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.

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.)

Proclaim His Name

​​​​​​​"Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;

            make known among the nations what he has done.

Sing to him, sing praise to him;

            tell of his wonderful acts." - Psalm 105:1-2

As I mentioned Sunday, Scripture connects the dots between praise and proclamation. When we sing praise to God, we proclaim to the world that He is worthy! Everything we do has the potential to proclaim the power, love, majesty, grace, and peace of Christ. And the world needs us to proclaim Jesus more than anything.

So let's review a few things that elements of Sunday morning's worship proclaimed.

The welcome and reading of Psalm 105:1-4 proclaimed that we can enter God's presence, which is no small thing. God is the Creator of everything, and yet because we believe in Jesus we can boldly come before him, to pray, to praise, to listen, to speak.

Our opening song, "For the Sake of the World," proclaimed that we need Jesus to transform us. We can't do life on our own: we want the Holy Spirit to move in us in a way that the world sees and responds. It also proclaims that God loves this world, and so do we. We want everyone to know Jesus is King in our lives, that we put Him first.

The song "At the Cross (Love Ran Red)" proclaimed that because of Jesus' death on the cross, we have forgiveness of all the wrong we've ever done instead of the death that we deserve. We proclaimed mercy, hope, repentance (turning back to Jesus), and God's great love. And we proclaimed that we surrender our will to Jesus, because we believe God knows what's best for us.

The song "Christ In Me" proclaimed that the power of God, the power that resurrected Jesus to reign, is living in us as the Holy Spirit. We proclaimed our own weakness, that it's hard to believe this truth. We proclaimed that when we turn to Jesus, we lay down worries, we see that God is in control, we can make our entire life an offering of praise.

The song "All The Earth Will Sing Your Praises" proclaims the Gospel in a nutshell: Jesus lived, died, rose from the grave, and promised to return, to rule and reign. And it proclaimed that Jesus is where we put our hope for the future.

The prayers for Parkland, FL proclaimed that we trust Jesus, and we want Him to be light in the darkness of our world. It proclaimed our sorrow at the destructive forces of Satan.

The video of our international outreach proclaimed that we believe our time, talent and treasure is worth giving up to share the news of Jesus with those very different from us.

The testimony of our Global Team in serving a local refugee family proclaimed that Jesus calls us to love our neighbors, to love the foreigners among us. It proclaimed the love and care and hospitality of Jesus, which is a radical message in a world of xenophobia, racism, and nationalism.

The upcoming activities of New Cov proclaim the power of community: we need each other, and we can encourage each other.

Everything we do can proclaim Christ! So how are you proclaiming Christ today?

May My Tongue Sing of Your Word

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible, at 176 verses. It's crazy. The Psalm is fascinating for many reasons. It was written as an acrostic on the Hebrew alphabet. The first 8 verses start with the Hebrew letter 'Aleph,' the next 8 verses start with the Hebrew letter 'Beth,' etc. It's also very focused on one topic: God's word. The Psalmist sings of God's commands, precepts, way, law, decrees, etc.

So it's word play in lyric form about God's word. It's like a BC crossword puzzle poem! I love it.

Verse 171-172 says,

"May my lips overflow with praise,

    for you teach me your decrees. 

May my tongue sing of your word,

    for all your commands are righteous."

I love this idea: that we would sing of God's word, or even sing God's word. Is there anything more helpful to our spiritual formation than to learn to sing God's word? You probably can sing from memory songs you learned in grade school: music and rhyme are powerful tools for memorization. Plato once wrote, "Let me make the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its law."* Music is a powerful teacher.

That's why, in case you've ever wondered, we try to put songs through a rubric of questions to make sure it's worth our time singing on a Sunday. The basic question: "Is this song among the best for New Cov to sing?"

We look at 3 areas:**

1.Theological Strength - Are the lyrics true? Do they represent the Bible? Do they tell the story of Scripture well?

2.Lyrical Strength - Is the text well constructed? Is it poetic? Does it connect with our imagination? Does it inspire?

3.Musical Strength - Is it singable? Is the melody memorable? Does the tune fit the text well?

Some songs will be stronger in some areas and weaker in others. But this gives us a method of evaluating any songs we include to sing on a Sunday morning. The closer we get to putting the words of scripture in our praise, I think, the better opportunity we give God to form us into Christlikeness through worship.

* I've also seen this quote attributed to a contemporary of Plato, Damon of Athens, and to Andrew Fletcher, a Scottish philosopher of the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

** I learned this method from a book called The Worship Architect by Rev. Dr. Constance M. Cherry. The book has been invaluable for me as a Pastor of Worship.

Give Me a Song to Sing

Worship is the work of the people. It is the expression of our faith community – from the songs we sing, to the ways we share Jesus with those around us; from our prayers in private, to the service we offer to others for the sake of Christ.

Our Sunday gathering is designed to both reflect our worship, and shape our worship. It is a time when we express our devotion and love for God, and when we are changed by God's story, by His Word to us, by the Holy Spirit moving in us...

Which is why selecting songs can be difficult sometimes. New Cov is made up of people from different backgrounds, ethnicities, interests, and careers. We are young and old, new members and longtime members, male, female, hurting, recovering, glorifying God together. How do we find songs that unify us and help us raise our voices together as the one body of Christ?

We typically have time for just 4-5 songs to sing as a congregation on a Sunday. Songs both serve a purpose (praise, prayer, proclamation, exhortation, call-to-action) in our spiritual formation, and must express our voice as a congregation.

Right now, our corporate expression, based on our vision for the next two years, is one of evangelism: sharing Jesus with those around us. I will be looking for songs during this time that help us express the joy, strength and peace of knowing Jesus as our Savior. When we sing those songs together, we are better equipped to share our faith with those we encounter through the week. I'm excited for the song we introduced Sunday, "Glorious Day" by Kristian Stanfill. When we remember the joy and newness of life Lazarus (see John 11) must have felt coming out of his grave, we are reminded that in Jesus we have new life! We are free from the shackles of sin! What incredible news! What a message to share!

Of course, it would make little sense for us to sing only songs like "Glorious Day." Our congregation, and our expression of faith, is more complex and variegated. So what are the songs, or even the words, your heart is singing these days? And what are the songs you need to learn, to more closely walk with Jesus?

Confession

"Will Your grace run out if I let You down?
'Cause all I know is how to run

Will You call me child if I tell You lies?
'Cause all I know is how to cry

I am a sinner, if it's not one thing it's another
Caught up in words, tangled in lies
You are a Savior and You take brokenness aside
And make it beautiful, beautiful"
     - Brokenness Aside, All Sons & Daughters

Confession in worship is the art of proclaiming something true, resulting in a better knowledge of Who God is, and who we are in light of Jesus. Sometimes this can be humbling, heart-wrenching. Sometimes it can be encouraging, heartening. In this song from Sunday morning's service, we have both heart-wrenching and heartening confession.

Why is confession humbling or heart-wrenching? In a word: pride. Pride is perhaps one of the deadliest sins because it has the power to slowly isolate us from others. Pride separates us from the rest, because pride puts us above the rest. It says: I am better, I am smarter, I am more worthy than the rest. A prideful person has difficulty admitting they're wrong, apologizing, and of course, confessing. Confession is essentially conceding. It is giving up on our own truth fortified by pride, and exchanging it for another truth, fortified by the grace and sacrifice of Christ. When we sing, "I am a sinner, caught up in words, tangled in lies," we are admitting that we are powerless to help ourselves. In this way, confession is difficult. It requires us to humble ourselves, to admit the lie of pride... we don't have it all together. We are needy.

Why is confession encouraging or heartening? In a word: truth. When we confess our Savior Jesus is Lord over all--over Creation, over time, over the church, over our families, over even death--we are reminding ourselves and each other of powerful truth. We may not be in control, but the One in control is a God of grace, sacrifice, forgiveness, love. When we sing, "You are a Savior, and You take brokenness aside," we remember that Jesus paid the price for our sins long ago. All of the ugliness, the stain of sin, is washed away. Our sin was crucified with Christ, and now Christ lives in us and shines through us.

If you've ever told someone else you're sorry, and really meant it, you know the power of confession. Speaking the words that kill your pride is difficult, but those same words can proclaim freedom for our souls. As we experienced together on Sunday, confession that we are sinners and that Jesus has saved us, opened us up to praise God, our Redeemer.

Praise God: He is making us beautiful.

The Gentle Whisper

There's a great encounter between Elijah and God in the book of 1 Kings that has always fascinated me. Elijah is fleeing for his life from King Ahab and Ahab's wife Jezebel. Elijah finds himself in the desert, nearly starved but for the providence of God. After 40 days and nights in the desert, Elijah rests in a cave, and the Bible tells us that the word of the LORD comes to him. God seems to ask Elijah about his purpose: "What are you doing here, Elijah?" Elijah responds by describing his zeal for God. God responds with this proposal:

"Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." (1 Kings 19:11)

So Elijah does this. And a great wind comes through. It was powerful enough to tear into the rocks and the mountain! Can you imagine? I picture weather reporters knocked down by hurricanes, but I still don't think that expresses the strength of the wind. It must have been awesome, and terrifying, to behold. Such a picture of God's power.

But, says the passage, "the LORD was not in the wind." (v. 11)

Then an earthquake happens. Do you remember the small earthquake we had about a year ago? The epicenter was in Oklahoma, but it was felt as far north as Sioux City. I remember sitting at my kitchen table with a cup of coffee. One moment everything was normal. The next moment I felt I was falling but I hadn't moved from my chair. The hanging light over the table wobbled. A cabinet door rattled. It was extremely disorienting. As minor as it was, it made me feel small and out of control.

But, says the passage, "the LORD was not in the earthquake." (v. 11)

After the earthquake comes a fire. Growing up as the son of a Game & Parks Wildlife Biologist, I've had a few opportunities to be around for a "controlled burn." One in particular I remember. A fire break was plowed around a small field of dried invasive grasses and weeds. Men positioned themselves in a few places around the field to make sure the fire didn't escape, then a couple of men went around the edges with a small gas torch to light the grass. Slowly at first, the fire consumed a blade of dried grass, then a few, then a larger weed, then another, then it spread faster. Near the end, as the fires set in several places converged to the middle of the field, it formed a small fireball that rose quickly into the air. The heat was immense. I could hardly stand to be near it. Such is the intensity of fire up close, that you want to hide your face from it because you know it could consume you.

But, says the passage, "the LORD was not in the fire." (v. 12)

After the awesome power of the wind, the overwhelming bigness of the earthquake, and the intensity of the fire, Elijah must have been shocked to hear a gentle whisper. On the other hand, what else might coax him out of the cave? Had God shouted to Elijah to come out, Elijah might have fainted of fear. No: it had to be a whisper, a reminder that although God is powerful, and mighty, and holy, God is also love.

I love the songs we sing at New Cov. I love the music we use to join our voices in worship of our God. When we make a joyful noise, with loud voices and clapping and shouting, I am blessed by the reminder that God is miraculous, and bigger than any of us or any problems we might face. And I am blessed to see Him working in our hearts and in our midst, even as we worship.

But other times, I am blessed by the gentle, unassuming sound of voices, acoustic instruments, and moments of silence. I am reminded that God drew near to us in Jesus, so that we could draw near to Him forever. I am reminded that God is near. We can raise our voices loud to shake heaven, but we don't need to, because God is present. He's a God of intimacy. A God who restores. A God who gives second chances. A God who wants you, and me, to have our comeback. And he's in the gentle whisper of each moment of every day. Make time and seek ways to listen for Him.

Amen.

Creativity -- Connecting Ideas -- In Worship

Last week several New Covies attended the Willow Global Leadership Summit. It was truly inspiring, and one of the more powerful Summits I can remember since I started attending them 12 years ago. Every session was either full of ideas and insights, or emotionally stirring and convicting. We heard from a pastor creating an exit strategy to leave his church under good leadership when he leaves... A woman who miraculously survived the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda in 1994... A Facebook executive who lost her husband suddenly and talked about how to help others through grief... A lawyer with staggering statistics on incarcerations, and a call for the Church to move toward those who need the gospel desperately...

My favorite "thinking" session was by Fredrik Härén, author of The Idea Book, who presented some great concepts on creativity. "Creativity," he said, "is simply connecting what has already been created. No one has the ability to create, but God." Creativity is unlimited, not because we create, but because we form new combinations. Every person brings a unique perspective and is able to use their knowledge and new information to find new connections, to combine things in new ways.

This rang true in my mind Saturday night, when I was in a funk after watching evil manifest itself in the attacking of others in Charlottesville. My mind started to wonder about Sunday morning's service. I felt the familiar prompting of the Holy Spirit, leading me to consider some changes. I prayed about our plans, and realized we needed to make some adjustments to the service order, and started combining some things in new ways, with Tim's help.

"Awesome Is The Lord" became a lament, because many of us mourned the truth that the entire world doesn't know the peace, love, grace, and acceptance found in Jesus.

We replaced "Great Things (Worth It All)" with a responsive prayer, because many of us needed to affirm that racism and white supremacy is a sin and that we all need Jesus. The prayer was written by Rich Villodas, a pastor in Queens, New York City. As I went over the prayer, and chords that might move underneath it as we prayed, a melody formed for the congregational response, "Oh Lord, only You can make all things new."

Thank God for his Holy Spirit! Sometimes He moves in surprising ways, and sometimes He gives courage to help us move in a way we've already purposed. I was surprised and encouraged by Sunday morning, and by the conversations that followed: God's people will not stand on the sidelines while evil advances. I pray He continues to prompt us to action for his glory and his Kingdom.

What I want us to remember from Sunday is that our Creator God has gifted each of us with the ability to creatively connect that which we know from individual experience with that which we learn from others. You are a creative person. You are made in God's image, and while you might not be able to make something from nothing, you can connect ideas in ways never before seen. Creativity is not the mantle of the musician, the painter, the photographer, or the poet: it is part of who we are as image-bearers of God. 

Functions of Congregational Song (1/3)

There's something powerful about a congregation singing together, hands lifted high, eyes closed, hearts open to God's Spirit. What's more, the songs we sing give us a chance to proclaim, pray, praise, encourage, and commit together.

When I started leading worship at New Cov, I led a team once per month. And I considered it my chance to pick my favorite songs. The Pastor of Worship & Creative Arts at the time, Bill, would recommend a song or two sometimes, but for the most part it was up to me. Which I loved! I'd pick a fast song to start, maybe a mid-tempo song or two, and then a slow and prayerful song right before the message. If I could get a couple songs in the same key back-to-back, I'd figure out a way to transition between the two.

When I became the Pastor of Worship & Creative Arts, I often resorted to the same pattern. Or if we wanted to shake things up, I'd plan a fast song, a slow song or two, then another fast song to really get the energy up!

Over time, though, I started to wonder why I focused so much on tempo and flow when selecting songs. Was that the most important thing? Picking my favorite tunes for the congregation? Building energy? Having a seamless transition between two songs? Manufacturing moments of energy and prayerful attention?

There had to be better reasons to sing one song and not another. This line of questions was one of the reasons I began pursuing a Masters, then Doctor of Worship Studies degree. And one of my professors, Dr. Constance Cherry, literally wrote the book on the functions of congregational song. She has found five functions of song, and in the next few weeks I'll outline each of them with an example from Sunday morning. The five functions of congregational songs are: Proclamation, Prayer, Praise, Exhortation and Call-to-action. This week I'd like to talk about Prayer and Exhortation.

Prayer - As Dr. Cherry writes, prayer songs are the easiest to spot because they are sung to God. Where a song like "Jesus Messiah" sings mostly about Jesus, prayer songs address the Father, the Son and/or the Holy Spirit. Prayer songs are often full of emotion. They might lament and ask God to intercede. They can be songs confessing sin and asking forgiveness. They can be full of adoration, telling God how wonderful He is, or giving God glory for his character or saving works. A great example this past Sunday is "No Longer Slaves." Almost the entire song speaks directly to God. You could start the song like you would any prayer: 

"[Father in Heaven...]
You unravel me with a melody.
You surround me with a song of deliverance from my enemies until all my fears are gone.
I'm no longer a slave to fear: I am a child of God."

Prayer songs feel intimate and that's the point: we have an intimate relationship with the God of the universe, which is pretty amazing. These songs give us a voice to express our hearts to the One who formed them within us.

Exhortation - If prayer songs are about the vertical relationship (me and God), exhortation songs are about the horizontal relationship (me and you). These songs let us encourage each other. (We rarely if ever use the word "exhort," but it basically means "strongly encourage".) Some encourage us to a pursue Jesus more deeply or completely. Others, like "New Doxology," let us encourage each other (and all of creation) to give praise to God! Think of the first verse, but add "Let's all..." to each line:

"[Let us] praise God from Whom all blessings flow
[Let us] praise Him, all creatures here below
[Let us] praise Him above, ye heavenly host
[Let us] praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost"

This is a wonderfully mind-expanding and outward-focusing chorus! We remember that we dwell in the midst of all of creation, we remember the angels in heaven, and we exhort them to sing with us, praising God who blesses and sustains us! And in doing so, we are ourselves praising God.

What is your song today? Are you in a place where you are praying for God to intercede, lamenting to Him, thanking Him? Or is the song in your heart one of encouraging others to look to God? I'll cover a couple more of these song functions next week.