Tag Archives: Worship

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Leviticus 9

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Moses and Aaron entered the Tent of Meeting. When they came out they blessed the people and the Glory of God appeared to all the people. Fire blazed out from God and consumed the Whole-Burnt-Offering and the fat pieces on the Altar. When all the people saw it happen they cheered loudly and then fell down, bowing in reverence. Leviticus 9:23-24 (MSG)

The sacrifices resulted in God’s glory and God’s presence, which resulted in worship. There was an order to the process. Sin separates man from a holy God. When sacrifice for sin was made, and the price for sin was paid, then the separation between God and man was lifted and the way was made for God’s glory and presence. The people, awed by God’s glory and presence, bow in reverence and worship.

Fast forward 2500 years. Jesus made the sacrifice for sin and conquered sin’s consequence, which is death and the grave. The result was a glorified Christ appearing to his followers and God’s presence in the form of the indwelling Holy Spirit in the hearts of all believers. The result is our grateful worship.

sin>separation>sacrifice>presence>glory>worship

Once again I find that the systematic set of sacrifices and offerings was a foreshadow of God’s ultimate plan. All of the laws, rules, and sacrifices set out in Leviticus serve to remind the human race what an impossible state we were in. Trying to attain perfection in the keeping of every law and the offering of every prescribed sacrifice was a heavy burden. No one could do it perfectly, and that was the point. We don’t earn forgiveness and salvation by systematically and sacrificially doing good things. We are graciously given forgiveness and salvation by what God did for us on the cross.

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Jeremiah 36

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“Starting right now, I’m going to teach them
Who I am and what I do,
   teach them the meaning of my name, God—’I Am.'” Jeremiah 36:21b (MSG)

I played on the worship team in church yesterday morning. Between our rehearsal and the service, I struck up a conversation with one of the other musicians. We’ve played together a handful of times and have been around one another in church for years, but we really don’t know each other. We struck up a conversation. It was the “get to know you” conversation. He asked about me and what I do. I asked about his family and his background. It was a brief conversation, but a good one. We moved from being around each other into getting to know one another. I’m the richer for it.

It’s easy to forget that God desires a relationship with me. It’s not about being around God, the things of God, or even the people of God. God wants me to know Him personally, and wants me to let myself be known to Him in return. You can live your life being around God and never that step into the “get to know you” conversation.

I can be at church with a guy week after week, play on a worship team with him, hang around the same social circles, and run into him on occasion in the community and still not know him.

God could be that guy.

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Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day 2 Chronicles 30

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There were a lot of people, especially those from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, who did not eat the Passover meal because they had not prepared themselves adequately. 2 Chronicles 30:18 (MSG)

It’s football season, and as I write this I’m watching all of the television commercials prompting people to be prepared and well stocked for tailgating. I hear people talking about their weekly pre-game parties. I’ve never been into tailgating, but even Wendy and I know when the game will be on and are generally prepared to be on the couch in proper team regalia.

When I read today that the people weren’t prepared for their worship at the Passover, it leapt off the page at me. I started asking myself how “prepared” I am for worship on Sunday mornings. What do I do to make sure that my head and my heart are ready to worship God and hear what He might have to say to me?

The reality is, I give more thought to being prepared to watch a football game than I do to being prepared to worship of my Lord. Don’t get me wrong. I love football, and I love to get into the game and all the fun that surrounds it. Today, however, I’m giving thought to how I can ready myself for the event on Sunday which has eternal significance.

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day 2 Chronicles 5

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The choir and trumpets made one voice of praise and thanks to God—orchestra and choir in perfect harmony singing and playing praise to God: Yes! God is good! His loyal love goes on forever! 2 Chronicles 5:13 (MSG)

I grew up singing choral music. When I was a kid I sang in a robed church choir. Each Sunday morning we would make a processional up the center aisle to the altar before taking our place in the choir loft. We sang classic and choral music. In high school I sang in the robed choir as we belted out classics, many of them sacred pieces.

Today, the worship I experience on Sunday morning is contemporary and I enjoy playing my electric bass and rocking out. But, I do miss the sacred atmosphere of the traditional liturgical service with its formal processional, order, and sacred rhythm. I still have sacred music and gregorian chant playing during my personal quiet times. I get chills hearing certain sacred pieces.

I read today’s chapter about the triumphant procession bringing the ark of the covenant into the temple. I picture the pomp, the ceremonial grandeur and imagine the sound of the sacred music. It reminds me of my love of what contemporary worship often lacks. It’s not that contemporary or traditional is “right” while the other is “wrong” (despite advocates and critics on I hear on both sides). It’s just different, and they each have their strengths when it comes to a worship experience.

Tonight I go to worship rehearsal. I’ll plug in my bass, play with my whole heart, and experience the blessing of worship. At the same time, a part of me will wish I was standing in a mass choir singing a beautiful, sacred choral piece.

The worship of an omniscient God can’t be confined into one box. Worship of the Almighty, by necessity, must come in all sorts of styles because God can’t be defined by a single standard. The key is not to find the “right” way to worship, but to appreciate and experience the worship of an unlimited God in worship’s ever expanding form and style.

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and danagraves
Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day 2 Chronicles 4

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 He made the Bronze Altar thirty feet long, thirty feet wide, and ten feet high. 2 Chronicles 4:1 (MSG)

In my worship community we don’t think much about altars any more. Most of the churches I’ve attended have called the front of the church “the altar” but it’s more of a general term. There is no physical altar. I have mixed feelings about that.

One one hand, God’s message tells us that Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice “once for all.” In that sense, it’s a good thing to remember that there is nothing else I can do to add to what Jesus did. His sacrifice paid the price for my sins. Finished. End of story. There’s nothing I can do to add to it. The absence of a physical alter reminds me that there is nothing else I can add to what has already been done.

On the other hand, I recognize that my journey is a process of dying to self, and sacrificing my own desires for those of Jesus. The act of building an altar, or having an altar, is a phyical and metaphorical reminder that while Jesus has made the ultimate sacrifice, I must daily lay down my life, take up my cross, and follow in His footsteps.

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and paullew
Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day 1 Chronicles 16

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Religion or relationship. That was the day that David inaugurated regular worship of praise to God, led by Asaph and his company. 1 Chronicles 16:7 (MSG)

There was a distinct point in time when, for me, “going to church” became “worship.” I was raised going to church. We were there every Sunday. I was a regular attender at Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, Choir, and Sunday mornnig service. It was what my family did. We were religious about going to church, but wasn’t really worship for me.

It was while I was in high school that I entered into a relationship with Jesus. Suddenly, the stale mechanics of going to church took on a whole new dimension. I wasn’t checking something off my to-do list of good intentions. I wasn’t just doing what my parents demanded. I was going to meet with God. I was going to have a heart-to-heart with Jesus, to learn from his message, and to worship the one who gave up his life for me.

One of the things that David understood was the importance of worship. Reading Chronicles, I get the sense that David viewed worship as a way of honoring God who had protected him, anointed him, and saved him. It wasn’t about some religious good-luck charm. David understood that regular worship was part of his relationship with God.

Going to church is a religious good deed. Worshiping God is a relational act of the heart.

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Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day 1 Chronicles 15

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What is appropriate worship. When the Chest of the Covenant of God entered the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, was watching from a window. When she saw King David dancing ecstatically she was filled with contempt. 1 Chronicles 15:29 (MSG)

As I read this verse in today’s chapter I was taken back in my memory to a congreational meeting I experienced many years ago. It was a hot summer evening, and it was heated in the air conditioned meeting as well. The source of contention: whether it’s appropriate to clap in church. The divide was, in general, along generational lines. The anti-clappers were entrenched in their insistence that the worship service be reverant, holy and quiet. The pro-clappers had various verses about praising God with clapping picked out to prove their point.

Worship can be a funny deal for people. How we express our praise and worship can be a very personal thing. I have been through several of these heated congregational meetings in different churches in which people were debating whether it was appropriate to clap. I’ve had to endure similar debates on raising hands in worship. The crux of the issue in these silly debates tends to always boil down to what individuals feel is appropriate, which I usually interpret to mean what makes them feel comfortable and should therefore apply to everyone around them so that they don’t feel uncomfortable in worship.

Worship is a personal thing, and I’ve always tried to personally be true to two things when I’m in worship. First, I try to worship in a way that is true to God’s message and what God has prescribed. Second, I try not to worry about anyone else. I’m responsible for how I am expressing praisse, thanks, honor, and confession. If I’m busy worrying about what other people are doing, then I’m not really focused on the reason I’m there in the first place.

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Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day 1 Chronicles 9

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Musicians on call for God 24-7-365. And then there were the musicians, all heads of Levite families. They had permanent living quarters in The Temple; because they were on twenty-four-hour duty, they were exempt from all other duties. 1 Chronicles 9:33 (MSG)

It's funny to think about musicians being on call 24/7/365, but that was true of the Levite families in charge of music in God's temple back in the day. We think of doctors, police and firemen on 24 hour duty, but in God's house it's the musicians.

I love that God is a God of music. I love playing on a worship team and being part of the music on Sunday morning. While I'm only on two Sunday mornings a month duty, the thought of being on call with my bass 24/7 is actually an exciting thought. I feel honored everytime I plug in my Vander Well custom and play with others to glorify God.

Pump up the volume. In God's Kingdom, music is everpresent.

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Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Isaiah 57

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A Message from the high and towering God, who lives in Eternity, whose name is Holy:
"I live in the high and holy places, but also with the low-spirited, the spirit-crushed, And what I do is put new spirit in them, get them up and on their feet again." Isaiah 57:15-16 (MSG)

Incarnation is the word we use to describe the God of the universe inhabiting human form in the person of Jesus. It's a powerful truth. God becomes man. God lives as a man. God suffers as a man. God dies as a man. God descends into hell.

Much of the time I picture God and worship God as "high and towering." I worship the God of the universe who is greater than the universe and, therefore, a bit too big for my mind to fathom. God of the universe is awesome, but easily seems distant in light of my petty, miniscule problems. With the incarnation, God chooses to draw near to me. Jesus experienced life on Earth. Jesus experienced family. Jesus experience hunger. Jesus experienced powerful human emotions. Jesus experienced grief. Jesus experienced weariness. Jesus experienced betrayal. Jesus experienced rejection. Jesus experienced spirit crushing events.

God not only lives in the high and holy places, but chose to come near to lowly, low-spirited, spirit crushing human existence. Just like me. When I come to the God of the universe with my everyday struggles, he says "Dude, I've been there. I know."

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day 2 Kings 3

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Lost in worship. But considering—bring me a minstrel." (When a minstrel played, the power of God came on Elisha.) 2 Kings 3:15 (MSG)

A few months ago, our church published a new pictoral directory. It's like a phone book with pictures. After receiving it, my wife and I sat on the couch and went through it. We attend a large church with four Sunday morning services, so there are a lot of people. Wendy and I are trying to be more intentional about getting to know people so we tried to pick out some of the families who regularly attend the 10:30 service, which we call home.

"Oh there's the [pick a name, any name] family," Wendy would say.

"Hmmmm. I don't recognize them," I responded, with a slight shake of my head.

"But they always sit [pick a spot, any spot]," my wife would exclaim with incredulity as she described how many rows and seats away this particular family usually sat from our normal stage right, back row seats.

This conversation was repeated.

Several times.

My wife tends to think that I'm really inobservant, and I won't argue that point. She has a lot of evidence with which she could convince any jury. Nevertheless, when I'm sitting in church and the music starts, I tend to feel like I'm transported to a different place. My focus narrows and everything around me tends to fade. When I'm at worship and the minstrels are skillfully doing their thing, it's just me and God in the room. (note to my wife: This isn't an excuse for not observing and knowing who the people are around me, just a reason).

How interesting that Elisha called on a musician when he desired to consult with God. Music is often a creative conduit for God's Spirit to move and speak.

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and chrismoncus