Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Christ Centered Worship

I'm reading Bryan Chapell's book Christ Centered Worship. I am only a few chapters in right now, but I am finding the book very helpful and stimulating. How does the entirety of our worship service thoughtfully proclaim the gospel? Churches of the past have spent much time and thought on this. Chapell brings us up to speed!

One thought that jumped out at me in the last chapter is how Luther changed the Liturgy of the Roman church to take the focus off of the Roman priesthood and to include all of the people highlighting the priesthood of all of the believers. For this reason the Pastor did not dismiss the people with the benediction---instead the people sang it together pronouncing a blessing on each other! I like it!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Contemplations From Isaiah

In the book of Isaiah, God was fed up with false religiosity of Israel. They went through the motions of worship, but in their hearts they worshipped idols. They did not truly love God and therefore they did not truly love there neighbors. Instead of being a light to the world, they were a blight to the Lord.

To preserve His glory and their good God had to completely uproot Israel and replant them. They had completely lost sight of His holiness! This is what He reminds them of in Isaiah 6.

Have we lost sight of this exalted view of God? Is God small to us? Are we trying to manipulate Him to achieve our ends, or are we being humbled by His glory and presenting ourselves to Him for His ends?

Is. 6:1-8

1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.
2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
3 And one called out to another and said,
“Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts,
The whole earth is full of His glory.”
4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.
5 Then I said,
“Woe is me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I live among a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs.
7 He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.”
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Is 6:1–8). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

I have been reflecting on these wonderful words of our Lord from Matt. 5:6 for the past couple of hours. What a delight to know that when we realize that we are spiritually bankrupt, and we weep over our condition, and we realize that we must turn away from our own way and embrace God's way, and we truly hunger and thirst for a righteousness that is beyond us (God's righteousness), that He will fill us with His righteousness through Christ!

2 Corinthians 5:21 He made Him to be sin for us Who knew no sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Thank you Jesus for dying for my sin on the cross and for rising up from the grave, so that you could forgive my sin and give me your perfect righteousness! May your righteousness be formed in me and flow out of me! (Phil. 1:9-11)

Thursday, April 01, 2010

Rob Bell Not So Bad

You know as I think back and reflect on Velvet Elvis, I guess it wasn't so bad after all.







APRIL FOOLS!