"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." (Romans 12:1)
As we've seen over the past few weeks, worshiping God should define the way we spend our lives. Worship isn't contained by what we do Sunday mornings- it's bigger and broader than that (it's what we do with every action). But worship isn't possible simply because of our feelings or obedience- it's more significant than that (it's achieved because of Jesus' perfect life and death). Worship is a privilege that consumes our lives because both God's nature and grace are that overwhelming.
That daily reality should have an effect on the times when we get together. Church services aren't intended to be a common experience... they're not merely social gatherings, seminars on topics of interest, or musical performances. We gather together so that we can experience God's love, declare the glories of His grace, and encourage each other with the truth of His word. This isn't common- it's profound and transcendent... something eternal that's to be portrayed when we meet as a community.
So how should we prepare for a meeting this significant? How do we make sure that we come ready for a celebration this important? That's the question we're going to try to answer as our series comes to a close... and Hebrews 10:19-25 will be a great place to close our time. We've learned that we come to God on the basis of grace, and this affects our hearts, words, and expressions of worship. So what will that mean? "Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
This is a series on worship?
Over the past two weeks, we've begun a series on worshiping God... but you might have noticed that we haven't really hit the big "worship" topics. Why haven't we talked about the "style" of worship (like contemporary or traditional) or the "stuff" of worship (like singing and playing instruments)? Good questions.
First, no- we didn't forget. Instead, we wanted to begin the series by remembering what makes worship possible in the first place. We were people who saw God's glory in creation and heard it in the word... and we blew God off, we lived for other things, we considered Him insignificant. We didn't worship Him- we ignored Him. So what happened? Simply, Jesus lived for us, died for us, and sent the Spirit to change us. Ignoring and blowing God off isn't our destiny anymore... worship is. But "worship" songs that forget Jesus' finished work aren't really worship. So we wanted to start there first.
So here's where we're headed: this week, Eric will be preaching on the privilege of singing. The following week, we'll be looking at what it means to be expressive in worship. Finally, we'll tie things up by thinking about how to live during the week to make the most of Sunday morning. All of that will hopefully enable us to clearly understand what it means to "present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." (Rom 12:1)
First, no- we didn't forget. Instead, we wanted to begin the series by remembering what makes worship possible in the first place. We were people who saw God's glory in creation and heard it in the word... and we blew God off, we lived for other things, we considered Him insignificant. We didn't worship Him- we ignored Him. So what happened? Simply, Jesus lived for us, died for us, and sent the Spirit to change us. Ignoring and blowing God off isn't our destiny anymore... worship is. But "worship" songs that forget Jesus' finished work aren't really worship. So we wanted to start there first.
So here's where we're headed: this week, Eric will be preaching on the privilege of singing. The following week, we'll be looking at what it means to be expressive in worship. Finally, we'll tie things up by thinking about how to live during the week to make the most of Sunday morning. All of that will hopefully enable us to clearly understand what it means to "present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." (Rom 12:1)
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Don't follow your heart...
Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them... Deut 11:16
Last Sunday, we saw that the foundation of worship is the finished work of Christ. It is Jesus who has made it possible for us not to relate to God on the basis of how obedient we are; instead, when we come to God we meet with the grace that Jesus purchased for us... that our Father extended to us. What a great joy it is to come gratefully to God, in awe of who He is. So why don't we come to Him this way every day? Why do we find worship services boring?
Our hearts can be so easily deceived- led astray and turning aside... giving our attention, our adoration, our worship to things and people instead of God. So we need to be careful (to "take care") not to let this happen. We want our worship to be "acceptable" but it often isn't.
That's why I'm excited that we have Jason Reyes coming this next week. Jason's going to take us through Psalm 19, ending with these words, "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer." Acceptable worship comes from hearts that meditate on the glories of the gospel and the greatness of God. So let's anticipate good things this Sunday!
Last Sunday, we saw that the foundation of worship is the finished work of Christ. It is Jesus who has made it possible for us not to relate to God on the basis of how obedient we are; instead, when we come to God we meet with the grace that Jesus purchased for us... that our Father extended to us. What a great joy it is to come gratefully to God, in awe of who He is. So why don't we come to Him this way every day? Why do we find worship services boring?
Our hearts can be so easily deceived- led astray and turning aside... giving our attention, our adoration, our worship to things and people instead of God. So we need to be careful (to "take care") not to let this happen. We want our worship to be "acceptable" but it often isn't.
That's why I'm excited that we have Jason Reyes coming this next week. Jason's going to take us through Psalm 19, ending with these words, "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer." Acceptable worship comes from hearts that meditate on the glories of the gospel and the greatness of God. So let's anticipate good things this Sunday!
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