For the Sake of the World: Yesterday and Today

As we were putting together the photo mosaic last week, I came across a lot of great pictures from New Cov's history. It's encouraging to look through images showcasing where our church has been. It reminded me that He has done great things in us and through us. We have served and shared Jesus with people in Lincoln, many states, and in several countries (Ireland, India, China, and the UAE come to mind). And knowing that He has still calls us "for such a time as this," I look forward with faith to where God will lead us next.

One picture I came across showed me with more hair than I now have, strumming my old black Takamine G Series, and looking east into the morning sunlight. Longtime New Covies will remember our involvement at downtown Lincoln's Ribfest. I remember this particular moment well (though I'm not positive the year... 2002?). We were given the opportunity to hold a church service at Ribfest on the Sunday morning of the event. We pulled out all the stops: dance, drama, music. Worship Pastor Bill Sloan had asked me to sing a song called "I Am A Christian," a proclamation of faith. The lyrics were nice, but I remember thinking the tune was a bit melancholy. I offered to write a new melody to some alternate chords. I chose the key of E (which is significant as you'll see in a minute) because I like the open chords and droning strings the key allows. I can still hear much of the melody in my head, but I'm not sure I have it printed anywhere any more.

Yesterday morning we sang together a prayer for God to do a work in us. For the sake of the world, burn like a fire in me / Light a flame in my soul for every eye to see / For the sake of the world, burn like a fire in me. We must share Jesus with those around us. It is urgent, important work: our world is wrecked every day by the consequences of our sin. But in Jesus we find hope—eternal unchanging hope—for forgiveness of our sins and for the redemption of the world. All of creation groans in expectancy of Jesus' return. In Christ, we have the opportunity to join in the work of redemption. We have chances—every week, every day, even every hour—to share this hope we have with others! We just need to embrace our place and look for the opportunities around us. Someone you know might be desperately searching for hope, or meaning, or truth, or freedom from the bondage of sin, or peace. You and I can bring that to them by the Spirit at work within us.

As I sang "For the Sake of the World," it occurred to me that I was playing many of the same chords, in the key of E, that I had played for "I Am A Christian" some 15 years ago. 

I was struck by two things as we worshiped and sang that prayer to God yesterday.

First, I play a different guitar these days. I have less hair on top and more on my face. My priorities have changed to include kids, new friends, new seasons. Such is the difference between being 24 and being almost 40. But God's call on my life remains the same: to share Jesus, for the sake of the world.

Second, our church might not be part of Ribfest anymore. Where we once sent mission teams to China we now look to Ireland and India. We serve in new and different ways. Our vision changes, and we follow where God points us. But God's call on our church also remains the same: to share Jesus, for the sake of the world.

How will we respond to God's call? Let's spend our time in prayer and thought this week on that question...

For the sake of the world.

A Song for Every Tribe and Nation

Take note of the following elements of yesterday's service:

- "In Christ Alone" by Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty, and Stuart Townend
- "Be Thou My Vision" of unknown authorship, but an eighth century Irish hymn set to the Irish folk tune "Slane"
- A contemporary version of the prayer known as St. Patrick Breastplate*
- "Build Your Kingdom Here" by Rend Collective
- The testimony of those returning from a short-term missions trip to Ireland
- "By Faith" by Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty, and Stuart Townend
- "Burn Like A Star" by Rend Collective

The common thread is Ireland. The Gettys, Townend, and Rend Collective all hail from Ireland. St. Patrick was instrumental in bringing Christ to Ireland in the fifth century. The theme of worship was the nation of Ireland. But why?

Revelation offers a picture of worship in heaven. Whenever we sing or praise God in prayer, we join the eternal song and eternal praise of the angels and departed around the throne. Revelation can be difficult to understand, and we can get hung up on trying to figure out every symbol and character in John's vision. If we're not careful, we see it only as a coded message to the Church, and miss all it has to say about worship.

For instance, Revelation 7 shows us a multitude before God's throne "from every nation, tribe, people and language," who cry out "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb" (7:9-10). I suppose they were crying out something like the following:

"La salvación pertenece a nuestro Dios que está sentado en el trono, y al Cordero." (Spanish)
"उद्धार के लिये हमारे परमेश्वर का जो सिंहासन पर बैठता है के अंतर्गत आता है, और भेड़ के बच्चे के लिए." (Hindi)
"Le salut est à notre Dieu, qui est assis sur le trône, et à l'Agneau." (French)
"Baineann slánú leis ár n-Dia, a shuíonn ar an gcathaoir, agus chun an Uain."(Irish)

Because Revelation tells us that every tribe, nation, people and language will be around God's throne, we must have a view of worship that includes other cultures. You may recall services in the past when we sang "Oceans" in Spanish, Portuguese, and English. Or when we had the South American influences of the local band Jarana lead our music. This Sunday, we incorporated the cultural influences of a nation that is not too dissimilar, yet distant and experiencing spiritual darkness. It is important for us to sing their songs, because their cry will be raised to God around the throne.

I'm constantly reminded of Jesus' teaching that the most important commandments are to love God and to love your neighbor (Matt 22:37-39). Worship is loving God and loving  In our global culture, our neighbors include African Americans, descendants of the Sioux nation, Syrian refugees, Mexican immigrants, Chinese, Iraqi, Chilean, etc. Every tribe and nation. When we sing their songs, we accommodate them in our heart, remember them in our prayers, and make a place for them when they walk through our doors.

This week, pray for the people of Ireland. Keep their songs in your heart. And if you'd like to see hundreds of examples of worship from around the world, visit global worship.tumblr.com, curated by one of my professors, Dr. Paul Neeley.

*On Sunday, I mistakenly attributed this prayer to St. Michael instead of St. Patrick. Silly me. I apologize for the confusion.