"To this one I will look," God says through Isaiah, "to the one who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word" (Isa. 66:2). God most high is also God most nigh! In the flesh of Jesus of Nazareth he has joined our humanity. By the Spirit of the Risen Jesus Christ he has come to us again. God calls us to celebrate, to rejoice in his presence, to shout with thanksgiving and with delight! Christian worship reflects the full spectrum of reverent reaction to the reality of God. Sometimes we bow or kneel in total silence, properly awed by God most high. At other times we make a … [Read more...]
VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL
A gracEmail subscriber asks whether believers assemble on Sundays (or at other times) for their own benefit or for God's benefit. * * * We would be wrong to think that God needs what we do when we come together to sing, pray, read Scripture or share the Lord's Supper, as if he were deficient or incomplete without our activities. Yet Scripture repeatedly indicates that the sovereign Creator is pleased when his people sincerely give him thanks and praise. In that sense, our sacrifice of worship (as a gathered community of believers or as individuals wherever we might be) is for God's benefit. … [Read more...]
WITH MIND AND HEART
There were many refreshing aspects to the 2005 Annual Pepperdine University Bible Lectures which I attended last week, beginning with the picturesque mountainside setting overlooking the Pacific Ocean at Malibu, California. Seven gifted preachers fed the mind and stirred the spirit with a variety of sermons from John's Gospel on the theme "Lifted Up." For 13 hours each day we could choose among more than 200 classes covering a spectrum of topics of special interests and needs. The Christian fellowship is always a highlight, visiting with old friends and making new ones from throughout the USA … [Read more...]
LITURGICAL WORSHIP
I once described my home congregation here in Houston, Texas as "tilted toward the liturgical," and a reader asked what that meant. * * * I really wasn't trying to be fancy. Liturgical, in this context, just means using words that have been thought through and written out in advance, rather than made up on the spur of the moment. Now a generation removed from the hang-loose 60's and spontaneous weddings in cow pastures, most preachers and couples choose a liturgical wedding service, for example (which usually comes, whether folks know it or not, from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, an … [Read more...]
WORSHIP AND THE TRIUNE GOD
A gracEmail subscriber writes, "I like your way of using the great church families to emphasize the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in worship. Would you spell that out again." * * * Different streams of the worldwide Church point us to Father, Son and Holy Spirit respectively, and we would be enriched to appropriate the good which each has to offer. The great Catholic expression of the Church (Orthodox, Roman and Anglican) preserves the rich liturgical tradition from early centuries, highlighted in the Communion or Eucharist, which both inspires and expresses our proper awe in the presence of … [Read more...]
THE ESSENCE – 5
Uniquely honored among all God's creatures, we humans are made in the Creator's own image. Sin, which at its core is a denial of creaturely dependence, and therefore of our created identity, obscures God's presence and removes the source of ultimate human fulfillment and joy. By dealing with sin, Jesus brought us back close into God's presence now, and he promises to make us immortal in a new universe where there will be no more sin or death. This, then, is the essence of life, the highest goal, the greatest good, the path to our fulfillment and to God's joy -- that we live each moment … [Read more...]
THE ESSENCE – 4
When we look back over life at its end, what will we say has really mattered? As we face each new day now, what deserves our greatest attention and commitments of time and energy? We might respond to both questions by saying, "our Christian faith," but what does that really mean? What does God most want from you as a human being redeemed by Jesus? What does the earthly life look like which best brings joy to God and satisfaction to us? As we have seen already, it is not merely a benevolent or charitable life. Church meetings and religious activity cannot give ultimate meaning. Diligent Bible … [Read more...]
THE ESSENCE – 3
Looking back over life at its end, what really will have mattered? What deserves our greatest attention today in the face of countless clamoring demands for time and energy? If we answer, "our Christian faith," what does that really mean in practical terms? What does God most want from you as a human being redeemed by Jesus? What does the earthly life look like which best brings joy to God and satisfaction to us? Is the answer to these questions a life committed to detailed study of the Bible itself, perhaps particularly the New Testament Scriptures? Indeed, far too many professing … [Read more...]
THE ESSENCE – 2
When we come to life's end and look back over a lifetime, what will have really mattered? What is most worthy of our attention now? What is the core of our faith? What is the essence of Christianity in terms of every-day life? Can we possibly get some handle on human existence at its best? What does the earthly life look like that brings ultimate joy to God and lasting satisfaction to us? Is it a religious life centered on church activities and meetings, holy rituals and sacred ceremonies? Indeed, many Christians under-value the discipline of set meetings for worship, fellowship and study. … [Read more...]
THE ESSENCE – 1
On your last day of life on earth, what will have really mattered? In the face of a myriad daily demands for time and energy, what is most worthy of our attention? "My faith," you say. "Spiritual matters. Things that last for eternity." But what is the core of our faith? What is the essence of Christianity? Not in a theoretical sense but in terms of every-day life. What does God want most from us? Can we possibly get a handle on human existence at its best -- an earthly life that brings joy to God and satisfaction to us? What about a life devoted to others, a charitable life of good deeds? … [Read more...]