with God, but a thanksgiving to God for his saving grace given to us through Jesus Christ.

Present and Future Age

A second essential element of Christian worship has to do with our understanding of time. In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul states, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”[14] One might read this and discern that the old self is gone and we are a new creation in Christ. This is true, but the statement also points to an understanding of time. Paul was trained as a Pharisee, and as such he thought of time in terms of “the present age” (pre-Messianic advent) and “the age to come” (post-Messianic advent). Paul’s statement in Corinthians understands that the old age is passing away, and the age of the kingdom of God has now arrived in the death and the resurrection of Christ.[15]

There is a tension here, though. For if God’s kingdom has come in Christ, why is there still sin and evil in the world? In Paul’s understanding, the answer is that the old age and the age to come are now overlapping. The evidence of this is the Spirit. Paul describes the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing the fullness of the kingdom coming soon.[16] This tension recognizes the importance of the Spirit. Beyond that, there are two reasons we must understand the tension between the “already” and the “not yet.”

First, we must recognize our current mission in the “already.” One of the terms of God’s covenant with Abraham, Jacob, and the Israelites, is that God would bless the nations through them.[17] God had set them apart for this purpose, but the purpose was never fully accomplished by the Israelites. So God in his wisdom sent his Son. At the start of the gospel of Matthew, the evangelist uses a genealogy to trace the generations from Abraham, who was set apart, to Joseph, husband of Mary, mother of Christ. This connects the mission of the Israelites to the mission of Christ. Matthew ends, too, with Christ making this commission to his disciples:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”[18]

Christ, then, is the fruition of God’s covenant with Abraham, Jacob, and the nation of Israel to redeem the world. And in Jesus’ words to his disciples, he commissioned the church to be part of the same calling.

Worship, therefore, must embody in Christians a lifestyle that is winsome to the nations. That is our purpose for this time. Our songs should sing the language of bringing Christ to the nations. Our resources should go towards evangelism, missions, and outreach. Our prayers should petition God to bring justice to the oppressed.

God has given us this time to recognize that things are not right, and we have a part in making it right.[19] And worship should be the fuel that moves us outside the walls of our church buildings. Though sin and death surrounds us, we are to be a light to the nations, pointing people to Christ with our words and indeed our entire lives.

Second, we must recognize our future hope, the “not yet.” Dr. Gerald Borchert calls this the Eschatological Perspective as found in Paul’s letter to the Philippians.[20] We are to live and find hope and joy in the expectation of Christ’s return. This perspective can be found in the entirety of Philippians. Paul encourages the church at Philippi to grow in knowledge and insight “until the day of Christ.” Live according to the gospel in the knowledge that “you will be saved—and that by God.” Press on toward our citizenship in heaven because “we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.”[21]

When we live in the light of Christ’s return, we remember that we are not alone. Christ is with us by the Spirit. We also remember that Christ’s final victory over sin is already won. Most importantly, we remember our security of salvation in Christ. This affects the way we proclaim Him, the way we view Table Worship, the way we minister to others, and all aspects of our faith. Our songs should point to the promise of Christ’s return.

The Worship Service

A third essential of Biblical Christian worship deals with the worship service. When most people hear the word “worship” they think of the worship service. Worship services in Christian churches around the world take a variety of styles and forms. Some churches claim their worship to be contemporary, others blended, still others traditional. Musical instruments, artistic expressions, usage of Scripture, and views of the sacraments vary greatly between denominations.

What is the Biblical model for the worship service? Is there a right and wrong way to conduct services? In Planning Blended Worship, Robert Webber wisely begins the discussion by differentiating between style, structure, and content.[22] The content of Christian worship must be Trinitarian, which has already been addressed in this paper. We turn now to elements of structure and style.

The structure that Webber strongly recommends is based on the church in Acts as well as the church through its first 600 years. This structure is the fourfold pattern of worship: Gathering, Service of the Word, Table Worship, and Dismissal.[23] In my view, the Service of the Word and Table Worship are of particular importance to this discussion, and are absolutely essential. Both activities find their roots in Acts 2:42: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teachings and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”[24]

The Service of the Word is transformative in the worship service. God’s words in the opening chapter of Genesis cause creation to burst forth.[25] Much later when God speaks to Job, Job is overcome by his unworthiness to reply and covered his mouth in silence.[26] These are just two illustrations of the power of the word of God. The written word of God—the Bible—is awe-inspiring and life-changing. It “takes up residence within us and shapes us into Christ’s likeness.”[27] Therefore Scripture must be a regular part of the worshiper’s life, and it must be an integral part of the worship service.

Table Worship should also be a regular part of the worship service. Four images have formed our understanding of worship at the Table. The breaking of bread in Acts 2:42 (cross reference Luke 24), the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:20, Communion in 1 Corinthians 10:16, and Eucharist in 1 Corinthians 14:16.[28] These pictures express, respectively, the presence of the resurrected Christ, remembrance of Christ’s death for our sins, participation in the intimate relationship we have with Christ, and thanksgiving for God’s gift of salvation to us.[29] These are essential aspects of worship. We must always recognize the presence of the resurrected Christ. We must remember Jesus’ sacrifice and give thanks for our salvation. And we must acknowledge that we are part of the body of Christ, along with every other believer.

This leads to another essential aspect of the worship service, which is also apparent in Acts 2:42. Koinonia, or fellowship, was a huge part of the early church meetings. A danger of our individualistic culture is the tendency for worship services to become based on individual experience, which creates a sort of “tunnel vision” relationship between the individual and God. While our relationship with God is obviously crucial, we should also give attention to other believers. Based on Paul’s language in verses such as 1 Corinthians 14:3-26, 1 Thessalonians 5:11, and Ephesians 4:11-16, a purpose of the worship gathering is mutual upbuilding or edification.[30] The church is the body of Christ, and it needs growing and maturing. As noted before, worship is often synonymous with service. In this case, serving each other worships God, and builds up the body of Christ in the process. “In one sense the body of Christ is already complete.... In another sense that body is said to grow to perfection… The body metaphor reflects the ‘already—not yet’ tension of the two ages. It is a heavenly entity and yet it is an earthly reality.”[31] Our worship must consider others and seek to build them up. Examples of structural elements that serve this purpose are hymns, which not only praise God, but they are rich in theology, and are thus a teaching tool. Other examples are times of discussion following the teaching, times of intercessory or healing prayer, and the passing of the peace.

The worship service, then, serves a number of purposes integral to Biblical worship. First, there must be a focus on the word of God, which changes us into the likeness of Christ. Second, there must be a proper understanding of the table, which gives us proper attitudes of celebration, thanksgiving, remembrance, and participation. Third, the worship service is not only vertical, looking to God, but horizontal, looking to those around us. These purposes of the worship service are all essential to Christian worship, because as stated in a quote by John Witvliet earlier, our worship and our view of God and the world around us are interrelated. In forming a worship service that includes these aspects, we are guiding believers to live out their faith in the world in these ways.

And what of style? Webber again sums it up nicely:

“Style is not now, nor has ever been, a matter of biblical tradition. Whether our worship is formal, informal, or a combination of both, the style of worship depends on taste. We must allow our style to reflect who we are as a people. No one style is normative for all churches.”[32]

Authentic Worship

I will conclude with a final essential of Biblical Christian worship that has been alluded to throughout this paper. True Christian worship is not confined to the worship service, but encompasses all aspects of faith and life, so that the profession of faith in worship matches the living out of that faith.

In James’ letter to believers, he instructs them to avoid double-mindedness. “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”[33] Our worship, what we profess on Sunday, should be evidenced by how we live our lives Monday through Saturday.

Worship that is inconsistent with life transformation is empty and unacceptable to God. Through the prophet Amos, God tells Israel “Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!”[34] To worship the Father in a way that is acceptable to Him, we must let the Spirit transform us to be Christ to the world:

“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.”[35]

True worship shows reverence and homage to God, serves God, points others to Christ, demonstrates the wonder of the Trinity, is mediated through Jesus, and is meaningfully structured in the worship service. It is our present and expectant response to the revelation of God, and it will transform us until Christ returns.

Sources Consulted

Bartholomew, Craig G. and Michael W. Goheen. The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004.

Bechtel, Carol M., ed. Touching the Altar: The Old Testament for Christian Worship. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2008.

Borchert, Gerald L. Worship in the New Testament: Divine Mystery and Human Response. St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2008.

McCann, J. Clinton, Jr. “The Hope of the Poor: The Psalms in Worship and Our Search for Justice.” In Touching the Altar: The Old Testament for Christian Worship, edited by Carol M. Bechtel, 155-178. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2008.

Peterson, David. Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992.

Torrance, James B. Worship, Community and the Triune God of Grace. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996.

Webber, Robert. Planning Blended Worship: The Creative Mixture of Old and New. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1998.

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[1] Bob Dylan. “Gotta Serve Somebody”, Slow Train Coming, Sony Music Entertainment Inc., 1979.

[2] David Peterson, Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992), 64.

[3] Exodus 3:12, (New International Version), emphasis mine.

[4] Craig G. Bartholomew and Michael W. Goheen, The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004), 11.

[5] Exod. 20-31 (NIV).

[6] John 14:6 (NIV).

[7] Allan Bloom, The Closing of the American Mind, (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1987) quoted in James B. Torrance, Worship, Community and the Triune God of Grace (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 41.

[8] Torrance, Worship, Community and the Triune God of Grace (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 30.

[9] Peterson, Engaging With God, p. 229-230. Hebrews 9:24 (NIV).

[10] Torrance, Worship, Community and the Triune God of Grace, 29.

[11] John D. Witvliet, series preface to Touching The Altar: The Old Testament for Christian Worship by Carol M. Bechtel, editor (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2008), xi.

[12] Torrance, Worship, Community and the Triune God of Grace, 32.

[13] Ibid, 74.

[14] 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV).

[15] Bartholomew and Goheen, The Drama of Scripture, 188-189.

[16] 2 Cor. 1:22 (NIV).

[17] Genesis 12:3, 22:18, 28:14, Exodus 19:6 (NIV).

[18] Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV).

[19] J. Clinton McCann, Jr., “Hope of the Poor: The Psalms in Worship and Our Search for Justice,” in Touching the Altar: The Old Testament for Christian Worship (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2008), 160.

[20] Gerald L. Borchert, Worship in the New Testament: Divine Mystery and Human Response (St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2008), 140-145.

[21] Philippians 1:10,28; 3:20 (NIV).

[22] Robert Webber, Planning Blended Worship: The Creative Mixture of Old and New (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1998), 20-22.

[23] Ibid, 20.

[24] Acts 2:42 (NIV).

[25] Genesis 1 (NIV).

[26] Job 40:1-5 (NIV).

[27] Webber, Planning Blended Worship, 88.

[28] Ibid, 129.

[29] Ibid, 130-131.

[30] Peterson, Engaging With God, p. 206.

[31] P. T. O’Brien “The Church as a Heavenly and Eschatological Entity”, 111, quoted by Peterson, Engaging With God, 210-211.

[32] Webber, Planning Blended Worship, 22.

[33] James 1:22 (NIV).

[34] Amos 5:22,24 (NIV).

[35] Romans 12:1-2 (NIV).

IWS Day 3

Today was our first day of class time.

We started the morning with breakfast. May I just say that grits were a welcome addition to the culinary experience, and I should have guessed they'd be on the menu this morning. Hooray for grits!

After breakfast was a morning chapel service, followed by an entire day with our professor, Eric Bolger. The only time we broke was to head to the refectory for meals. Refectory is from the Latin reficere, which means "refresh or renew." And if you think that's what I'm learning here, you're mistaken. I got that from my MacBook dictionary.

Our class time is refreshing, challenging, engaging, discussion-based, enlightening, humbling, convicting, and tiring all at once. After just a day I feel energized and blessed with new ideas and concepts swimming around in my head, new perspectives that I feel are things I should have known all along. I'll try to put some of these things into a few sentences.

Scripture: Analysis versus Participation
When it comes to our view of Scripture, it's clear that one of the biggest problems we face today is the critical bias that comes with looking back into history. We have this view that, because we are more advanced technologically, because we can see the lessons learned by those that have gone before us, that we are above the people that have lived through ages past. We tend to think of this as being the greatest time in history, and we tend to think of ourselves as having the best perspective. This is a product of the Enlightenment and the modern age: it's all about analyzing and looking at the past with a critical eye.

But is it true? Are we in a better place than David was? Or the Israelites? Or Paul and the infant church? It depends on what you mean by "better." Is sin lessened today? Are we better off as a Church or as a culture than any past generation?

We forget that our task is not to take a critical view of the meta-narrative of God's story... our task is to be part of it. Christ lived, He died, He was resurrected, and He will come again. That's the big story. And we are part of that story, part of God's story. We are characters in God's overarching story of redemption, and we already know how it ends. Our purpose is to join God's movement toward that ending, to obey God, to worship Him, and to let His story play out in and around us.

This is one of the positive aspects of post-modernity, in my mind. The modern perspective is one that criticizes/analyzes the bigger story, as if we have an objective view of it; the post-modern perspective is one that strives to experience the bigger story.

Returning to Trinitarian Worship
Another thing that is blowing up in my mind today is the need for us to worship God as He has revealed Himself: as a Triune God. Too often we worship in a way that focuses on either the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit, but rarely do we recognize and praise all three. The ancient church explained the Trinity with the phrase "God is one substance in three persons." We believe this, but do we worship God in this way? The Father has perfect communion with the Son, and through the Son and by the Holy Spirit we are allowed to be part of that communion. But how often to we acknowledge this mystery of our faith and let it shape our worship?

When we worship in a Trinitarian way, we know that our worship is not our own. If it were, it would be from sinful man and unacceptable to God the Father. Fortunately, God, in His grace, provided a way for us to worship through Jesus. Jesus' worship is perfect and acceptable to God. And by the Holy Spirit we are allowed to participate in Jesus' worship of the Father. That's just one aspect of Trinitarian worship. Not only has Jesus paid the price for our sins, offering the perfect sacrifice, but He's also led the perfect life of worship. And through Him, and by the Holy Spirit, we can join in that worship, that perfect communion with the Father.

Personally
Today has been an enormous high for me. I'm still trying to fully articulate the above thoughts. But it has also had a low point. I so missed my family tonight that I wept on the way back to where I'm staying. As soon as I got back in my room I downloaded Skype. Thank God for Skype! I was able to see my wife and my boys, to see them smile and laugh and wave, to hear Jack and Cole give ridiculous recollections of their day. I miss them so much right now. It was huge to be able to see them and talk with them.

I can't wait for tomorrow.