Preparing for Sunday...

I was looking back over the last sermon Don DeVries delivered to us in July of 2007. Our series was from 2 Timothy 4:1-8 and was called Final Words... partly because it reflected Paul's last charge to Timothy and partly because it reflected Don's last series of sermons to Sovereign Grace Church.

As he was closing out this message he gave us five ways of preparing for the Sunday meeting... particularly in preparing ourselves to hear God's Word preached. Rereading them, I thought these were so good that I wanted to share them with you here as we prepare for tomorrow:

1^st Recognize the unique place of the preached word in your life. Last week I shared that the four legs of Christian growth included: Scripture, prayer, biblical fellowship and preaching. Something unique happens when we sit under God’s word in the context of the local church. The Holy Spirit anoints His word and He anoints those who are listening.

2^nd Go to bed early on Saturday night so you are ready to listen and engage with God’s word. I must draw on John Piper here, “Without sufficient sleep our minds are dull, our emotions are flat, our proneness to depression is higher and our fuses are short” He goes on to write, “I especially exhort parents to teach teenagers that Saturday night is not the night to stay out late with friends…It is a terrible thing to teach children that worship is so optional that it doesn’t matter if you are exhausted when you come.”

3^rd Avoid worldly entertainment on Saturday night to prepare your heart for the message on Sunday. Again, John Piper brings a very sobering exhortation when he writes, “It astonishes me how many Christians watch the same… empty... trivial… suggestive…immodest TV shows that most unbelievers watch. This makes us small and weak and worldly and inauthentic in worship. Instead turn off the television on Saturday night and read something true and great and beautiful and pure and honorable and excellent and worthy of praise. Your heart will unshrivel and you will be able to feel greatness again.”

4^th Put aside preferences. We all have the temptation to prefer a particular style of preaching or a particular theme. We might prefer to have the OT preached to the NT or a gospel preached to one of Paul’s letters. None of these desires are inherently wrong unless they hinder you from hearing and applying God’s word or they tempt you to become sinfully critical.

5^th Be humble and teachable. Each week, listen to what the Spirit might be speaking to you from His word. Look for one thing each week that you can apply. As you do, the roots of your spiritual life will grow deeper and your communion and walk with the Lord will only grow sweeter.

Soak your soul in this...

I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Cor 15:50-57

What a complete privilege awaits us! We cannot inherit the greatness of God's kingdom in its fullness as we are... but we will ALL be changed! In a way we won't even fully comprehend as it happens before we can blink, we will be clothed with the immortal capacity to celebrate Christ's victory over death. We're going to sing a song this Sunday that captures this reality so well; here are the words from There is a Day by Nathan Fellingham. Can't wait to sing this with you tomorrow!

There is a day that all creation’s waiting for
A day of freedom and liberation for the earth
And on that day the Lord will come to meet His bride
And when we see Him in an instant we’ll be changed

The trumpet sounds and the dead will then be raised
By His power, never to perish again
Once only flesh, now clothed with immortality
Death has now been swallowed up in victory

We will meet Him in the air
And then we will be like Him
For we will see Him as He is, O yeah
Then all hurt and pain will cease
And we’ll be with Him forever
And in His glory we will live, O yeah, O yeah

So lift Your eyes to the things as yet unseen
That will remain now for all eternity
Though trouble’s hard, it’s only momentary
And it’s achieving our future glory

but (in fact) Christ has been raised...

"This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me..." (Matthew 15:8-9)

"Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you- unless you believed in vain." (1 Corinthians 15:1-2)

"Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Isn't it interesting that so much that seems central to the Christian faith can in reality be empty and worthless when viewed through God's eyes? Our worship, our belief, our labors can actually be empty shells of words, doctrine, and deeds as God sees them. That's not the epitaph I want on my faith... or on the life of our church. But what prevents us from falling into the trappings of religion that mean nothing to God? There's much that does... but according to 1 Corinthians 15- there is one thing we can't forget- Christ is risen.

"But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead!" (1 Cor 15:20) This doctrine carries more freight than a once a year celebration merits. According to Paul, if it's false- Christians are pathetic and Christianity is pointless. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead... and that makes all the difference in how we hold to the great news of the gospel. So come join us this month as we study 1 Corinthians 15 to celebrate what's so GOOD about the gospel!

The Father is Seeking Worshippers...

Those words have their basis in John 4- "But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (v 23-24)

What an amazing reality that is! God desires worshipers who are in tune with Him... who know who God is and are internally drawn to Him- not the most accurate description of our culture. Our world elevates and worships many things... but God as He's revealed Himself in Scripture in the face of Jesus Christ isn't among the top 10- at all. But the Father is seeking worshipers.

This Sunday, we'll be looking at John 4 to grasp the connection between worship and evangelism... how a burden to tell others about God begins and ends with a heart amazed by His glory. I'm looking forward to Eric's message for this reason... that I might grow in both my wonder at God's glory and the weight of my call to share what I've known with others.

Worshiping God together...

"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."

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)

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!