Worship Happens

We are all worshippers, created to bring pleasure and glory to the God who created us.  It matters not whether you consider yourself Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, etc. or religious in any way.  You don’t believe me?  Go to a rock concert or a sporting event and you will see amazing worship taking place.  People are lifting their hands, shouting, standing in awe, and often reaching out hoping for a touch from their “idol/god.”  They are dedicated to and pledge their allegiance, as well as theirtime and  money towards the objects of their worship.

You daily engage in worship whether your god is shopping, NASCAR, gambling, or a rock star. My point is that you are doing ‘what comes naturally,’ worshipping because we come into this world prewired to just that, worship. Louie Giglio asks the question: “How do we know for sure that some things are more important than others, more worthy of worship?  How do we even know that value, beauty, and worth exist?”  He goes on to answer: “I think it’s because we were designed that way.  We were made for God.” 

So the next time you feel inexorably drawn from idol to idol feeling desperately in need of something or some purpose ask yourself why?  What’s missing?  My guess is that real authentic worship is the missing piece in your life.   

We have been created by God and for God so that we have within us a place that only God can fill. We cannot live with that empty space and if we turn from God we look for other ways to satisfy that inner void or longing.  That God-shaped space within us has often been described as an internal magnet or homing device that pulls us towards God;  yet because God gave us a free will, we can turn from him and try to fill that void with something else.

While in Athens Paul speaks to this God-shaped place in all people as  he tells his listeners about the God that they had been searching for telling the men of Athens to meet the God of gods. He kept describing a God that has “determined” for all humans “their appoint times and the boundaries of their habitation…that men [all people] would seek God…for in him we live and move and exist” (Acts 17). We are not only drawn towards God, he is seeking us in return.  He is seeking so that we can know what we have been created to do and He’s seeking because He knows that we cannot truly live without Him. 

This is why we worship and are so good at it.  This also explains why Jesus willingly came.  He came to connect us once again to God and to awaken us to the possibility of centering our worship on who and what matters most.

The Cross was His Own

At the Beginning of Lent it is good to be reminded of just how blessed we are.  The following poem is one of my favorites. 

They borrowed a bed to lay His head
When Christ the LORD came down;
They borrowed the ass in the mountain pass
For Him to ride to town;
But the crown that He wore,
And the cross that He bore ...
Were His own.

He borrowed the bread when the crowd He fed
On the grassy mountain side;
He borrowed the dish of broken fish
With which He satisfied;
But the crown that He wore
And the cross that He bore
Were His own.

He borrowed the ship in which to sit
To teach the multitude;
He borrowed the nest in which to rest,
He had never a home so rude;
But the crown that He wore
And the cross that He bore
Were His own.

He borrowed a room on the way to the Tomb
The Passover lamb to eat;
They borrowed the cave; for Him a grave;
They borrowed the winding sheet.
But the crown that He wore
And the cross that He bore
Were His own.

The thorns on His head were worn in my stead,
For me the Saviour died.
For guilt of my sin the nails drove in
When Him they crucified;
Though the crown that He wore
And the cross that He bore
Were His own-- They rightly were mine!
~Author Unknown ~

Corporate Worship

Worship is done privately and corporately.  In both instances it is relational.  Privately the relationship is solely with God; corporately that relationship expands to include others, especially those that we worship with on a regular basis.  Both private and corporate worship are needed if one is to grow and mature in their faith as well as deepen their relationship with the Lord.  We learn from each other's experiences in the world, living as God's children, and we learn from each other's personal relationship with God. Thus worship not only informs our faith it increases our knowledge of God and our capacity to trust Him.

In her song titled "Trust His Heart," singer-songwriter Babbie Mason writes: "God is too wise to be mistaken; God is too good to be unkind. So when you don't understand, when you don't see His plan, when you can't trace His hand, trust His heart."

Another writer speaks of trust this way:

     Trust Him when dark doubts assail thee,
     Trust Him when your strength is small,
     Trust Him when to simply trust Him
     Seems the hardest thing of all.

     Trust Him, He is ever faithful,
     Trust Him, for His will is best,
     Trust Him, for the heart of Jesus
     Is the only place of rest.
     (Source Unknown)

How does one learn to trust in the manner that these writers indicate?  One learns through one's own experiences, supported and strengthened by the experiences of others. The point I want to make is that corporate worship is vitally important to the individual. 

My favorite definition for worship comes from Warren Wiersbe, "Worship is the believer's response of all that they are--mind, emotions, will, body--to what God is and says and does."  (Wiersbe, Real Worship. p. 26)  We don't respond fully in isolation we need the worship expression of others in order to be fully engaged in worship.  Samuel Logan Bengal illustrated this well when he took a coal from the fire and placed it on the hearth and said that "then tendency of fire is to go out." Particularly when left on its own.  Just as the coal needed the fuel of other coals to burn, we also need others to fuel our worship experience and expression.  Wiersbe expands further on his definition of worship as he writes that our response to God has "its mystial side in subjective experience, and its practical side in objective obedience to God's revealed truth. It is a loving response that is balanced by the fear of the Lord, and it is a deepening response as the believer comes to know God better." (Real Worship. page 27) 

Whatever your definition of worship may be it should be noted that what one does in worship is to proclaim, recall, and celebrate God's saving events. While the children of Israel looked back upon the Exodus event for their worship experience, Christians are the people of the Christ event.  We recall and celebrate our relationship to God through the redeeming sacrifice of Christ and his continual presence among us.

The results of worship? Transformation.

 



Little Leaders

I was blessed by this article written by Giglio and wanted to share it with you. Enjoy.

Reflections on Psalm 8
Louie Giglio (The Heart of Worship Files. (Ventura: Regal Books. Compiled by Matt Redman). pages 19-23).

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.  (Psalm 8:1)

When worship is the subject, little leaders are what we need.  I don’t necessarily mean small in stature but small in terms of self, for there is no other enemy of true worship besides self.  As a result of the Fall,we all have a deadly preoccupation with ourselves.  We are self-aware, self-focused, self-conscious, self-made, self-protecting, self-promoting, self-centered and selfish.  Conversion to Christ is nothing less than getting over ourselves.  That’s why there is more than a subtle change that happens at the foot of the Cross.  A death takes place there.  Christianity is not about self-help but rather self-death.  New life begins when we each abandon “me” and fall on the mercy of a God who loves us in spite of ourselves and a Christ who gave Himself in our place.  In that moment, we embrace freedom from the perpetual doom of the flesh and take up the cause of living solely for the One who freed us.  Such is the way of the Savior, who calls any who would be a recipient of new life to “deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow me”  (see Matt. 16:24).

Yet from my experience, self does not go quietly.  Instead, it stubbornly rears its head and demands its way, looking for any opportunity to stand in the limelight and receive the glory.  If left unchecked, self will stand in the light of God and somehow try to take credit for it.

Recently, I was stunned by a photograph in USA Today of what astronomers say is the perfect spiral galaxy.  Taken with the help of a new telescope on the Big Island of Hawaii, the photo shows a breathtaking shot of a galaxy name NGC 628--slightly smaller than our Milky Way (it contains only a paltry 100 billion stars) and, get this, 30 million lightyears away.  Funny, the whole point of the accompanying article was our great achievement of taking such a photograph with our two-week-old telescope.  Aren’t we great?  Hmmm.  Seems like all the wrong pronouns!  Granted,we have done well to photograph anything 30 million lightyears away, but let’s get the point straight:  God’s hand put every one of those stars in place.  An appropriate caption for this photo would ave been, “Can you believe God made this stuff with His own hands?”

The Psalmist writes:

     When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,the

     moon and the stars,which you have set in place, what is 

     man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you 

     care for him?  (Ps. 8:3-4).

Notice all the pronouns.  Your heavens.  Your fingers.  You set in place.  Get it?  God is far from small.  In fact,it’s safe to say our self-limitation has never fully allowed us to think of Him as He is.  Given His incomprehensible immensity, the fact that He is mindful of us at all is amazing!

So if you want a quick glimpse into how small you are as a leader, take note of which pronouns consume you:  “His,” “He” and “Yours”; or “,” “me” and “mine.”  Little leaders use “He” a lot.  The big ones use “me.”

A stage is a dangerous place to be, because a stage, by definition, is a raised platform.  Stages are built so that little people can be seen more easily by larger audiences.  The lights are bright.  The sound is big.  Yet if we are not careful, those of us who lead worship can allow the stage to succeed, making more of us than we really are.

It’s not that we are nobodies.  We’re created a little lower than angels and are crowned with glory and honor--made in His image (see Ps. 8:5).  We get to rule over all He has made.  But we’ve only to look up to be resized in an instant.  

Rather than absorb the light that shines on leaders, we must continually reflect it back to God.  One night my wife, Shelley, and I were flying home to Waco fromHouston in a small twin-engine plane.  Every time I looked out the window, I saw a massive searchlight moving rapidly across the ground below.  At first I thought a police helicopter was tracking some criminals, but after an hour the light was still there.  Finally I spoke up, wondering aloud what could be going on.  The pilot, ever so confident, informed me that the moon (which was full at the time and pretty much right there, if I’d only looked up) was shining on the plane, reflecting a hugh circle of light onto the ground.

I felt like an idiot!  Embarrassed and a little humiliated, I went back to minding my own business.  Then it hit me!  Eager to get even, I remarked that actually the moon was not shining on the plane.  Rather, the sun was shining on the moon (hah!), and the light of the sun was reflecting off the moon onto the plane.  Thus the sunlight was making the hugh searchlight on the ground.  Brilliant!

Well, as far as lead worshippers go, we need more little moons.  Shine a light on them if you will, but you’ll only see a greater reflection of His glory in all those around them.

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8:1).

Worship Is....

Some definitions I come across in my studies.....

William Temple:

To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God,
To beed the mind with the truth of God,
To Purge the imagination by the beauty of God,
To open the heart to the love of God,
To devote the will to the purpose of God.


Harold Best:

Defines worship in the broadest sense as "acknowledging that someone or something else is greater--worth more--and
by consequence, to be obeyed, feared, and adored...Worship is the sign that in giving myself completely to someone
or something, I want to be mastered by it."
(Music Through the Eyes of Faith)

Warren Wiersbe:

Worship is the believer's response of all that they are--mind, emotions, will, body--to what God is and says and
does."
(Real Worship)

David Peterson:

Worship of the living and true God is essentially an engagement with him on the terms that he proposes and in the
way that he alone makes possible.
(Engaging with God)

D.A. Carson:

Worship is the proper response of all moral, sentient beings to God, ascribing all honor and worth to their
Creator-God precisely because he is worthy, delightfully so.


You can see that there is no simple easy definition of worship just as there is no simple easy definition of love. Both can be beautiful in their simplicity but you can't escape their complexity.

As we move deeper into the subject of worship I want to underscore that the starting place in understanding worship--especially for worship leaders--is to recognize that worship flows from the person and work of God. God is the foundation upon which our worship is laid.

Christian (Biblical) worship begins with a reflection on who God is; worship never begins with us or on a reflection of our wants and needs. We don't begin by thinking about ourselves rather we consider who God is and God's expectations for worship. In this way we keep worship grounded in God.

Two very important things to keep always in mind:

--we don't create worship; we do not manufacture, create, or develop worship meetings. Worship is about a response
to a person, God. Effective worship is never a result of our efforts. Worship happens when we learn to say yes
to God's invitation to have an encounter with Him.

--We do not initiate worship; God always acts first. God approaches us, calls us and invites us.

Let me close with A.W. Tozer:

"What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us...[as] no religion has never been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshipper entertains high or low thoughts of God. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God, just as her most significant message is what she says about him or leaves unsaid, for her silence is often more eloquent that her speech."

What is Worship?

Covenantal Worship

Much of what I want to share with you today is based on Worship Old & New by Robert Webber.  He is a master at the subject of worship and I highly recommend his writings.

So let’s look at the foundation of covenantal worship through the text of Exodus 24 and understand from the very beginning that worship is not a free for all. God sets the parameters. God regulates how we approach Him.  “Our covenant with God is based on His words, His terms, not our own words and terms.”  (David Guzik)  In our “its all about me” society it is especially important to remember that it is God who determines what is acceptable worship and what are acceptable worship practices.

Scripture sets out the standard of acceptable behavior. We are bound to His requirements and He is bound to His promises. It is a wonderful arrangement! God’s Word informs us of what God expects of us. God’s Word informs us of what we can expect from God. We are not left in the dark when it comes to worship.

Abraham

In worship we remember how God initiated a relationship with Abraham.  God called Abraham to follow Him in faith and Abraham obeyed.  The result was a covenant with God who promised to bless him (Gen. 12:1-3).

One foundation of worship is the blessing given to the whole world through Abraham and the salvation that God offers to us all through Christ.

Moses

Moses had his own private worship experience at the burning bush.  Note that it was God taking the initiative (as with Abram), calling for a response from the worshipper.  Even before Sinai, the concept of covenant has been impressed upon the one who would be revealing the covenant with Israel.

The notion of covenant proceeds still further.  We know the story of how , through Abraham, God brought into being the people of Israel; how they were held in bondage and how they called out to God to remember his covenant with Abraham.

The Exodus Event

In this event God delivered the people of Israel, made them a great nation, and entered into covenant with them at Mount Sinai.  The ceremony that established this covenant, which consisted of the people assembling before God at Mount Sinai for the reading of the Book of the Covenant and the ratification of the covenant with blood, was a worship event.

From that moment on, Israel’s worship would look back to this as the historic event that they would continually proclaim, recall, and celebrate.  “It contains the most basic structural elements for a meeting between God and his people” (R. Webber, Worship Old & New, p.20).

The Worship Character of the Event (Exodus 24:1-8)

·         Basic structural elements:

·         The meeting was convened by God

·         The people were arranged in a structure of responsibility.

·         The meeting was characterized by the proclamation of the Word.

·         The people responded. They accepted the conditions of the covenant thereby indicating a commitment to obey the Word.

·         The meeting was climaxed by a dramatic symbol of ratification of the covenant—the sprinkling of the blood.

 Christ

Christians believe the Exodus event is a type of God’s saving action in Jesus. Let me contrast:

Israel in bondage to Pharaoh	all people in bondage to the power of evil (Eph. 2:2)
God sent Moses to deliver Israel from bondage	God sent Jesus to deliver us from sin (Matt. 1:21
God entered into a covenant with Israel	God enters into covenant with the church (Heb. 8:8-12)
God established a tabernacle with a high priest for worship	God established a new high priest and an entrance into the Holy of Holies through Jesus (Heb. 9:11-14)
The tabernacle was characterized by sacrifices	New covenant is characterized by once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus (Heb. 10:15-18)
Israel looked forward to the promised land	Christians hope for the new heavens and new earth (Rev. 21:1)

At its heart, worship proclaims, recalls, and celebrates God’s saving events.  Israel is the people of the Exodus event. Their history and their worship look back on this event.  Christians are people of the Christ event.  Their history and their worship look back to this event.

This understanding of covenantal worship is reinforced by Peter’s first letter:  “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”  (I Peter 2:9)

Conclusion

I know that this has been a rather long blog and if you are still with me………YEAH!!!............hang on a little more.  I have tried to be as concise as possible yet still cover the basics.

Hear Webber’s own words:

“Imagine yourself in the first century.  When you assemble with other Christians for worship, you go to someone’s home and eat a full meal.  In the context of a joyous meal, you hear stories about Jesus and apply them to your own life.  You break bread anticipating that the Jesus who broke bread with his disciples will be present with you, even as he was present on the road to Emmaus and in the upper room.  You engage in fellowship with your friends, meet new people, hold up each other’s concerns in prayer, and give money and assistance to those in need.  In that context your heart is full of joy and gladness.”

Can we recover a view of worship in The Salvation Army that sees it as covenantal?  Can we approach Sunday morning believing steadfastly that God has invited us to meet him in the gathering of our flock and that he has something special to say to us?...every week? Can we capture the awesome responsibility that is ours to help our people, often blinded by ignorance, distraction, sin, etc., enter the holy place to meet with God?

                                               

Response

 

Major Judy Hart:

Thank you for this post. Worship is something I struggle with. I want so desperately to bring our congregation into an attitude of worship. So often I get the feeling Sunday morning worship is about accomplishment. People come to church on Sunday morning with no desire or intention of being in the presence if God. It's more of an accomplishment. Something to check off of their to do list. And those few who perhaps come to engage in true worship many times feel that "church" is the only place to worship.

I have discovered some of these attitudes in myself from time to time. I complain because the style of worship isn't what I desire. I criticize others for their apparent lack if desire. I feel that atmosphere of worship is not conducive for true worship.

Your article has reminded me once again,that worship is about my desire to engage with my Lord. He knows my needs and He will take care of them, I simply need to just engage my spirit with His.

Judy:  Thank you for sharing your heart with us.  We can all identify.  It is all too easy to get caught up in the weeds of life and miss the wild flowers growing amongst them.   

Worship

I have decided to do through this medium what many have been asking me to do lately and that is to share with you what I have learned and discovered regarding worship—particularly corporate worship. 

A large part of our lives as officers is taken up with the planning and preparation for worship.  I spent 16 years of my life ‘in the trenches’ planning and leading worship on a weekly basis (twice on Sunday and at least once sometime during the week).  Since then my Sunday worship experience has been another’s responsibility.  This has given me an intense desire to “study” the subject – probably for a few obvious reasons.  I have read numerous books (you’re welcome to borrow) and have had the privilege of taking seminary courses on the subject in addition to teaching the subject and conducting seminars.  I don’t say this to puff up any sort of resume, just to illustrate the depth of my interest in the subject.  My interest has also been intensified by the so called worship wars regarding music styles that we’ve all lived through.

I have been told by colleague officers that I have a gift for worship planning—I still am not sure about this but I do know that I love planning worship.

As I talk with soldiers, especially our younger members, there is a plea in them and a hungering desire for “meaningful” worship.  As you question them they often find it difficult to articulate what is “meaningful.”  However, they have their ideas -- some I might challenge but that is really irrelevant. In the final analysis it is not about style but about content.  To a certain extent it is also about culture:  are we worshipping in a way that is relevant to the culture we live in?  For example, we live in a visual, fast paced society; how does our worship reflect this in a way that is recognizable and feels ‘normal’ in its presentation?

So here’s what I want to do.  I would like to explore this subject in some depth.  I need your responses and the benefit of your knowledge, especially those of you who are leading and planning worship on a regular basis.  I would love for us to share our resources and experiences. 

So let’s begin.

I challenge you to define worship.  When you do would you please share?  It is not as easy as it would at first seem.  Definitions are important; the difference between a lightning bolt and lightning bug can be life altering.  We cannot take for granted that when we talk about worship, we are saying (meaning) the same thing.   Care also needs to be taken when describing worship because the words we use can be polarizing. For instance, the use of traditional vs. contemporary when describing worship style that is usually stated in preference of one or the other.
Robert Shaper asserts that worship, like love, is characterized by intuitive simplicity (everybody “knows” what worship is, just as everyone “knows” what love is) and philosophical complexity (the harder you press to unpack love or worship, the more difficult the task).  (Shaper, In His Presence. P. 13) The reality is that worship embraces all aspects of our lives; our relationships, our attitudes, our actions.

Worship is covenantal and is rooted in the promise in Genesis 12:1-3: “The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.  “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Our foundation of worship is given to the world through Abraham and the salvation that God offers to us through Christ.

What I mean by worship being covenantal is that it is built upon a relationship—the relationship between God and his people. A covenant that commits two parties to relate to each other in agreed upon ways.  

We will explore in greater depth this covenantal relationship in our next post. For now let me leave you with the following thought:

“Christian worship is a God-instituted gift to the church for nurturing our relationship with God and others.  Worship is above all to God, with God, and for God. Therefore it is wise to discover God’s expectations for Christian corporate worship. It is there that we must begin and end.”  (Constance M. Cherry, The Worship Architect. P.xii)

ACTS

Martin Luther

Always appreciate your thoughts and comments, Arvilla, thank you.
The acrostic is actually from Martin Luther and originally was a 50 page
response to his barber who asked the question, "How should I pray?"


When you pray, have scripture open and before you, then:


A - Adoration for the Trinity.
C - Confess when I am not found in the verse of Scripture being studied/ read.
T - Thanksgiving where I am found in the verse of Scripture being studied/read.
S - Supplication for self and others (with all humility).


Faith is a social practice, but one that requires prayerful solitude. My
devotions today suggested that I need first the "Sand Box" (solitude) to be
effective on the "Soap Box" (faith in the open world).  Thanks for
reinforcing this private time alone with God (TAWG).


Blessings.


George Polarek, Major
Syracuse Area Services Coordinator


Thanks, George for sharing and allowing me to post your thoughts and response.
You give us great reminders as to what our priorities should be.  I love TWAG--time
alone with God.  (fits right in with the Army's penchant for acronyms!)


God Bless.