Be Still My Soul
One hymn that has tremendously impacted my heart recently has been “Be Still My Soul“.
It is a hymn that encourages me to trust God’s faithfulness and favor toward me, even in life’s darkest circumstances. He leads me “through thorny ways” that we experience now “to a joyful end” both in this life and the next. He is our “best, [our] heavenly Friend” who causes all things to work together for the good of his people (Romans 8:32). Verse 4 reminds us of our final destination, when sorrow is “forgot, love’s purest joys restored.” It is a certain knowledge of the future that enables us to face our trials with peace and confidence.
The verse that hits home the most is verse 3 – “when dearest friends depart, and all is darkened in the vale of tears” – the very sentiment of the pilgrimage I’ve been going through the past couple months. In times when I feel completely helpless under the sovereign will of God, God is giving me a clearer, better knowledge of “His love, His heart who comes to soothe my sorrow and my fears.”
I pray that this hymn would be an encouragement to you also.
Be still, my soul: the Lord is on your side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to your God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: your best, your heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still, my soul: your God will undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Your hope, your confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.
Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shall you better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe your sorrow and your fears.
Be still, my soul: your Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.
Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.
Text: Katharina von Schlegel, 1752
Translated by Jane Borthwick, 1855
Tune: FINLANDIA, Jean Sibelius, 1899
The Wonder of the Cross
O precious sight, my Savior stands
Dying for me with outstretched hands
O precious sight, I love to gaze
Remembering salvation’s day
Remembering salvation’s day
Though my eyes linger on this scene
May passing time and years not steal
The power with which it impacts me
The freshness of it’s mystery
The freshness of it’s mystery
May I never lose the wonder, the wonder of the cross
May I see it like the first time, standing as a sinner lost
Undone by mercy and left speechless, watching wide eyed at the cost
May I never lose the wonder, the wonder of the cross
Behold the God-man crucified
The perfect sinless sacrifice
As blood ran down those nails and wood
History was split in two
Yes, History was split in two
Behold the empty wooden tree
His body gone, alive and free
We sing with everlasting joy
For sin and death have been destroyed
Yes sin and death have been destroyed
Written by Vicky Beeching. Performed by Matt Hammitt and Bethany Dillon.
I Want to Be Where You Are (Psalm 84)
How sweet the place where You dwell, O Lord
My soul longs and faints for You
My heart sings out a loud song of joy
For I have known the living God
I want to be where You are, O Lord
I want to be where You are, O Lord
I’d rather have just one day with You,
Than be anywhere else
There’s no good thing that You will withhold
From those who live to follow You
I’d rather be Your servant, O God
Than have the riches of this world
Those who follow You go from strength to strength
Those who trust in You are filled with joy
From Sovereign Grace Music - Psalms; written by Stephen Altrogge.
Blessing the Name of the LORD: When He Gives & then Takes Away
Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
The people of God have always had their laments. The Psalms are filled with a whole host of intense emotions and expressions towards God. So many of them were birthed in times of suffering and struggle. Psalm 3 was written as King David fled for his life from his own son Absalom. Psalm 56 was inspired when the Philistines seized him in Gath. In Psalm 57 he’s on the run again, this time from King Saul, and wrote the song whilst hiding in a cave. These are songs formed in the fire of affliction. They are the desperate cries of a worshipper on the road marked with suffering. In fact, Eugene Peterson estimates that around 70% of content in the Psalms is lament-based.
Blessed be Your name:
In the land that is plentiful, where Your streams of abundance flow;
When I’m found in the desert place, though I walk through the wilderness.
When the sun’s shining down on me, when the world’s ‘all as it should be’;
On the road marked with suffering, though there’s pain in the offering.Every blessing You pour out, I’ll turn back to praise.
When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say:
blessed be Your glorious name.
Clearly therefore, songs of lament are a very biblical thing to sing in worship. Yet they are also a relevant thing to sing, for we live in a world full of anguish and heartache. As Christians, yes we live in victory, but in paradox we also exist as strangers in a foreign land, aching for home, and knowing deep within us that the world we see before is not as it should be. So the question is this: if songs of lament are firstly thoroughly biblical, and secondly extremely relevant, then why on earth are there not more songs to help us voice these heart-cries? As Frederich W. Schmidt Jr. writes, these Psalms do three things:
They give us permission to ask our own questions about suffering. They model the capacity to ask questions we might otherwise suppress, but can never escape. And they model how those questions might be asked without fear of compromising our relationship with God or with other people.
--Matt Redman
Memoirs of a Former Lead Worshiper
Back in January 2004, I took an “indefinite sabbatical” from worship leading. I had been leading music at church since I was a teenaged Christian — since around 1996 — when my home church moved into our own building and started having worship services in English.
If I recall correctly, the sabbatical period lasted about 6 months. I was cleaning my room at home when I was back in Toronto earlier this May, and I found the old journal entry that recorded the thoughts that lead up to the sabbatical. I also recall the issues at hand that lead to the much leaded time of reflection: the congregation I lead 1-2 times/month had lost the meaning of true biblical worship, and the things we sang became only lip-service to a God who certainly deserved a people who carried their crosses.
I had been passionately leading and shepherding the congregation through music with little notice from the pastoral staff for 7 years. In the months (and years) that lead up to my sabbatical, I remember pushing for a deeper spiritual depth in all that we sang, being very frustrated with the music ministry itself. For it didn’t seem like it was growing or maturing in terms of life worship. I was not physically or emotionally drained from leading every month, but I was frustrated about the where all my efforts to direct the teams I lead: nowhere.
Here is the journal entry: (more…)
Praising God and Delighting in Him
1 Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not envious of wrongdoers!
2 For they will soon fade like the grass
and wither like the green herb.3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
Proclaim His Salvation
Chip Stam shared this simple yet powerful quote by Bob Kauflin in this week’s WQOTW:
Biblical worship involves proclamation and leads to proclaiming God’s truth with our lives. We’re doing more than emoting or having a “worship experience.” We’re declaring why God is so great, what he has accomplished, and all that he has promised. We all need to be reminded, and proclamation helps us remember.
Peter tells us that we have been saved “that [we] may proclaim the excellencies of him who called [us] out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). We’re meant to fulfill this command both in our meetings and in our lives.
People come into our churches proclaiming all sorts of things with their words and actions. Through close-fisted giving, some are asserting how much their own personal wealth matters. Others, by their complaining, are declaring that personal comfort matters. Teens in the latest fashions may be proclaiming that being cool matters. Others confirm through their smiles or frowns that their musical preferences matter.
But we want each of them to leave proclaiming this: the gospel of Jesus Christ matters.
God’s Word commands us to “proclaim his salvation day after day” (Psalm 96:2, NIV). Proclaiming this salvation should be a daily practice and preoccupation for as long as we live.
–Bob Kauflin, Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2008, pp. 129-130.
Thank You for the Trials
These words say exactly how I feel about right now about them “400 years of silence” that I have experienced with God in the past few years:
In Your grace, You know where I walk
You know when I fall
You know all my ways
In Your love, I know You allow
What I cannot grasp
To bring You praiseThank You for the trials
For the fire, for the pain
Thank You for the strength
Knowing You have ordained
Every dayYour great power is shown when I’m weak
You help me to see
Your love in this place
Perfect peace is filling my mind
And drawing my heart
To praise You againIn my uncertainty, Your Word is all I need
To know You’re with me every day
Every Day - By Joel Sczebel and Todd Twining As recorded on Come Weary Saints
© 2008 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP)/Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)
The Most Important Thing About You
This was last week’s Worship Quote of the Week. I’ve heard the first sentence of this quote referenced by pastors and worship leaders numerous times, and yet have never heard anybody reference the quote in fuller length. Here it is in all its glory, quoted within its context. If ever I can find time to read books outside of my “required” list for the classes I’m taking at Southern, Tozer’s The Knowledge of the Holy is certainly up at the top of this list!
What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God.
For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. This is true not only of the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the Church. Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God.
–A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy (New York: HarperCollins, 1961), 1. Reissue (1998)
A Belated Happy Pentecost Sunday
In all the Mothers’ Day hooplah, I was neglected to be informed that yesterday was Pentecost Sunday (not that I strictly follow the Liturgical Calendar).
I was reminded during my blog reading this afternoon from a friend’s blog post — that yesterday, Pentecost was “a day in which we remember the events that took place 50 days after the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord, where the promised allos paraklêtos (another helper, John 14.16) found fulfillment in the coming of the Holy Spirit.”
And so, in a belated celebratory remembrance of Pentecost, I want to share with you these reflective words from Harold Best.
Pentecost is Babel turned right side up: all speech is unified because it is God, no longer people, who is building toward the heavens.
The story of Pentecost goes further than its historical reality. It is also a parable that urges us into the knowledge that the gospel is comfortable in any culture and its message finds easy residence in the languages, cultural ways and thought styles (but not thought systems) of countless societies. In other words, whoever seeks to move a culture towards transformation by Christ must join it, participating in the transformation from within.
God is not Western; God is not Eastern; God is not exclusively the God of classical culture or primitive culture; God is the Lord of the plethora, the God of the diverse, the redeemer of the plural. Likewise, God calls for response in different languages, dialects, and idioms, accepting them through the Son. Pentecost tells us that one artistic tongue is only a start and a thousand will never suffice. There is no single chosen language or artistic or musical style that, better than others, can capture and repeat back the fullness of the glory of God. This truism cannot be avoided. Cultures are not infinite. No single one can hold the wholeness of praise and worship or the fullness of the counsel of God.
["O for a thousand tongues to sing my great redeemer's praise." Lord, show us our chains of linguistic and artistic elitism. Set us free to hear and respond - to know your ways and worship you in spirit and in truth. AMEN!]
–Harold Best, in Music Through Eyes of Faith, Chapter 3, “Musical Pluralism and Diversity,” Harper Collins, 1993, p. 66.
Five bleeding wounds He bears
Arise, my soul, arise; shake off thy guilty fears;
The bleeding sacrifice in my behalf appears:
Before the throne my surety stands,
Before the throne my surety stands,
My name is written on His hands.
He ever lives above, for me to intercede;
His all redeeming love, His precious blood, to plead:
His blood atoned for all our race,
His blood atoned for all our race,
And sprinkles now the throne of grace.
Five bleeding wounds He bears; received on Calvary;
They pour effectual prayers; they strongly plead for me:
“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry,
“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry,
“Nor let that ransomed sinner die!”
The Father hears Him pray, His dear anointed One;
He cannot turn away, the presence of His Son;
His Spirit answers to the blood,
His Spirit answers to the blood,
And tells me I am born of God.
My God is reconciled; His pardoning voice I hear;
He owns me for His child; I can no longer fear:
With confidence I now draw nigh,
With confidence I now draw nigh,
And “Father, Abba, Father,” cry.
"Arise, My Soul, Arise" by Charles Wesley, Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1742.
Sing the Glory of His Name
In the middle of this series on “Why Do We Sing?” some of you may be asking, “Why is he making such a big deal about singing? Don’t we sing because we want to sing? It sure beats talking for the whole meeting!”
Yes, it certainly does. And so far in this series, we’ve discussed how God gave us singing to help us remember and meditate on truth about Him. But the purposes for our singing go far beyond that. Singing is also one of the Christian’s primary means for expressing objective truth about
God.
Psalm 66:2 says, “Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious!” When we sing the glory of God’s name, we declare and reflect on who He is, what He has done, and what He will do. God wants us to sing the glory of His name because He is like no other. He is the I AM, Redeemer, Shepherd, Almighty Lord, God our Provider, Deliverer, Holy One. He wants us to sing about His unique work as Redeemer, Creator, and Savior. Each name represents a unique aspect of God, and each draws us to worship Him in a slightly different way. He wants us to describe over and over again the specific ways He has proven His faithfulness, goodness, greatness, majesty, purity, compassion, love, and mercy. He wants his name and character to be set apart.
That’s why the songs we sing ought to be derived from or thoroughly tested by Scripture. A friend pointed out to me that if most of our songs can be sung just as well by Buddhists, Muslims, or Hindus, we need to change our repertoire! This doesn’t mean that the songs we sing are intended to be a systematic Christian theology, but they should help us clearly and accurately glorify the only true God. That’s why, when we’re choosing songs for the Sunday service or our small group, the lyrics are of greater concern than the chords and the beat!
It’s also a good idea to memorize songs as we’re able. You’ve heard of A.D.D? That’s Attention Deficit Disorder. Well, I think on Sundays many of us can suffer from a modern affliction called O.D.D. - - Overhead Dependency Disorder — which is closely related to a much older malady
known as H.F.S., or Hymnal Fixation Syndrome. I’ve watched people keep their eyes glued to the screen or printed page throughout the worship, even when they’re singing songs they know by heart! How much more valuable it would be to learn some of these songs, and then sing them, from memory! The more words about God I can store up in my heart, the more I can be helped by them throughout the day.
Some years ago I realized I had a very limited knowledge of hymns. So I started using a hymnal in my devotional times. What a difference it made! My prayer life received a fresh infusion of truth, passion, and depth. Over time I’ve tried to memorize a number of the hymns, and this
has benefited me immeasurably by expanding my vocabulary for singing God’s praise.
What an amazing gift God has given us in singing. Next time we’ll look at a second way in which singing helps us respond to God. Until then, remember how much we have to sing about — because of Jesus.
By Bob Kauflin, Sovereign Grace Ministries
O Great God
O great God of highest heaven
Occupy my lowly heart
Own it all and reign supreme
Conquer every rebel power
Let no vice or sin remain
That resists Your holy war
You have loved and purchased me
Make me Yours forevermore
I was blinded by my sin
Had no ears to hear Your voice
Did not know Your love within
Had no taste for heaven’s joys
Then Your Spirit gave me life
Opened up Your Word to me
Through the gospel of Your Son
Gave me endless hope and peace
Help me now to live a life
That’s dependent on Your grace
Keep my heart and guard my soul
From the evils that I face
You are worthy to be praised
With my every thought and deed
O great God of highest heaven
Glorify Your Name through me
Words and Music by Bob Kauflin.
(Based on The Valley of Vision prayer “Regeneration”)
There’s a Fountain Filled with Blood
We’ve sung this hymn a few times over the past months, and it has become one of my favorites! It speaks about the propitiating and expiating work of the blood that Christ shed in our place for our sins. A lot of hands tend to rise up in praise during this song, which still continually amazes me — how my church, full of young twenty-somethings, is so into the cutting edge worship music of the 18th century 
There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains, lose all their guilty stains;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day;
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.
Washed all my sins away, washed all my sins away;
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood shall never lose its power
Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.
Be saved, to sin no more, be saved, to sin no more;
Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.
And shall be till I die, and shall be till I die;
Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.Then in a nobler, sweeter song, I’ll sing Thy power to save,
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.
Lies silent in the grave, lies silent in the grave;
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.Lord, I believe Thou hast prepared, unworthy though I be,
For me a blood bought free reward, a golden harp for me!
’Tis strung and tuned for endless years, and formed by power divine,
To sound in God the Father’s ears no other name but Thine.
(Written by William Cowper in 1772)
You Chose the Cross
You chose the cross with every breath,
The perfect life, the perfect death:
You chose the cross.
A crown of thorns You wore for us,
And crowned us with eternal life:
You chose the cross.
And though Your soul was overwhelmed with pain,
Obedient to death You overcame.
I’m lost in wonder,
I’m lost in love,
I’m lost in praise forevermore.
Because of Jesus’ unfailing love
I am forgiven, I am restored.
You loosed the cords of sinfulness
And broke the chains of my disgrace:
You chose the cross.
Up from the grave victorious,
You rose again so glorious:
You chose the cross.
The sorrow that surrounded You was mine,
‘Yet not My will but Yours be done!’ You cried.
Because of Jesus I am restored!
-
You Chose the Cross (Lost in Wonder), written by Martyn Layzell
The Pilgrimage of one Charismatic with a Seat-belt, part 3
Paradigm Shift
I think that is why I have turned to biblical-theological studies in terms of seminary education and vocational ministry. And that is also why for the last CC conference in 2007, I coordinated workshops instead and spoke at the Worship Ministry workshop. I still love singing, and also yearn to lead worship again sometime in the future and rightly at that! However, if there is anything that the past 3 years has taught me, it is that all true worship both begins and ends with His God and His Word. Before any music is involved, a correct understanding of who God is and what He has done must be unveiled before God’s people; and after all times of musical worship, this very understanding should bring substance to lives of brotherly love and godly obedience.
Biblical worship hence must be God-centered, Word-centered, and Christ-centered. The music used in authentic Christian worship should serve and support this three-fold focus of worship that is proclaimed by the lyrics, and further, it must never distract us from the Word but point continually us to it.
Convicted of Sin, Convinced of Grace
Therefore, I am convinced that corporate Worship Leaders must rightly show, and the congregation thus must rightly see, that unconfessed and unrepented sin makes us guilty before God, pollutes our innermost beings, and ultimately hinders our worship to God. Because of the guilt of our sins, we deserve God’s condemnation and punishment; because of the pollution of our sins, our hearts become morally corrupt in God’s sight. Through the Law and the Scriptures, we thus are convicted of our sins.
But thanks be to God — because by the saving work of Christ on the cross, we don’t get what we deserve! We are “justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith” (Romans 3:24-25). “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2). But through the Cross and the Scriptures, we thus may be convinced of His grace!
This is the very thing that our worship, privately first and corporately second, must manifest and promote. It should entail a life that magnifies God in Christ Jesus — preaching the Gospel to ourselves daily, and reminding others to do the same; giving God an all-consuming response for His all-deserving revelation; loving Him with everything we got and loving our neighbors with all that we have left! Without this, our love is only a noisy gong and a clanging symbol (1 Cor. 13:1). But with this, our worship may be reverently loud — a soundtrack to holy Christ-glorifying lives where His name resounds and His praises ring out all over the world!
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
The Pilgrimage of one Charismatic with a Seat-belt, part 2
2005
Prior to graduating from college, I served three years in worship ministry for the inter-Chinese Christian Fellowships ministry conference, Campus Challenge, which is held annually in May in the Toronto area. I was Worship Coordinator for the 2005 and 2006 conference — leading on-stage for the 2005 conference, and directed/coordinated the 2006 conference worship team from “behind-the-scenes”.
Looking back, those years were the climax and denouement of my time in worship ministry. I really desired to lead the 2005 conference, because I wanted to take my worship leading to the “next level” and to do something “big” for God. In retrospect, I don’t think that is necessarily the right motive to have for serving in such a large event, even as humble of an ambition as it is. As theocentric and Christocentric as the 2005 conference worship music was, I think I served and led in order to benefit myself in terms of ministry experience. It’s not really a bad thing, but I think there was a self-centeredness on my part that nobody would have noticed — I wanted to “get” something from leading that first conference.
2006
The second Campus Challenge conference I lead (2006) was quite simply, in one word, memorable. A lot of good and yet a lot was learned from that conference. After 2005, I still wanted to be involved in organizing the conference and coordinating worship, but in a sense that was off-the-stage and more behind-the-scenes: leading the team in devotions, providing theological oversight, overseeing the technical audio/visual needs, and leading the congregation in some invocational prayers between sets.
That year, I strived to train up the next generation of worship leaders who would then take over on-stage the ministry, and also reminding the team that as musical as worship can be, there is a theological / doctrinal / Bible / Word -side to worship that music serves. I recall the emphasis of the devotionals I led the team was focused on the truth that God does not care about how good the music sounds if and when the life and the heart was not firstly right with Him and worshipful. Boy oh boy, did that ring true, for numerous musical mistakes happened, technical glitches occurred, and further, I failed to guide the team through those mishaps. And lets just say that much heated discussions ensued after the conference about why it all happened.
Lessons Learned
Numerous lessons were learned from that May 2006. If there was anything that directed me to step away from any and all musical worship leading or coordinating, it was probably the events of that conference. I learned a lot in retrospect about what I should have done when a worship band – for whatever Divinely foreordained reasons – fails musically more than subtlely and thus hinders corporate worship.
Most importantly, I was convinced of how the image of God in all of us is functionally marred & hampered and structurallydistorted & perverted by our sins: pride, arrogance, selfish ambition, covetousness, envy, anger, and sloth, to name a few. The source of sin within both unbelievers and Christians – even in those of us who are chosen by God to serve Him and lead His people in corporate worship – is in what Scripture calls “the heart”. The heart is the total person involved in the act of making decisions — either obedience to God’s Word which honors him, or sins of omission or commission which dishonor Him.
Whether it be playing the wrong note at the wrong time with the incorrect amount of strength, or saying something thing using the wrong words at an inappropriate appropriate time (Matt. 15:9), or not speaking words of guidance appropriately after a necessary circumstance (Luke 6:45), all this has its source in and involves the inner core of the person and the very center of his being. For sin has poisoned the very fountain of life, all of life is bound to be affected by it (Jer. 17:9).
The Futility of Music
Part of me lost faith significantly in worship music from that time forward, especially in terms of an area for vocational ministry. I simply got fed up with the vainglory that the human heart finds in today’s modern “worship” music — a hypocritical lip-service that many in our generation-x/y/z use to refrain from a holistic life of worship, that which firstly involves knowing God better. Those 30 minutes every Friday night or Sunday morning is inauthentic and futile when our 24/7 relationship to God and our brothers and sisters is not genuinely loving. Music in corporate Spirit-led worship is helpful in sanctifying our hearts through the lyrics, but it certainly does not save anybody, nor does it transform the heart or regenerate any person.
I may be speaking more about myself here, but I hope that me being vulnerable here would be an encouragement to y’all reading this: the passion we exude in our public worship of God (especially on-stage) must never be louder than our private worship alone. And further, our personal relationships with others must not be more passionate than our private relationship with God (Mark 12:30). Without a continually justified and sanctified heart, any “worship” we offer is thus in vain (Psalm 50:7-11; Psalm 51:17). We must preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to ourselves daily in Word and in deed, and consequently, keeping a close watch of our life and doctrine (1 Timothy 4:16).
Part 3 of 3, concludes tomorrow…
Motivating the Church to Worship God
The Bob Kauflin video I mentioned in the previous post is a great example of Reformed Charismatic worship, and how to effectively motivate the gathered church to magnify God in Christ! See below for the Youtube video:
The Pilgrimage of one Charismatic with a Seat-belt, part 1
The recent blog post from Bob Kauflin at Worship Matters shows us how a Charismatic with a seat-belt motivates the church to worship God! It reminds me why I myself benefited and learned so much from leading corporate worship in the past, something I currently do not do nor have any plans to continue to — for I’ve always had a deep desire to faithfully magnify the greatness of God in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit by skillfully combining God’s Word with music, thereby motivating the gathered church to proclaim the gospel, to cherish God’s presence, and to live for God’s glory.
Back in the Day
I don’t have any formal musical training, and so when my English Ministry elder of my home church asked me back in 1996 to “lead worship” for our small 20 member English Sunday worship service, I simply accepted the invitation because I was brand new Christian and yearned to serve the Lord in whatever capacity available to me. From those early days in our new church building, cramped into a small Sunday School classroom, I lead worship for at least once a month for about 10 years. At the beginning of college, I began to teach Sunday School at church, and also concurrently led and coordinated the worship music ministry for my campus fellowship(Chinese Christian Fellowship) as the Worship Coordinator. During those years I picked up bass guitar by myself, mainly to spend less time “in the spotlight” and to make room for the younger generation to start learning to lead services.
Charismatic with a Set-belt
If you know me, I’m the kind of worship leader who says a little too much than “normal” worship leaders. I always sought ways to “spice things up”, whether it be through biblical written-out prayers with ample alliteration, dynamic invocations, powerful Scripture readings and passionate readings of Spoken Word pieces. In recent years as far as I can remember, I would always try to start the worship service with a slower, familiar call-to-worship type song (my fave to use for this opening slot was the classic “All in All“); people are usually kind of groggy and only half-awake at the beginning of the service (or late!) so this allowed everybody to get warmed up vocally to sing praises to God.
After that, I might pray an invocatory prayer and/or read a Psalm, and then jump right into a powerful, upbeat praise song. I might have a couple of those (possibly medlied), which then was followed by/lead into songs of a slower tempo — namely songs that reflected on the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ for our sins. I usually said a prayer of confession repentance before singing that song, while a soft guitar/piano intro plays, and I’d do my best to include Scripture that speaks of Jesus’ redeeming work on the Cross. (One of my faves here has been the less well-known song, “You Gave Your Only Son (Praise You)” by Martyn Layzell). If I didn’t stack that with another song about the cross, I often followed that by with a song focused more on our need and/or commitment to Christ (my faves here included “Rescue” by Jared Anderson and “What Else Can I Do” by Steve Fee)
With all the worship leading experience under my belt, I longed to take my ministry to the next level, and to further use my gifts for his church and people.
Part 2 of 3, continued tomorrow…
Look Up
“Unless we see God, we cannot worship Him. Worship is what spontaneously flows out of us when we come face to face with Him. It’s the natural response to all of who He is. Our grateful response for all He has done. Sure, we get a massive amount out of the experience of worshiping Him. But at its core, worship is all about God. It’s for Him. Our worship is to Him.
Source: Louie Giglio. The Air I Breathe: Worship As a Way of Life. Colorado Springs: Multnomah Books, 2006.
It Doesn’t Start with Us
The key word is “response.” Worship is our response to God. In other words, we don’t initiate worship; God does.
He reveals; we respond.
He discloses; we respond.
He unveils; we respond.
He chooses to show us how amazing He is; we say “God, You’re amazing!”
Our whole relationship with God works the same way:
He loves. We love in return.
He calls. We answer.
He leads. We follow.
Source: Louie Giglio. The Air I Breathe: Worship As a Way of Life. Colorado Springs: Multnomah Books, 2006.
It’s Something You Do
Worship is a verb – at least that’s what author Robert Webber says in his book by the same title. I think he’s right. Practically speaking, worship is always a verb. Worship is something you do.
Worship isn’t something you watch, contrary to the thinking of many of us who attend church. That may be hard to believe, given that in most churches the rows of seats (or pews) are arranged with sight lines in mind. The lights also point to the stage. And to help you with your viewing pleasure, you’re handed a program at the door – a line-up card for what’s happening up front in today’s “show,” if you will. After all, it’s all put on for you, is it not? A few ministers even act like actors. Some singers and musicians seem to perform. In many cases you can even watch the whole thing on a big screen. Often there’s even a matinee or evening performance for the non-morning crowd. (more…)
Who, Not Where
God doesn’t require ornate or elaborate expressions. The worship He’s looking for is spiritual and true. Genuine. Authentic. Worship from the heart. That’s how Jesus put it in a conversation He was having with a Samaritan woman one afternoon while resting beside a common well. Soon into their talk, Jesus was disclosing His knowledge of her private affairs. (After she mentioned that she was unmarried, He pointed out that she’d actually had five husbands, and the man she was now living with wasn’t one of them). That immediately tipped her off that this guy had some kind of special wisdom. She might as well tap into it. She quickly posed a question that evidently had been bothering her for some time. Her people (the Samaritans) worshiped on one mountain, His people (the Jews) on another. Who was right? Which mountain was better? Where should she worship? For a total stranger who knew everything about her past, this simple “where” question shouldn’t be too hard. Right? But as we’ve come to expect, Jesus took the subject to another level, answering a basic “where” question with a riveting “who” answer. Here’s His comeback: (more…)
What God Wants Most For You
“God loves you very much. But God also loves Himself, because to do anything less would mean not being God. More than any of us, God knows how valuable He is. He knows He’s God. He knows He’s central. As a result, He values Himself most.
No, He’s not egotistical, thinking more highly of Himself than He should. He’s the only God, thinking of Himself as He truly is. But God’s centrality hasn’t stopped Him from loving you with the greatest love known to man. And through the death of His Son, God has made a way for you to return to His loving arms, washed clean and forgiven because of the price He paid at the cross of Jesus Christ. (more…)
