Gossip, Lies, Deceit, and the Power of Faith

Acts 6:8-14 - Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called) - Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, but they coul dnot stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke. Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, "We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God." So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses, who testified "This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us."

Stephen's story in Acts is a short one, but it brings out very vivid examples of what happens when we choose to follow Christ and allow Him to make us into men and women full of God's grace and power. Satan doesn't want this. In fact, he craves the exact opposite for us. Instead of being men and women full of God's grace and power, he would rather we be men and women full of lies, deceit, and selfish ambition.

When we make the decision to live a life that worships our Lord all day, every day, and in every way, it puts a target on our backs. We might as well call up Hell and declare open season on ourselves! It is NOT EASY, NOT SMOOTH, and NOT ENJOYABLE all the time. It is merely the beginning of a journey to build us into those men and women full of God's grace and power.

Oswald Chambers wrote in My Utmost For His Highest that God beats and pounds us into shape by fire and water, so that we might take a form that more closely resembles His image rather than our own. I can certainly relate to this, can you? His desire is to make us into people that have credibility that is more than skin deep. He desires for us to be in relationship with Him all the way to the core of our being. Stephen seemed to embody this to the point of being able to perform miracles and healings in addition to preaching the Word of Christ.

However, as we all know, one of the quickest and easiest ways to undermine someone's credibility is by destroying their reputation. We see this in Stephen's case. People with different viewpoints and opinions disagree with his teachings, so they seek to discredit him in whatever way possible.

Politicians and their staffers are masters at this. Mudslinging anyone? The Democrats and Republicans differ greatly on issues, so they continually try to discredit each other. Other faiths (and those with no faith at all) don't agree with the stances that followers of Christ take, so they do whatever they can to discredit us.

NOTE: We do a pretty good job of discrediting ourselves with our actions vs our words! The old adage that actions speak louder than words is SOOOO applicable to this!

A life of worship has to "walk the talk" at all times. We are called to a higher purpose, which means we have to put away the childish antics and the constant whining to have it our way. We are called to SERVE, and NOT TO BE SERVED. Stephen served Christ with all he had, and those who did not agree with his view sought to discredit him in front of the world. Now, this is where I really get excited about how authentic Stephen's relationship with and zeal for Christ actually was.

Acts 6:15 - All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Even in the midst of the false accusations and fake witnesses, Stephen was so in tune with God that his face never changed expression! He maintained a face of truth, dignity, and it shown like an angel in the room. He knew what was real and what was not, regardless of the falsehoods being spewed. It didn't matter what man said about him for his faith was not in man.

We'll talk more about Stephen in Chapter 7 when something that is so unthinkable to us here in America happens to him for his faith in Jesus.

Asking for so little, when there is so much more!

Acts 3:1-16 - One day Peter and John were going up the temple at the time of prayer - at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said "Silver or gold I do not have, but when I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. While the beggar held onto Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon's Colonnade. When Peter saw this, he said to them: "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. by faith in the name of Jesus, this man who you see an know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.

The story we see here is so tragically true for many Christ followers and non-Christ followers alike. It is a story of complacancy, and of asking for so little when there is so much more to be given.

The passage says that the man was being carried carried to the temple gate where he was put every day to beg. That was his life! Carried out in the morning to beg, and carried away at night to who knows where. He knew nothing better, nothing bigger.

The passage also says that he called out to Peter and John, but I'm guessing that he wasn't calling out specifically to them at the start, because we read that Peter yelled for the man to look at them. The beggar was merely going through the motions, not expecting anything. He was calling out to the people walking by because that's what he always did. He hadn't focused his attention anywhere or on anyone. The saddest part is that the only reason he focused on Peter and John was because he thought he was going to receive some money!

This is mirrored in many people's lives today. We walk through life doing the same things we've always done without much regard for the effect it has on our lives. We don't try to make anything different happen because "that's just the way I am, and nothing's gonna change." We don't expect anything of ourselves, our lives, our circumstances, or our God, and only focus on any one part of that if we are going to get something selfishly in return.

However, here's where the passage gets interesting. In verse 6, after Peter has the man's attention, he gives him the most amazing gift one could ask for in his position. In the name of Jesus, Peter healed him and he walked for the first time in his life! The crippled man was crippled no more, and praised God by running and jumping all over the place. He was after money, but instead, God stirred this man's faith through Peter and he was completely healed.

We also have the opportunity to enjoy this kind of miraculous wonder in our hearts, minds, and souls. All we need to do is focus our attention on the One who can give us this gift! We have to stop being short sighted in our ways and allow God to give us a bigger perspective on what the gift of His Son really did for us. It takes getting out of the mundane "God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food." prayer life and relationship we had with Him as a child, and focus our eyes on who God is in our lives TODAY.

Only then can we allow our faith in Jesus to grow to the point that we can be spiritually, emotionally, and even physically healed by His awesome and limitless power in our lives! It takes discipline and maturity to develop this mindset.

Ephesians 4:14 speaks to this: Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.

As we practice living Worship as a lifestyle, this is a most important point. We must be disciplined and mature in our relationship with the Father. We must not sell ourselves short by maintaining a "this is just the way I am" attitude. We must always expect more of ourselves in Christ because there IS MORE WHEN WE ARE IN CHRIST!

We're all still human after all... for now.

As some of you may or may not know, I was ordained as a full fledged minister of the Gospel by Glenn Park Christian Church on Sunday night! It was an evening full of family, friends, love, laughter, music, singing, and even a light show by God. He decided it would be great to make His presence known by shutting off the power to the building during the prayer by the Elders to commission and ordain me. Pretty cool actually!

The journey to get to this moment in time was a very long one, filled with many hard lessons learned. Here are just a few of the lessons picked up along the way, in no particular order:

1. God has a plan for you. If he's not done with your plan yet, He will bring it to fruition... even by allowing you to walk away from a high speed rollover accident in a top heavy 4x4.

2. If you're not good at studying in high school, you won't be any better in college.

3. Your first love isn't always "the one"

4. Your soul mate will smile and say "that's nice!" when you bring home musical gear instead of an engagement ring on multiple occasions, no matter how much she really wants one.

5. NEVER buy an RV for a band with your own money...

6. If you're not in credit card debt now, don't get there. If you are in credit card debt, get out quickly!

7. Moving away from home for the first time is hard, but moving back home after 2 years of living on your own is even harder.

8. Driving a school bus is only fun for the first few weeks... Then it becomes what it is: Debt reduction!

9. Being a dad is one of the most frustrating and yet most fulfilling responsibilities at the same time.

10. Extended family members are "interesting" at times...

11. There are times when moving your family 1400 miles twice in 15 months is just part of God's plan, even when it looks completely insane to most people.

12. When you are in the center of God's Will for your life, it may seem like things are a little too good. Whatever you do, don't make turmoil for yourself just so you'll have something to worry about. Instead, enjoy the fleeting moment of being in the center of His Will, because when He moves, it'l get bumpy for a while. He's just moving so you don't get complacent, and so He can fulfill His plan in you.

I tell you all of this in order for you to see a journey. The disciples had been on a journey with Jesus, and while His walk with them on earth was drawing to a close, He was doing His best to prepare them to be His hands and feet after He was gone.

I was reading this morning in Acts Chapter 1. If you aren't familiar with this chapter, the first 11 verses tell the story of Jesus being taken into Heaven after His resurrection. Here's a snippet from what I read today:

Acts 1:4-8 - On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

The verses that really caught my attention were where Jesus says "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

See, just like the disciples were asking for a date of deliverance, I often find myself asking the same question and getting the same answer from God. It's as if He says "why are you questioning my plan? It's on a 'need to know' basis, and you don't 'need to know'." Some things never change, eh?

What's interesting to me is that the disciples were looking for a restoration of Israel to a prominent power in the region. I'm often looking for the next big thing, the next goal, the next plateau, etc... However, Jesus was already thinking on a higher level. He was speaking of the kingdom of His Father, and not an earthly one. He desired for the disciples to think on a spiritual level, and He desires the same for us.

A life of Worship thinks on that spiritual level. It is less concerned with earthly issues and more concerned with kingdom building. It is a life that has already experienced the Holy Spirit coming upon it, and responds by following the giver of the Holy Spirit with everything it has.

Let's work on remembering that God gifts us with life from moment to moment, and even though we may not know where life is headed, He does and is directing us in His timing. Worship Him in all aspects of your life, and let Him sweat the details!

Two wrongs don't make a right.

Ok, so I haven't put anything out there for a post in a while...  Stuff has been so crazy lately, what with trying to balance a full time church position, a part time school bus route, and a growing family at home.  However, something happened this week that made me stop and take notice of how short and strange life really is.

The local and national headlines are currently running a story about Dr. George Tiller, who was a local abortion provider here in Wichita.  I say "was" because he was shot and killed Sunday morning while ushering at his church.  

Here's a little history on him:  Dr. Tiller had been in the headlines back in 1991 during Wichita's "Summer of Mercy".  There were hints and allegations at that time that Dr. Tiller had been performing abortions on young girls that did not have the proper permissions given by parents or guardians.  There were also some allegations of illegal late term abortions happening as well.  The Attorney General of Kansas was leveling these accusations, and had launched several investigations into what was really going on.  When pro-life advocates caught wind of this, they started major protests against Tiller and his facility.  During those protests, many citizens, church members, and ministers were arrested due to their protests being on private property, which is illegal.  Dr. Tiller was also forced into a high security lifestyle, including armed guards and a bulletproof vest when out in public due to many bodily harm and death threats leveled at him during this time.

Dr. Tiller referenced this in an interview given to one of the local news stations, when he matter-of-factly stated that what he was doing was legal, moral, and ethical.  His basis for this rationale was the experience he had as a doctor in taking care of women who were dying from "back ally" abortions that had been performed by unlicensed medical practitioners.  He felt that he was saving more lives by performing abortions in a safe and sanitary medical environment.

As a pro-life advocate this rationale is understandable, but not supportable.  Those women could have chosen to go through the birth process and then given the children up for adoption versus having any abortion of any type.  Life begins at conception when the DNA from the mother and father combine to form a completely new and unique DNA.  Regardless of "viability", this is a new life created that deserves an opportunity to grow and have a chance at life.  Abortion is, in my opinion (and I believe in God's eyes), murder.

Dr. Tiller had been on trial over the past year, and had been put there by two former Attorney Generals that had been disgraced and mired in scandal themselves.  Whether or not those issues played a hand in Dr. Tiller being acquitted of 19 felony counts is unknown, but the fact remains that he was acquitted and allowed to resume his life.

Now back to what happened to him on Sunday.  A man in his lat 50's walked into Reformation Luthren Church on Sunday, stepped up to Dr. Tiller as he was ushering, and shot him in the temple which killed him instantly.  One might say that this was poetic justice, but it was in fact murder.  

Romans 12:18-19 says - If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.

If we are to live Worship as a lifestyle, we cannot take sides in something like this.  While we may not approve of Dr. Tiller's actions when he was alive, we also cannot count his death as "justifiable homicide" either.  We are called by God to obey the laws where we live.  That is BIBLICAL.  Currently in America, abortion is legal but murder is not.  While our ethical standards may cause us to abhor Dr. Tiller's profession and the trail of physical, spiritual, and emotional baggage the women carry post-abortion, we cannot justify "an eye for an eye" due to what the passage in Romans 12 says.

I urge you to pray for the Tiller family.  His wife watched it happen from the choir loft, and his daughter watched it happen from the congregation.  I urge you to pray for those who were in the congregation that day.  I urge you to pray for the man who killed him.  I urge you to pray for the young ladies that will be walking into the clinic when it opens again next Monday.

I also urge you to remember that the next moment is never promised to us.  All God promises is to sustain us in THIS moment at THIS time.  Let's worship Him for each and every one of those we are given, as they are a gift!

The Pursuit of Worship - Week 3 FINAL CLASS ENTRY!!

Questions to Ponder from last week:

1. Do I see the music and the preaching portion of worship services as different items, or as two parts of the same collective thought of worship?

2. Is Communion just something I do, or do I believe that it is an important way to obey and continually proclaim Christ's work on the cross?

3. Do I believe that Jesus is deserving of extravagant respect or admiration, and if so, do I actually practice this in my own life?

4. How can I worship God in the beauty of His holiness, and allow Him to pour His "holy" into my "unholy"?


Here we are in the last class entry for the Worship as a Lifestyle class! I hope that you've all found it enjoyable and useful.

As we come to gather together in worship each week, there are 2 major dynamics that we deal with.

The first is the human dynamic. This dynamic has to do with the orders of service, musical style, educational programming, sermon topic, technology usage, etc...

This dynamic in and of itself is not bad, and is a very beneficial part of our daily and weekly forms of communing and fellowshipping with God.

The second is the spiritual dynamic. This has to do with the Holy Spirit having a hand in all that we do when it comes to our worship relationship with God.

Any purely human dynamic is a worthless excercise unless it is touched and guided by the power of the Holy Spirit, directing our paths as we worship personally and corporately.

This week will concentrate mainly on the spiritual dynamic, as it pertains to the elements of worship.


We touched on two human dynamics in worship last week as we spoke of the following elements of worship.

1. The Ministry of the Word - be it through song, teaching, preaching, or reading.

2. The Worship of the Lamb - The proclaiming of His holiness, and of the completed sacrifice that is the cornerstone of the believing church today.


Before we moved onto the third element of Worship, let's take a look at three things that constitute the primary parts of Worship.

1. The Central Person - Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, who has come to bring us to the Father.

John 14:6 [NIV] - Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."

We magnify the Son of God for His perfect sacrifice that allows us to come into an abiding relationship with the Father, and we magnify the Father for the gift of His Son that allows us to experience that relationship. As the Holy Spirit moves in us, we remember this, and hopefully desire to move into a deeper relationship with God that causes us to share His love with an unbelieving world.


2. The Centerpiece - coming to the Lord's table.

Matthew 26:26-29 [NIV] - While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the convenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom."

In the church, the Lord's table has been a central figure in worship for Ages. many churches have a table from which Communion is served. however we are NOT speaking about furniture here. This centerpiece that we speak of is NOT centering on a physical table, but rather upon the act of receiving the elements of Communion. We focus on worshiping the Lamb for the completed sacrifice.


3. The Centerpoint - The living Word of God, the Scriptures.

Joshua 1:8 [NIV] - do not let the Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Psalm 1:1-3 [NIV] - Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

The most common church furnishing that represents this is the pulpit. It is the focal point from which the Word is brought to the people. Whether in songs, meditations, sermons, or prayer, this is generally the place where those items are presented on any given Sunday. Again, as with the Lord's table, this has NOTHING to do with the physical piece of furniture, but rather with the living Word brought forth as the center of our knowledge of and relationship with God.


The pursuit of worship, and an authentic worship relationship with God has to have these primary parts for our 3rd element to take place.

3. The Ministry of the Holy Spirit - Enabling care and prayer for one another, and drawing people to the Savior.

Wherever Jesus is the Center Person, His completed sacrifice is the Centerpiece, and the Living Word is the Centerpoint, the Holy Spirit will have free reign to minister.


How does the ministry of the Holy Spirit effect our worship today?

The Holy Spirit's one main objective is to magnify Jesus Christ. He will come into any situation, regardless of doctrinal tradition or liturgy, where those who come to worship Him make these three primary points the focus of there efforts in fellowship with God.

If I focus my energies on Jesus (His life, death, resurrection, return, and what that mans in my life as I fellowship with Him), then the Holy Spirit has the ability to come into my life and make great and miraculous transformations in me that can only come from within that right worship relationship.


The Holy Spirit makes the Word of God alive as we read, speak, and sing it, just as it did when it breathed the Word into existence through the lives and quills of the men who wrote it so long ago.

There is an awakening within the body that the Holy Spirit desires to bring forth. It is the realization that there is amazing power within the living Church that can be released when the people come together.


It is pivotal to understand the power of the people of God when they gather, understanding that it's the best opportunity they'll have to experience 2 things.

1. The opportunity to care for and share the love of God with one another - It takes more than just coming and sitting in service, shaking hands during the greeting time, and talking with those that we are comfortable with. It even takes more than inviting a new family out for lunch after church! These things are valid, but they are incomplete without truly sharing our hearts with each other.

We talked in class about how surface-laden our greeting times at church can be. We ask someone "how are you doing?", and they generally shake our hands and nod hello. However, what happens when we ask that same question and someone actually STARTS TELLING US HOW THEY REALLY ARE DOING? We cringe, pull our hands back, and look for the early exit almost every time. This is especially the case with new or unfamiliar people! How different our church experience could be if we would just be authentic and share each other's burdens!

Galatians 6:1-2 [NIV] - Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. but watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

The pursuit of an authentic worship relationship takes allowing the Holy Spirit to remove the timidity and self consciousness that causes us to shy away from opening up to share, and to be shared with. We are instruments or tools to be used by God to care for one another, and to carry each other's burdens.


2. The opportunity to draw people to the Savior - This is commonly referred to in a church service setting as the invitation time. However, it is the work of the Holy spirit from before that person even found themselves int he parking lot that is where the invitation really stared.

There is a thought that "there must be more" that is stirred in their hearts by the Holy Spirit. While this may happen on its own, it is generally caused by someone in their lives who is pursuing an authentic worship relationship being used by the Holy Spirit as a model.

When they are brought into a place of worship where that model is being demonstrated, the Holy Spirit can draw them closer to a place where their need for Christ can be evident to them, and they can have the opprotunity to come into that worship relationship with Him.


Ultimately, having a right worship relationship with God is a culmination of understanding that there is a Price that needs to be paid (a sacrifice), that there is a Purpose for it (intimate fellowship with our Creator), and that we are to continually Pursue that relationship.

Please understand that this is NOT a one time thing. This is NOT a yearly, monthly, or weekly event. This is a daily decision that must be made to continually submit ourselves to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and live according to the principles set forth in the Bible as they pertain to a life that worships Him.

Let us work together to live lives that worship God all day, every day, and in every way!

The Pursuit Of Worship - Week 2

Questions to Ponder from last week:

1. Am I at a point that God can bring a new Jubilee in my life?

2. Am I ready for a recover of what was lost and a discovery of what God is doing now?

3. Am I trying to bring back the glory of God in my life by my own plans, or in God's way?

4. What can I change in my life that will allow God to make His presence manifest?


This week, we are going to start taking a look at some of the elements of the pursuit of worship. Our final journey starts in the book of Acts.

Acts 13:1-2 [NIV] - Now in the church that was Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."

this passage speaks of the church at Antioch, which is really the springboard of bringing the ideas of worshiping God to the world. It was the place where Barnabas and Saul (changed to Paul by God on the road to Damascus) were set apart by God because they were pursuing a relationship of worship with Him by ministering to the Lord and fasting.

The idea of ministering to the Lord is an Old Testament terminology, dating back to when the priests would offer animal sacrifices in anticipation of God's salvation. It was, after all, their Bible at the time since the New Testament was being lived and hadn't been written yet. The New Testament form of ministering to the Lord was the idea of worshiping Him and bringing Him a sacrifice of praise (present your bodies as a "living sacrifice"), rather than an animal sacrifice.

This picture of the early church at worship brings us to the questions of how we pursue worship today. Our desire is the same as theirs, which is to have the presence of God move among us. In order to do that, we need to look at the 3 key elements of Worship.


1. The Ministry of the Living Word - with songs, hymns, and spiritual songs, and manifesting His Word through preaching and teaching.

First, let's take a look at the songs, hymns, and spiritual songs. Many scholars believe that God's intention for His Word was that it not only be spoken or preached among the people, but that it be sung as well. The songs that are written in the book of Psalms are evidence to this, because the songs sung by the early church are now in Scripture for us to read.

We talked in class about the difference between these three types of songs. A "Song" can be equated to a modern worship tune. It generally is sung straight through, with the occasional repeat of certain parts. A "Hymn" is a song that tells a story. It usually has more than one verse, and takes us on a journey through each verse to the end, possibly with a refrain or chorus in between. A "Spiritual Song" is a song that is borne "in the moment". It is something that is put on our hearts by the Holy Spirit at a specific moment in time. Harp and Bowl worship is done this way, where a reader takes a passage of scripture and reads part of it, while singers instrumentalists take it and sing/play it as an offering to the Lord.

The reason we come and sing praises to God is not simply then to have an uplifting of our spirit, to feel better about ourselves, or to prepare our hearts for the preaching. It's not simply something we do to "get to the good stuff".

Colossians 3:16 [NIV] - Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

we need to come to the realization that, by singing these songs that are praises to God based in Scripture (though not necessarily word for word), we are not just revitalizing our joy or recharging our batteries. We are also instilling the Word of God in our hearts as we sing.

No matter the style, whether a chorus, a hymn, or something that is birthed by the Holy Spirit at a particular moment during the service, we pursue God's truth by worshiping Him in song.


Now let's look at opening the Bible itself and receiving a message from the Lord through preaching and teaching.

Titus 1:1-3 [NKJV] - Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, but ahs in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior;

Preaching is not separate from worship, but rather an integral part of the pursuit of worship. Each of us may not be pastors or teachers, but we don't have to be in order to understand this. Listening to the teaching of a pastor or leader so that we may learn and apply to our lives what the Scriptures say is an important part of pursuing an authentic worship relationship with God.

It is in these times when the Word is taught with an understanding of the seriousness of the contents that is tempered with a compassion for the audience to which it is being taught that it comes alive.

We talked in class about how this is played out in the church today. There are those that have all the desire and passion in the world, but no Biblical foundation to temper their actions. Those people tend to get an idea, run in a direction, and ultimately crash and burn while taking a few other people with them. Then there are those that choose to come in and gain all kinds of Biblical knowledge, but have absolutely no desire to impart that wisdom to others. Both are self-destructive for the church as a whole, and neither are healthy. It takes a balance of both to make ministry effective.

There will be times that the Word will cause someone to make a course correction in their lives. There will be times that the Word will bring a revelation or epiphany to someone in need of a word from the Lord. There will be times when the Word will comfort someone who is going through a difficult time, and times when the Word will uplift someone who is seeing the blessings of God in their life. It is only when the Word is taught and preached with that understanding and compassion when the underlying theme is the mercy, grace, and truth of God, that these moments of clarity can be fully realized by those who are pursuing that authentic worship relationship.

Isaiah 40:1-2 [NIV] - Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.

We see the ultimate realization of the Word being preached and taught when, through the birth of Christ, the Word became flesh.

John 1:1-2, 14 [NIV] - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning... The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

It is important that the church have a concept of these two, the singing and the preaching of God's Word, coming together as a single expression of pursuing and ministering to the Lord. It is a living ministry that clings to this concept, because it is a true ministry of the Living Word.


2. The Worship of the Lamb - Exalting God's holiness, and proclaiming the completed sacrifice.

The word liturgy is a word that describes worship patterns. It has to do with the elements and rituals that we use when we come before the Lord and welcome His presence among us.

This word has been derided and made to be something of an old-fashioned habit in the postmodern church, but the reality is that every church has one! There are elements, whether your church is "high church" or "modern church" that you practice on a weekly basis. These are your liturgy.

In the pursuit of worship, it is the vitality and acceptance of those elements in a congregational setting that can lead people either toward or away from an authentic relationship with Christ.


There is no more common liturgy in the church than the remembrance of what Christ did for all of humanity at the cross. Some common names are Communion, the Lord's Supper, or the Eucharist. All of these describe the action of taking bread and juice (or wine) as the sacraments to remember the body broken and the blood poured out for many.

I Corinthians 11:23-26 [NIV] is where Paul outlines how we should remember the sacrifice of our Lord - For I received from the lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he borke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

We follow this liturgy in order to obey what Jesus told the disciples to do in the upper room on the night He was betrayed, as well as to continually proclaim the completed sacrifice that God made for His creation to be reunited with Him.

Regardless of how often this is observed (weekly in the Christian church, monthly in the Baptist church, and on special occasions in the Nazarene church), it is always in appreciation of the sacrifice Christ made for us, and we are all tied together by the common thread of proclaiming glory to Jesus for taking our sin upon Himself.

We see in the book of Revelation the heavenly scene of worship when it comes to this very subject.

Revelation 5:11-12 [NIV] - Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!"

We see the word Worthy in this passage, which is derived from the word Worship, or Weorthscipe in the Old English dialect. It means extravagant respect or admiration which we should certainly give to our Lord and Savior.

Psalm 29:1-2 [NIV] - Ascribe to the LORD, O mighty ones, ascribe the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.

We are to ascribe glory to the Lord, for He is worthy of it.


This exalting of Christ's holiness is a basic principle in worship. We do so for a number of reasons. We exalt Him because He was the pure lamb, sacrificed for our sins and iniquities. We exalt Him because it is through His blood that we are washed clean and made holy in the sight of God. We are made holy because His is holy.

The Bible speaks to how the blood of Christ (and our remembrance of it through the liturgy of Communion) thwarts satan's attempts to turn us toward loving ourselves more than God.

Revelation 12:11 [NKJV] - And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.


We are also called to worship God in the beauty of His holiness, but how many people come to church each week that the last thing they are liable to feel about themselves is beautiful? It can be this way for any reason.

Maybe they have baggage from the way they have been mistreated, brutalized, or devalued by the world. Maybe they were the victim of a scathing comment or an indifferent judgement just that day. People come to gether for worship feeling anything but lovely, and completely aware of the sin in their lives.

If, when they come to worship, all they see and hear is an exposition on the perfection of God in His holiness, and not the direction of God using His holiness to bring us back to Him in an authentic and real worship relationship, then the pursuit of worship has been thwarted in their lives. This is why we exalt God's holiness, and also proclaim the complete sacrifice of Christ on the cross which allows us to shed our sins at the foot of the cross and come into a right worship relationship with Him regardless of how many times we "blow it".


That relationship allows God to give us freedom, and beings a transformation of epic proportions in our lives.

II Corinthians 3:17-19 [NIV] - Now that the Lord is Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is Spirit.

It is through this process that God pours His "holy" into our "unholy". Think of it like a trip to the dentist. Just as they drill out the decay and death in a tooth and then fill it with a new substance that makes the tooth whole again, God drills out the death and decay in our lives and fills it with Himself to make us whole again.


There is not anything that we need more in the battle against powers and principalities of powers, as the Bible puts it, than a resourcing in knowing how to face the weakness of our own flesh, the weight of our own sins, and the viciousness of the evil one. We overcome through the completed sacrifice through the blood of the Lamb, and through worshiping God in the beauty of His holiness.

Jesus has triumphed, and after we receive Him as our Savior, we can come and continually receive Him and pour His truth into our current circumstances through these liturgies in order to face each day head on.

Through the ministry of the living Word in song and in preaching, and the worship of the Lamb through exaltation and Communion, we see and transformation in our lives as we pursue an authentic worship relationship with He who made us and saves us.

Questions to Ponder:

1. Do I see the music and the preaching portion of worship services as different items, or as two parts of the same collective thought of worship?

2. Is Communion just something I do, or do I believe that it is an important way to obey and continually proclaim Christ's work on the cross?

3. Do I believe that Jesus is deserving of extravagant respect or admiration, and if so, do I actually practice this in my own life?

4. How can I worship God in the beauty of His holiness, and allow Him to pour His "holy" into my "unholy"?

The Pursuit Of Worship - Week 1

Questions to Ponder from last time: 1. What steps can I take to remember the two parts of the Purpose of worship we discussed in our last section? 2. How can I use this knowledge to regain dominion over my life, and continue my progression of recovering the original purposes God has for me?


We are moving now, taking our knowledge from the Price and Purpose of worship, onto the last step, which is the Pursuit of worship. We have counted the cost, found the original reasoning behind it, and now are implementing those things in our lives in order to pursue worship with all we are.

II Corinthians 6:2 [NKJV] says - "In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you." Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

This passage can be associated with the idea of evangelism. "This is your time to make a decision for Christ." This idea is appropriate, as there is a time in all of our lives where we hopefully make the choice to come and know Christ in our own lives.

However, the meaning of the "acceptable time" here is anytime God is working in the essence of the spirit of a new liberation or advancement; a new jubilee.

The year of Jubilee in the Scriptures was more than fireworks, picnics, and fun. It was essentially about the recovery of what had been lost, and the discovery of what God was doing next. These two concepts are at the heart of the pursuit of worship.

We are called to pursue worship with an appropriate wisdom that comes from being deeply rooted in the Scriptures, and with an appropriate passion, using the gifts, talents, and motivations that drive us.

We discussed in class that there are those who have all the passion and zeal in the world, but no Biblical backing to give them a direction, so they just run and run and run with no real purpose behind their passion. On the flip side, there are those who are content to "get fat" on all the Biblical wisdom received each week by sitting in the pew or in the Sunday School room, but have no passion to go out and share what they know with the world. Both of these can be extremely destructive to the work that God has set before the Church and the individuals that are part of it. Only with a healthy balance of Biblical wisdom and heartfelt passion can one truly pursue authentic worship of God and fellowship With God.

In order to do this, there have to be clear motivators that stir our convictions.

The first of these is "The Time". II Corinthians calls it the "accepted" time or the "appointed" time of God's purpose.

The Greek word kairos refers to the most appropriate occasion, or the opportunity to move at the most desirable moment. It is NOT opportunism, but rather, a sensitive response to the moment God has placed us in.

We are in a "time" as we speak! There has been a huge advance of the spirit of worship inthe 21st century, but we cannot advance blindly. If it does not advance with an understanding by Christians that are gripped with a concept of worship (more than just a style of music, or a programmed service), then the full impact of what God intends for worship will not be realized.


The next item is "The Call". There's a reason why you're coming to the Worship class, or reading this blog. There's a reason why church leaders to go conferences on worship, and have subscriptions to countless magazines on the same subject. We are called to pursue worship; to continue to recover our original purpose, and to discover what God is doing next.

It is NOT a call to success. It is NOT a call to be suddenly contemporary or cool. it is certainly NOT a call to try and have an answer for what the next church is doing down the street.

It is a calling of the Holy Spirit, who has a desire to awaken within the church a new season of spirit-led and spirit-filled worship, and style and programming have NOTHING to do with that move.


The last item is "The Truth". The pursuit of worship will only be served with the kind of passion that is necessary when the central focus is "what does the Bible teach us about worship?"

We've discussed some of the aspects of what the Bible teaches us about worship when dealing with the Price and Purpose of worship. Now we'll look at one of the highlight passages that has to dal with the Pursuit of worship when it is done man's way instead of God's way.

II Samuel 6:1-15 [NIV] - David again brought together out of Israel chosen men, thirty thousand in all. he and all his men set out from Baalah of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on the ark. they set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might before the LORD, with songs and with harps, lyers, tambourines, sistrums, and cymbals.

When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. The LORD's anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God. Then David was angry because the LORD's wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah (The-Explosion-Against-Uzzah).

David was afraid of the LORD that day and said, "How can the ark of the LORD ever come to me?" He was not willing to take the ark of the LORD to be with him in the City of David. Instead he took it aside to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the LORD blessed him and his entire household.

Now King David was told, "The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God." So David went down and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. When those who were carrying the ark of the LORD had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets.


This story has an element of agony to it, with the death of Uzzah. His death was unfortunate, but happened because the focus of worship (the Ark) was not being handled in the way it should be.

Even though David's desire to bring a change in worship for the Jews was sincere in his heart, he went about it without following the protocols set forth by God, and it had deadly consequences. Not only that, but David's anger and fear toward God erased his desire to bring the center of worship back to Jerusalem for a time.

We can relate to David's story today, because no amount of change within the church, however small, can be done without a certain amount of stretching or demand. There will always be trials when something new is happening. If we choose to make a change, even if our hearts are sincere, without following what the Scriptures say, it will cause catastrophic disease and death within the body of Christ. At the same time, if we choose to be filled with anger because of the change, we create disunity and disharmony, which also leads to disease and death within the body.

Just as David wanted the glory of the Lord (represented by the Ark) brought in and among the people, that is what we desire in the church today. The Ark almost fell off the cart, because it wasn't designed to ride on a cart, but on the poles carried on the shoulders of the priests. Our pursuit of worship today can "fall off the wagon" as well if we do not pursue it with Scriptural wisdom.


Even the names of the sons of Abinadab play into this idea. Ahio means Brotherly, and Uzzah means Strength. God placed them there as a symbol to us that we cannot pursue worship by simply being a good neighbor and glad-handing everyone we meet, nor can we pursue worship by force of might or personality. People will not come into the presence of God in worship by us being a warm and friendly place, or by our strength of musical style and weekly service programming.

The only way David was able to bring the Ark into the city was to bring it on the shoulders of the priests. It had to be done in the way that God had prescribed for it to be done, and when that happened, the city of Jerusalem literally exploded in worship!

For worship to explode in the church today there is something that has to take place on the shoulders of all the people, because today, the priesthood is not a select group of people. It is the people of God, the body of Christ.


This concept is shown in I Peter 2:5-9 [NIV] - You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."

Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone," and, "A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the message - which is also what they were destined for.

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.


In the book of Revelation, the people of God are referred to twice as a kingdom of priests. We are a royal priesthood of the redeemed in the kingdom, and the responsibility of welcoming in the Spirit of God by our worship is upon the shoulders of the whole congregation.

When it comes to pursuing worship, it is our challenge to allow God to cultivate us into a peole that learn to respond, not just simply as spectators, regardless of whether it is in favorable evaluation, critical observation, or happy passive participation.

We need to look beyond these human responses and have a recognition in our hearts that this is OUR time and OUR call together as the body of Christ to stand on His truth and welcome His presence into our midst.


Just as David entered Jerusalem with much rejoicing and praise as the presence of the Lord came among the people in the Ark, Jesus wants us to bring His spirit into His church, and God wants to do more than just something sleek and smooth. He wants to do something that causes His presence to be manifest in His people.


Questions to Ponder:
1. Am I at a point that God can bring a new Jubilee in my life?

2. Am I ready for a recovery of what was lost and a discovery of what God is doing now?

3. Am I trying to bring back the glory of God in my life in my own way, or in God's way?

4. What can I change in my life that will allow God to make His presence manifest?