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Worship - November

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Hello church family, here is a wonderful Desiring God article by Bob Kauflin that will help us examine our hearts as we head into the Christmas season.

“Idolatry in Corporate Worship - What’s your greatest hindrance to worshiping God as you gather with the church for corporate worship? I can think of a number of possible answers... While I don’t want to minimize the importance of faithful planning, musical skill, and wise leadership, our greatest problem when it comes to worshiping God doesn’t lie outside us, but within our own hearts. It’s the problem of idolatry.

Anything Other Than Jesus - “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21), John ends his first letter. In other words, don’t see anything but God’s glory in Christ as the source of your greatest joy, deepest satisfaction, and highest authority. 
Idolatry can be active in my heart even when I’m gathered with the church. Whenever I think I can’t meet with God unless “X” is present, I’m making a profound statement. If “X” is anything other than Jesus Christ, and his Holy Spirit, I’ve moved into idolatrous territory…

Our Sunday Morning Idols… Here are a few that come to mind.

Musical Excellence - It’s easy to be distracted by sloppy playing, unsophisticated songs, an out-of-tune guitar, a vocalist who sings sharp, a drummer who drops a beat, or a mix that’s out of balance. That’s why skilled musicianship is commended in the Bible (Psalm 33:3). But rather than just internally criticize what’s going on, I can thank God he uses the weak things of this world to confound the wise (1 Corinthians 1:20–31). I can remind myself that Jesus perfects all our offerings of worship through his once-and-for-all sacrifice (1 Peter 2:5), and that even the most polished performance is insufficient on its own to merit God’s favor…

Musical Preference - Our leaders don’t always pick the songs on our playlist. And they shouldn’t. The best music for congregations serves both the lyrics and the unity of the congregation, not our personal likes and dislikes. No song needs to keep us from glorying in our Redeemer. We gather with the body to edify one another. I bring more glory to God by rejoicing that others in the church are benefiting from a song, even if it’s not my preference.

Preaching Skill - Would that every preacher were as gifted, trained, and skilled as some of the more well-known preachers of our day. They aren’t. But as long as they’re preaching the gospel and seeking to communicate God’s word faithfully, they’re obeying God — and we can rejoice (2 Timothy 4:2). As Charles Spurgeon’s grandfather reminds us, someone else might be able to preach the gospel better, but he can’t preach a better gospel. Make it a point to encourage and thank your preaching pastor.

Creativity - Creativity is never our goal in worshiping God. It’s simply a means to the end of displaying and seeing the glory of Christ more clearly. New forms or mediums of communication can give us a different perspective, causing the truth to have a greater impact on us. But if we’re concerned that our times of corporate worship aren’t cool, cutting edge, or surprising enough, we need to remember that the gospel of Christ is always news — and the best news we’ll ever hear.

Experiences - We all love “worship experiences” with God. But the goal of gathering as God’s people is not simply to feel butterflies, but to see and remember something, with true affection. That “something” is the word, works, and worthiness of God, especially as he has revealed himself in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6). If I pursue goose bumps or mere heightened emotion during a meeting, God becomes simply one of numerous options I can choose to seek them from.

Liturgy - Forms and practices are significant when we meet as God’s people to worship him. Our gatherings both reflect and shape our beliefs. But there is no “liturgical perfectionism” we can achieve that will ever make our worship more acceptable to God than it already is in Jesus. Our goal is to do in faith what magnifies God’s glory in Christ most effectively and scripturally. We can and should use biblical elements and proportions in corporate worship. But liturgies should serve us, not rule us. Since God has seen fit to allow freedom in form, so should we.

Every time we gather is an opportunity to glory in God’s grace revealed to us in the crucified and risen Savior. Let’s not let idols keep us from reveling in the inexpressible joy that our sins are forgiven and that we have been reconciled to God.”
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/idolatry-in-corporate-worship

Posted by Derek Niffenegger with
in Newsletter, Worship

Worship - October

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This Sunday we celebrated the Lord’s Supper, and even though we are doing it somewhat differently than what we have in the past, this is something that each of us has done at least a couple of times a year since we became Christians. In nearly every church I have been in, the leadership of the church sets aside a few minutes to remind the congregation of the importance and solemn nature of this ceremony.  Even with these constant reminders, however, our tendency is to lose our wonder and grow accustomed to what is being celebrated.  We eat the bread, we drink the cup, and before we know it, it’s all over with and we’re ready to move on with our day.  If we are not careful, our muscle memory takes over, and we have consumed the elements and barely given any thought to the Gospel.  I don’t think that is what Christ had in mind when He said, “Do this in remembrance of me.”

Oftentimes when I am meditating on the Lord’s Supper I like to go back to the Old Testament.  I love the Old Testament because the more I study it, the more I understand how it points forward to the atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross.  And when it comes to the Lord’s Supper, I love to go back to the Passover in particular.  It was during the Passover feast that Christ gave his disciples the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper, and I have no doubt that He did so for a reason.  There is a song that I came across a couple of years ago which I think beautifully connects these two earth shattering events, and helps us to refocus our hearts on the cross during communion.  The song is by Caroline Cobb and Sean Carter, and is called “The Passover Song”.  The song begins with the phrase, “There’s a promise in our veins, but it’s faded by all these years in chains.”  It speaks of the children of Israel held captive in Egypt, and reminds us of the promises that God made both to Adam and Eve and to Abraham.  To Adam and Eve God promised that their offspring would crush the head of the serpent, though the serpent would bruise his heel (Genesis 3:15), and to Abraham God promised that through his offspring all the families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3, Galatians 3:7-9).  Thus within the bloodline of Abraham's offspring there was a promise of blessing and redemption.  The problem was, the children of Israel were hopelessly enslaved in the land of Egypt.  Telling of the coming of Moses, the song goes on to say, “Send a prophet, send the plagues, That by sunrise we will no more be slaves."

Bringing us to the very night of Passover, the song then says, "Take the lamb, take the blood, and paint it on our doorways.  At night death will come but pass us by... This is all our hope and peace".  God's wrath was coming down upon the nation of Egypt, manifested in the death of the firstborn of every single family in the land. But in His graciousness, God provided a means of escape, and anyone who would kill the lamb, consume its flesh, and paint its blood on the doorway of their house, their household would be spared.  The nation of Israel was then instructed to reenact the ceremonies of Passover as a means of remembrance, teaching one generation after another of God's salvation that came through judgment.

However, within the story told through this song we take a sudden turn when it says, "There's a poison in our veins, and it leads to death we cannot escape."  Romans 5:12 reminds us that coursing through each of our veins is death which comes through sin.  This time, however, the song does not call for a prophet and plagues, but says, "Send a ransom, a perfect son.  Remedy the curse by his precious blood."  As bad as the "years in chains" were for the nation of Israel, their slavery pales in comparison to the curse of sin.  Thus no animal's blood would ever be sufficient to wipe away the stain of sin.

Now, completing our journey from the Passover to the cross, the song says, "And the lamb that will come, his cross will be our doorway.  And the red of His blood will make us white.  And the daughters and sons rejoice in resurrection! And death is swallowed up in endless life."

This is what we are celebrating and remembering when we eat the bread and drink the cup together, and in doing so we are proclaiming the Lord's death until He comes. 

Posted by Derek Niffenegger with

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