Oh, to see the dawn of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.CHORUS:
This, the pow’r of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath—
We stand forgiven at the cross.Oh, to see the pain written on your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Ev’ry bitter thought, Ev’ry evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.Now the daylight flees; Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two, Dead are raised to life;
“Finished!” the vict’ry cry.Oh, to see my name written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through your selfless love.FINAL CHORUS:
This, the pow’r of the cross:
Son of God—slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.
Tag: Worship
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Power of the Cross
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How Deep
You were broken that I might be healed
You were cast off that I might draw near
You were thirsty that I might come drink
Cried out in anguish that I might singHow deep is Your love
How high and how wide is Your mercy
How deep is Your grace
Our hearts overflow with praise
To YouYou knew darkness that I might know light
Wept great tears that mine might be dried
Stripped of glory that I might be clothed
Crushed by Your Father to call me Your own© 2006 Sovereign Grace Music (BMI).
From Valley of Vision
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Worship and/or Counseling pt. 2
Several years ago an article in Journal of Biblical Counseling opened my eyes to see that counseling is a Ministry of the Word. True Christian Counseling often involves helping people discern their bestting sin, personal idols, and functional unbelief, and then helping them apply the gospel to their lives. This is what the Ministry of the Word does, whether it comes in the form of preaching, teaching, or counseling. With that understanding, then, it should be no surprise that Worship can also carry a function of Counseling.
In this video David Powlison of CCEF and Bob Kauflin of Sovereign Grace Ministries continue their discussion about how worship can effect personal transformation in the participant and the worship leaders’ responsibilty to lead people to fully enter into worship in a way that opens the participant to experience what God will do in them.
[This is Part 2 of 2]
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Worship and/or Counseling
What effect can worship have on the worshipper? In this video Worship Leader Bob Kauflin and counseler David Powlison discuss the therapeutic aspect of worship.
While this video comes from the perspective of the worship leader, and the awesome opportunity and responsibility the worship leader has, I think this discussion will provide everyone an enhanced perspective about the dynamic that entering into genuine worship offers.
[NOTE: This is the First of Two Parts of this discussion]
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Averting Worship Wars
There are many fights in churches these days over what kind of music to use, but I am convinced most of those fights could be avoided if we faithfully reflected upon the questions given to us by [Colossians 3.12-17]. Instead of asking what kind of music will appeal to the world around us, we must ask:
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What will enable us most deeply to dwell in God’s Word?
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What will best express the Word?
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How will the Word’s beauty and mystery, its infinity and generosity be best conveyed?
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Lord Dissolve My Frozen Heart
Lord, dissolve my frozen heart/ By the beams of Love Divine;/ This alone can warmth impart/ To dissolve a heart like mine.
O that love, how vast it is!/ Vast, it seems, though known in part;/ Strange indeed, if love like this/ Should not melt the frozen heart.
Chorus: The love of Christ passes knowledge./ The Love of Christ eases fear./ The love of Christ hits a man’s heart;/ It pierces him like a spear.
Savior, let thy love be felt,/ Let it’s power be felt by me,/ Then my frozen heart shall melt,/ Melt in love, o Lord to thee.
Source: Red Mountain Music
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Making the Most of Worship
Worship is the most important activity that a believer participates in during any given week. My purpose is not so much to make that case in this post as it is to offer some suggestions about how we might get the most out of the worship experience.
In short, like anything else worth doing, it takes some preparations.
The following suggestions, taken from Reverend Joseph “Skip” Ryan, former pastor of Park Cities Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas, are some that I’ve found particularly helpful:
1. RECOGNIZE: Corporate worship grows out of personal worship. Therefore, the most fundamental preparation for Sunday worship is that which flows from presenting yourself as a living sacrifice to God (Romans 12:1-2) and having a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:1-10).
DO: Ask God for a heart of worship and brokenness each day.
2. RECOGNIZE: You cannot expect to rush into church after an exhausting Saturday night and “be worshipful.” A late Saturday night may be necessary and fun, but if you always get less sleep than you need and are tired in church, can you be alert and attentive to the majesty and presence of the Lord?
DO: Get a good night’s sleep before Sunday worship.
3. RECOGNIZE: You must have a fertile heart Sunday morning.
DO: Spend time alone with the Lord Sunday morning before coming to church (Psalm 5:3).
4. RECOGNIZE: You cannot prepare adequately just before worship if you are late. If you are parking the car, you have missed the beginning of worship.
DO: Plan to be in your seat at least five minutes before the service starts.
5. RECOGNIZE: God is in our presence when we gather for worship; He constitutes us as a worshipping assembly (Hebrews 12:23).
DO: Come, conscious that God is present.
6. RECOGNIZE: There is a healthy balance between greeting friends and being quiet before the service starts.
DO: Be quiet before worship, pray or read a psalm, the prayer at the top of the program, the responsive reading or a creed.
7. RECOGNIZE: Worship centers around the Word read, preached, and heard, for the Word is God’s living voice speaking His will to us.
DO: Listen carefully to the Word read and preached; give the sermon full attention; pray to learn from it.
8. RECOGNIZE: Worship is much more than hearing a sermon. The first half of the service is not “window dressing” or a warm-up for a message.
DO: Concentrate on the meaning of each part of the worship as it occurs.
9. RECOGNIZE: Worship also centers around the Sacraments – ordinances instituted by Christ for the benefit of the believers.
DO: Participate in the Sacraments: Baptism – reaffirm and “improve upon” your own baptism. Communion – attend and expect Christ to minister to you.
10. RECOGNIZE: Worship should change us.
DO: During the minute of silence following the benediction, resolve to do one concrete thing on the basis of your worship (Romans 12:2).
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Tips That Change the Taste of Worship
As a pastor I have come to understand that some people have difficulty concentrating throughout the Sunday message. Sometimes it’s just me people can’t follow. But sometimes it is them. It may be a short attentioon span, external distractions, or just the overwhelming wealth of insight being offered. (That last one is my favorite.) If you’ve ever found yourself to be one that occasionally experiences this problem, let me offer a few practical tips. These are far from perfect, and certainly not exhaustive, but I think they are helpful:
1. Write It Down
Many educators will tell you to write things down because it helps you focus and remember. Often, after writing something down, you’ll find you don’t even need to go back to your notes to recall what you wrote.
I find it interesting that in Deuteronomy 17.18 we learn that every time a new king was installed in Israel he was to write the entire Law of God out by hand. He had to write it himself. He could not delegate it to anyone else. He could not dictate to his secretary. But taking pen in hand, the new king had to transcribe the whole thing himself. The expected result, we learn in v. 19, was that the new king would revere the Lord and follow the law carefully. I suspect that what is also true, but has no need to be stated, is that the king will remember the Law.
2. Pray It In
When you hear something that strikes you, if the Lord impresses something on you, during the course of the message, stop and pray right then. Whether it is something that challenges you, encourages you, or even convicts you, ask the Lord to apply it to your life right then. (This is also true during other parts of the service. You may be struck by somethng in a hymn, or during a prayer. Pray it in.)
A church service is supposede to be more relational than academic. The Lord promises his presence among his people. It should be a time of interaction between you and God. As he speaks to you, deal with it at that moment.
3. Give It Out
After you write it down and pray it in, don’t neglect to give it out. Tell someone about it. If you are married, share your insight with you spouse on the way home: “Honey, do you know what struck me today?”
When you give it out it becomes part of your life. Your insight may also prove benficial to the one you share it with. And giving it out also promotes unity, a oneness, because you are opening up and sharing what God is doing in your heart and life.
4. Move Around
No, I don’t mean you should get up in the middle of the message. I mean, don’t always sit in the same place.
While the first three are pretty simple, and probably will not receive much negative response, this suggestion poses some risks. It may not only seem strange, but the very notion violates some long standing personal traditions. I’m convinced that whole sanctuaries were built around some people – probably built while they were sitting in one particular spot! God have mercy on the visitor who sits in what he/she consider to be “MY” place.
But this suggestion is not as silly as it may at first seem.
Studies have shown a direct correlation between academic success levels and where a student sits in the classroom. (I usually sat in the back, which probably says a lot.) Perhpas it could also have some effect spiritually.
Now, I am not suggesting that those who sit up front are actually more spiritually mature than those in the back. Spirituality has nothing to do with geographic location. But there is an attitude that can creep in. Sitting in the same spot, week after week, year after year, things can become a little stale.
Moving around every once in a while offers a new, refreshing perspective. You see things from a different angle, which seems to stimulate the attention span. You are surrounded by different people, which not only creates a different worship environment, it is also a great way to expand unity within the church.
It’s amazing, but sitting in a different place almost makes it seem like a whole different church, regardless of the size of the sanctuary.
So move around, and mix it up.
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Wheting Our Apetite for Worship
Worship does not satisfy our hunger for God – it whets our appetite… Our need for God is not taken care of by engaging in worship – it deepens… It overfloows the hour and permeates the week…
– Eugene Petereson
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The Supremacy of God in Missions Through Worship
by John Piper
Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever.
Worship, therefore, is the fuel and goal of missions. It’s the goal of missions because in missions we simply aim to bring the nations into the white hot enjoyment of God’s glory. The goal of missions is the gladness of the peoples in the greatness of God. “The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!” (Psalm 97.1). “Let the peoples praise thee, O God; let all the peoples praise thee! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy!” (Psalm 67.3-4).
But worship is also the fuel of missions. Passion for God in worship precedes the offer of God in preaching. You can’t commend what you don’t cherish. Missionaries will never call out, “Let the nations be glad!”, who cannot say from the heart, “I rejoice in the Lord…I will be glad and exult in thee, I will sing praise to thy name, O Most High” (Psalm 104.34; 9.2). Missions begins and ends in worship.
If the pursuit of God’s glory is not ordered above the pursuit of man’s good in the affections of the heart and the priorities of the church, man will not be well served and God will not be duly honored. I am not pleading for a diminishing of missions but for a magnifying of God. When the flame of worship burns with the heat of God’s true worth, the light of missions will shine to the most remote peoples on earth. And I long for that day to come!
Where passion for God is weak, zeal for missions will be weak. Churches that are not centered on the exaltation of the majesty and beauty of God will scarcely kindle a fervent desire to “declare his glory among the nations” (Psalm 96.3). Even outsiders feel the disparity between the boldness of our claims upon the nations and the blandness of our engagement with God.
Albert Einstein’s Indictment
For example, Charles Misner, a scientific specialist in general relativity theory, expressed Albert Einstein‘s skepticism over the church with words that should waken us to the shallowness of our experience with God in worship.
“The design of the universe…is very magnificent and shouldn’t be taken for granted. In fact, I believe that is why Einstein had so little use for organized religion, although he strikes me as a basically very religious man. He must have looked at what the preacher said about God and felt that they were blaspheming. He had seen much more majesty than they had every imagined, and they were just not talking about the real thing. My guess is that he simply felt that religions he’d run across did not have proper respect…for the author of the universe.”
The charge of blasphemy is loaded. The point is to pack a wallop behind the charge that in our worship services God simply doesn’t come through for who he is. He is unwittingly belittled. For those who are stunned by the indescribable magnitude of what God has made, not to mention the infinite greatness of the One who made it, the steady diet on Sunday morning of practical “how to’s” and psychological soothing and relational therapy and tactical planning seem dramatically out of touch with Reality–the God of overwhelming greatness.
It is possible to be distracted from God in trying to serve God. Martha-like , we neglect the one thing needful, and soon begin to present God as busy and fretful. A.W. Tozer warned us about this:
“We commonly represent God as a busy, eager, somewhat frustrated Father hurrying about seeking help to carry out His benevolent plan to bring peace and salvation to the world. … Too many missionary appeals are based upon this fancied frustration of Almighty God.”
Scientists know that light travels at the speed of 5.87 trillion miles in a year. They also know that the galaxy of which our solar system is a part is about 100,000 light-years in diameter–about five hundred eighty seven thousand trillion miles. It is one of about a million such galaxies in the optical range of our most powerful telescopes. In our galaxy there are about 100 billion stars. The sun is one of them, a modest star burning at about 6,000 degrees Centigrade on the surface, and traveling in an orbit at 155 miles per second, which means it will take about 200 million years to complete a revolution around the galaxy.
Scientists know these things and are awed by them. And they say, “If there is a personal God, as the Christians say, who spoke this universe into being, then there is a certain respect and reverence and wonder and dread that would have to come through when we talk about him and when we worship him.”
We who believe the Bible know this even better than the scientists because we have heard something even more amazing:
“To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see who created these (stars)? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing. (Isaiah 40.25-26)
Every one of the billions of stars in the universe is there by God’s specific appointment. He knows their number. And, most astonishing of all, he knows them by name. They do his bidding as his personal agents. When we feel the weight of this grandeur in the heavens, we have only touched the hem of his garment. “Lo, these are but the outskirts of his ways! And how small a whisper do we hear of him” (Job 26.14). That is why we cry ‘Be exalted, O God, Above the heavens!’ (Psalm 57.5). God is the absolute reality that everyone in the universe must come to terms with. Everything depends utterly on his will. All other realities compare to him like a raindrop compares to the ocean, or like an anthill compares to Mt. Everest. To ignore him or belittle him is unintelligible and suicidal folly. How shall one ever be the emissary of this great God who has not trembled before him with joyful wonder?
The Second Greatest Activity in the World
The most crucial issue in missions is the centrality of God in the life of the church. Where people are not stunned by the greatness of God, how can they be sent with the ringing message, “Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods!” (Psalm 96.4)? Missions is not first and ultimate: God is. And these are not just words. This truth is the lifeblood of missionary inspiration and endurance. William Carey, the father of modern missions, who set sail for India from England in 1793, expressed the connection:
“When I left England, my hope of India’s conversion was very strong; but amongst so many obstacles, it would die, unless upheld by God. Well, I have God, and His Word is true. Though the superstitions of the heathen were a thousand times stronger than they are, and the example of the Europeans a thousand times worse; though I were deserted by all and persecuted by all, yet my faith, fixed on the sure Word, would rise above all obstructions and overcome every trial. God’s cause will triumph.”
Carey and thousands like him have been moved by the vision of a great and triumphant God. That vision must come first. Savoring it in worship precedes spreading it in missions. All of history is moving toward one great goal, the white-hot worship of God and his Son among all the peoples of the earth. Missions is not that goal. It is the means. And for that reason it is the second greatest human activity in the world.
God’s Passion for God Is the Foundation for Ours
One of the things God uses to make this truth take hold of a person and a church is the stunning realization that it is also true for God himself. Missions is not God’s ultimate goal, worship is. And when this sinks into a person’s heart everything changes. The world is often turned on its head. And everything looks different–including the missionary enterprise.
The ultimate foundation for our passion to see God glorified is his own passion to be glorified. God is central and supreme in his own affections. There are no rivals for the supremacy of God’s glory in his own heart. God is not an idolater. He does not disobey the first and great commandment. With all his heart and soul and strength and mind he delights in the glory of his manifold perfections. The most passionate heart for God in all the universe is God’s heart.
This truth, more than any other I know, seals the conviction that worship is the fuel and goal of missions. The deepest reason why our passion for God should fuel missions is that God’s passion for God fuels missions. Missions is the overflow of our delight in God because missions is the overflow of God’s delight in being God. And the deepest reason why worship is the goal in missions is that worship is God’s goal. We are confirmed in this goal by the Biblical record of God’s relentless pursuit of praise among the nations. “Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples!” (Psalm 117.1). If it is God’s goal it must be our goal.
The Chief End of God Is to Glorify God and Enjoy Himself For Ever
All my years of preaching and teaching on the supremacy of God in the heart of God have proved that this truth hits most people like a truck laden with unknown fruit. If they survive the impact, they discover that it is the most luscious fruit on the planet. I have unpacked this truth with lengthy arguments in other places. So here I will just give a brief overview of the Biblical basis. What I am claiming is that the answer to the first question of the Westminster Catechism is the same when asked concerning God as it is when asked concerning man. Question: “What is the chief end of man?” Answer: “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him for ever.” Question: “What is the chief end of God?” Answer: “The chief end of God is to glorify God and enjoy himself for ever.”
Another way to say it is simply, God is righteous. The opposite of righteousness is to value and enjoy what is not truly valuable or rewarding. This is why people are called unrighteous in Romans 1.18. They suppress the truth of God’s value and exchange God for created things. So they belittle God and discredit his worth. Righteousness is the opposite. It means recognizing true value for what it is and esteeming it and enjoying it in proportion to its true worth. The unrighteous in 2 Thessalonians 2.10 perish because they refuse to love the truth. The righteous, then, are those who welcome a love for the truth. Righteousness is recognizing and welcoming and loving and upholding what is truly valuable. God is righteous. This means that he recognizes, welcomes, loves and upholds with infinite jealousy and energy what is infinitely valuable, namely, the worth of God. God’s righteousness passion and delight is to display and uphold his infinitely valuable glory. This is not a vague theological conjecture. It flows inevitably from dozens of Biblical texts that show God in the relentless pursuit of praise and honor from creation to consummation.
Probably no text in the Bible reveals the passion of God for his own glory more clearly and bluntly than Isaiah 48.9-11 where God says,
“For my name’s sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not like silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.”
I have found that for many people these words come like six hammer blows to a man-centered way of looking at the world:
For my name’s sake! For the sake of my praise! For my own sake! For my own sake! How should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another!
What this text hammers home to us is the centrality of God in his own affections. The most passionate heart for the glorification of God is God’s heart. God’s ultimate goal is to uphold and display the glory of his name.
“For the Sake of His Name among All the Nations
Paul makes crystal clear in Romans 1.5 that his mission and calling are for the name of Christ among all the nations: “We have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all nations.”
The apostle John described the motive of early Christian missionaries in the same way. He wrote to tell one of his churches that they should send out Christian brothers in a manner “worthy of God.” And the reason he gives is that “they have gone out for the sake of his name, taking nothing from the Gentiles.” ( 3 John 6-7).
John Stott comments on these two texts (Romans 1:5; 3 John 7):
“They knew that God had superexalted Jesus, enthroning him at his right hand and bestowing upon him the highest rank, in order that every tongue should confess his lordship. They longed that Jesus should receive the honor due his name.”
This longing is not a dream but a certainty. at the bottom of all our hope, when everything else has given way, we stand on this great reality: the everlasting, all- sufficient God is infinitely, unwaveringly, and eternally committed to the glory of his great and holy name. For the sake of his fame among the nations he will act. His name will not be profaned forever. The mission of the church will be victorious. He will vindicate his people and his cause in all the earth.
The absence of [David] Brainerd‘s passion for God is the great cause of missionary weakness in the churches. This was Andrew Murray‘s judgement a hundred years ago:
“As we seek to find out why, with such millions of Christians, the real army of God that is fighting the hosts of darkness is so small, the only answer is–lack of heart. The enthusiasm of the kingdom is missing. And that is because there is so little enthusiasm for the King.”
The zeal of the church for the glory of her King will not rise until pastors and mission leaders and seminary teachers make much more of the King. When the glory of God himself saturates our preaching and teaching and conversation and writings, and when he predominates above our talk of methods and strategies and psychological buzz words and cultural trends, then the people might begin to feel that he is the central reality of their lives and that the spread of his glory is more important than all their possessions and all their plans.
The Call of God
God is calling us above all else to be the kind of people whose theme and passion is the supremacy of God in all of life. No one will be able to rise to the magnificence of the missionary cause who does not feel the magnificence of Christ. There will be no big world vision without a big God. There will be no passion to draw others into our worship where there is no passion for worship.
God is pursuing with omnipotent passion a worldwide purpose of gathering joyful worshipers for himself from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. He has an inexhaustible enthusiasm for the supremacy of his name among the nations. Therefore let us bring our affections into line with his, and, for the sake of his name, let us renounce the quest for worldly comforts, and join his global purpose. If we do this, God’s omnipotent commitment to his name will be over us like a banner, and we will not lose, in spite of many tribulations (Acts 9.16; Romans 8.35-39). Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. The Great Commission is first to delight yourself in the Lord (Psalm 37.4) . And then to declare, “Let the nations be glad and sing for joy!” (Psalm 67.4). In this way God will be glorified from beginning to end and worship will empower the missionary enterprise till the coming of the Lord.
Great and wonderful are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the ages! Who shall not fear and glorify your name, O Lord? For you alone are holy. All nations shall come and worship you, for your judgments have been revealed. –Revelation 15.3-4
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This article is excerpted from the first chapter of John Piper’s book, Let the Nations Be Glad. This article also appeared in Mission Frontiers magazine from the U.S. Center for World Mission.
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Some Thoughts of Worship
Worship is an oft-misunderstood term. Many Christians think of worship as entertainment which is meant to please them. But worship is meant to focus on God, not on us.If we examine closely the practice of worship in the Old & New Testaments we find that worship is first of all an offering of praise to God. That’s why we come together for the worship service. Who are we serving? We are serving the God who is “the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted”. (Isaiah 6:1) He is the One worthy of our worship.
Of course, when we truly worship God, when we understand Who we are worshipping; when we offer him our best, we may very well enjoy the experience. Like Isaiah, we may experience his healing touch, freeing us from the bondage to our sins, soothing the aches and pains in our bodies, and comforting us about the emotional scars from our broken and strained relationships. These are the effects of simply living in a fallen world. Who would not enjoy such soothing? Other times we are simply awed, and left breathless, by the glimpses we experience of God’s glory.
But we must keep in mind that the process God uses to bring healing may not always be comfortable. He often exposes our sin, just as he did to Isaiah. (Isaiah 6.5-8) In fact, as Jacob experienced, the healing God brings may at times leave new scars. But these scars are marks and reminders of God’s grace – a grace that is far better than the absence of scars. So it is important to remeber that when we experience God in worship we can enjoy his presence even if we feel discomfort.
Worship is about God – offering him the glory due him. But it is not as if we gain nothing in the experience. By his very nature and purpose God is changing us, transforming us to become more like we are intended to be. Experiencing worship is part of that process.
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Community in Worship
In our society, we are conditioned to think primarily in terms of the individual. This also seems to be true in the church – sadly, perhaps especially so.
Noted worship scholar, Robert Webber, said that so much stress has been laid on individual conversion that worship services, in many churches, are often not worship-centered. He said that in conversion-centered services:
“… worship center[s] no longer on the objective and corporate action of the church, but on the personal experience of the worshiper.”
Webber goes on to say that the shift from the corporate to the individual happened because some early American Christians mistakenly thought that:
“… those who were converted needed less structure and were less dependent on others for worship.”
In truth, freedom comes through structure. For instance, people can’t make music if they don’t some idea about music theory and notation. Real freedom for the Christian requires that other people be involved in our lives to help us: to train, to encourage, and to stimulate one another to good works. (Hebrews 10:24)
Why does the modern Church abandon the principle of freedom through structure so often? I believe it is due to too much emphasis on I and not enough on we the corporate body. Many come to worship for themselves: what I can get out of it, or, what I put into it. Biblical worship does not exclude the individual, but it is a corporate act. It draws together the entire congregation as one voice to God and one ear to listen to Him.
We must understand, we do not stand alone when we worship. We also join with God’s people of times past because the Church draws near to heaven where all the departed saints dwell.
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What is Worship?
This post is an interview with Joseph F. “Skip” Ryan, former pastor of Park Cities Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas, and Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, Virginia. This interview first appeared in RTS Ministry in Summer 1990; and later in Reformed Worship.
Q In your opinion, what constitutes worship?
A Most importantly, I think that the presence of God constitutes worship. It is not a human endeavor, but one that is inspired by the presence of the Lord himself. When people gather for worship, it is fundamentally an assembling of God’s people, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. And God is the most important person present. Frequently, during the invocation I will say things that will help people remember that.
The primary activity during worship is listening to the speaking of the Lord, not only in the proclamation of the Word, but in the hymns and other elements of the worship service. We don’t just hear God through his Word; the whole environment speaks of his presence.
God’s presence is the beginning point for biblical worship; in the Old Testament, where God is present, there worship takes place. Dignity and awe and solemnity are very appropriate in his presence. There are times in worship when we should be struck dumb, when clapping hands and shouting would be inappropriate., because at times we need to be silent before the Lord.
The assembly of God’s people is the place of God’s worship – not the building. In the prayer of invocation we are calling upon the Lord to be among His people, to do as He has promised and constitute us as a worship assembly of his people.
Q You have said there are some inadequate models of worship. What are they?
A First, worship is not simply instruction. We should not see the worship service only in terms of the sermon, which is accompanied by a few frills like the offering and some hymns. To avoid this tendency, we sometimes rearrange the order of our service so the sermon is not the climax of worship.
Second, worship is not a training center. The worship service is not the time to train the congregation in evangelism, visitation, or discipleship. The emphasis in worship is on being, not doing. We are not coming to learn how to do something; we are coming to learn that we are the Lord’s people and that our primary purpose is to glorify and enjoy him forever.
Third, the worship service is not simply for fellowship. Surely fellowship takes place in worship, but the primary reason for being there is not horizontal; it is vertical. If the strongest feeling you have after a worship service is that you have been in the presence of other people, then you have not been in the presence of the Lord.
The purpose of worship is also not evangelism. Gearing a worship service primarily to the unchurched, in my opinion, is not worship. It may be an evangelism meeting, which is good, but it is not worship. Dr. Edmund Clowney talks of “doxological evangelism,” which means that as we praise and worship God, other people are drawn to him and are converted. It is true; I have seen people become Christians in our morning worship service – not because we directed the service evangelistically, but because they sensed a reality that they had never experienced before.
Finally, we should not see the worship service as vision-building time for the church. Using the worship service to promote the new building or new programs will cause you to end up with something less than worship.
Q You advocate providing opportunities for people to participate in worship, not merely watch. How is this done?
A First, there needs to be a balance between form and freedom (or spontaneity), between structure and liturgy, between formality and informality. I think we should use all the liturgical forms – creeds, liturgical prayers, and responsive readings – particularly the Psalms. But a worship service should also have pockets of spontaneity – usually in the form of music, sharing, or praying. These are the freedom within the form, and through them, we encourage people to be involved.
Ours is not an informal, spontaneous, new-fangled worship service. It is a blend of formality and informality, liturgy, and spontaneity. But the key is not to calculate some blend. The key is to focus on the presence of the Lord Jesus and let those who have gathered worship in spirit and in truth. This means they must really worship and not just play at it.
In our service, the beginning of worship may be rather formal, with a responsive call to worship – perhaps a Psalm – then a prayer of invocation, a hymn, and a creed. We then, however, move into a period of informal singing, flashing Scripture songs on the wall. We encourage hand clapping here, with a joyful kind of singing.
Other pockets of spontaneity may take place in the form of sharing or praying. Sometimes we have a straightforward pastoral prayer, sometimes we ask specific people to pray, sometimes the elders come forward and pray. Also, during our communion service, people must come and get the elements instead of waiting for the elements to come to them. Since we celebrate the Lord’s Supper frequently (about twenty-five times a year), this is a wonderful way of helping people participate.
Q Where do you feel that contemporary elements like drama fit in a worship service?
A I think the worship service is drama, and we participate in it. I try to work that out in worship by moving around; I start out behind the Lord’s table, move to the front for another part of the service, then later move to the pulpit to preach. Also, I think we should use all the beautiful instrumentation we can. We use a piano, flutes, violins, drums and guitars. The Psalms give us many examples of the music and drama of worship.
Celebrating the Lord’s Supper is also part of the drama of worship; the Lord’s Supper is the demonstration – the drama – of the gospel. I think pastors should make much more of the rightful place of the dramatic portrayal of the Lord’s Supper than we do.
We derive spiritual benefit from the Lord’s Supper, but it is mediated through the dramatic portrayal of the Lord’s death. Some of the liturgies – Episcopal, Anglican, or Reformed – can help us here; we should use them, or create our own biblically-centered ones, and exhibit more wonder at what we are doing in the Lord’s Supper.
Q What do you think our biggest failure is in worship today?
A I think we are trying to cram too many agendas into one hour of worship. We are trying to instruct, train, fellowship, evangelize, build vision, and give out all the announcements to keep the church running for a week – all in one hour. We allow many things to formulate our objectives for worship rather than focusing on the main goal of leading people into the presence of God.
Another failure is our tendency to imitate other churches’ models of worship without due regard for the unique way in which the Lord may be leading our church to worship. There is too much stress on specific types or models of worship and too little stress on entering into the presence of God.
Q Do you think congregations should be better educated about worship?
A Yes, but I do not think that means more sermons about worship, unless that subject comes up naturally as a pastor preaches through the Bible. I think pastors need to instruct their people while in the process of worship. Sometimes when our folks are half asleep during the first hymn, I’ll stop it halfway through and lightly suggest we try again with our eyes open and our voices raised, reminding them we are singing to the Lord of all the universe.
Q If a church wants to get serious about worship, what should the congregation do?
A Visit other churches where they are doing things differently and get ideas. Don’t imitate them slavishly, but do see what is applicable to your situation. The pastor should ask the session or council for freedom to experiment with the worship service to make it better. Also, the pastor needs to make sure he is worshiping as he leads the people; if he is, the people will catch it. Think through the service-the rhythm of worship, the elements, the flow, the content, the structure. Pastor, don’t be overly chatty like a talk show host. Don’t talk about yourself; talk about the Lord. Lead people to the Lord. Call upon them to think about what they are saying and about the Scripture they are reading.
Q What have you found to be the greatest benefit in your approach to worship?
A People come to worship really wounded and needy from the battles of the world. There must be a place in the midst of the battle where they can find the Sabbath presence of the Lord. If church becomes just another meeting, if there is no reality in the worship service, then we are asking people simply to come to another teaching session.
One Sunday, a very old man approached me after the service. He shook my hand and introduced himself. He looked me in the eye and said, “Young man, I have my own church, and I probably won’t come back here. But I want you to know something. I have not worshiped like that for twenty-five years.” He had tears in his eyes.
GRACE & PEACE 