The Wonders of God

 

Exodus 15:11 

11“Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods?

    Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? (ESV)

We worship a God who reveals himself to us.  God has revealed himself to us through creation (Romans 1:20), the scriptures (Luke 24:32), the works of his hands(Exodus 14), the life and works of Christ (John 5:37-40). Today, when God reveals himself through answering a fervent prayer, or through a scripture we read, or through another person – it is vital for us to stop and respond to him in worship.  When God brings revelation, worship should be our first response.

We live in the midst of a society that has seen and heard it all.  It’s rare for things come as a surprise to us.  Few things are worthy of awe.  If there happens to be some rare moment when we are floored by some type of news – whether good or bad – the sensation quickly wears away like the imprint of a wave on the beach.  Very soon it’s impact is washed away.  Do we allow that to happen when we see God move?  Are we quick to forget the glorious deeds God has done?

Moses was a man who was continually the recipient of revelations from God.  From a burning bush (Exodus 3:1-3), to God’s audible voice (Exodus 3:4-6), to seeing the glory of God’s presence walk past him (Exodus 33:12-23).  He encountered God in a completely unique way – he knew God face to face (Exodus 33:11).  There was a richness to this relationship, an intimacy that went beyond the realm of religion into the depths of a sacred friendship.  However, even in the midst of such an understanding of God, Moses frequently forgot the power and strength of his God. 

My prayer for us is that we would be reminded of the ways God has revealed himself to us.  That we could be still and meditate on the wondrous things God has done in our lives to make himself known.  I pray that we would not be a people who have become so “familiar” with God that we lose our sense of wonder and amazement.  Instead, we would fervently recall the wonders of our God.  

As we lead worship, may our hearts erupt with praise, echoing the song of Moses, declaring – “Who is like you, O Lord! Majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonder?”  I pray we would respond to God’s revelation with awe and amazement at the reminder that there is no one like our God.

Combative Songwriting :: I Will Sing

Often times in songwriting for congregational worship, there are elements of combative writing present.  Basically, in a culture that has so many confusing ideas regarding Jesus, it is important for churches to be singing songs that teach solid doctrine, while at the same time allowing for responsiveness.  We’re attempting to focus on the attributes of who God is, and shed light through songs on the truths of God.

 I wrote the song I will Sing with Michael Farren, the lead singer for Pocket Full of Rocks. This song is a simple declaration of who Jesus is by singing various truths from scripture.  Verse 1 speaks of him being the only name by which men are saved, John 14:6 says,  Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (ESV) Verse 2 speaks of his presence in creation, and is fueled by the Gospel of John.  John 1:1-5 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. (ESV)   Verse 3 picks up with worship outlined in Revelation, with the saints and angels bowing down and lavishing worship on Jesus, the only one worthy to untie the scrolls. Revelation 5:9-10 says, “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” (ESV)

For a .mp3 and chart of this song, you can listen and download it free at worshipsource.com/mattb

I WIll Sing 

Verse 1: 

I will sing of the mercy of Jesus 

The name by which all men are saved 

Who laid down his life for our ransom 

The debt of redemption to pay 

 

Chorus 1: 

I will sing of the wonder of Jesus 

And the cross that he bore for our sin 

I will sing of the love that has conquered the grave 

And the day he he’s returning again 

 

Verse 2: 

I will sing of the power of Jesus 

Through whom all of creation was made 

Whose glorious light shines eternal 

And chases the darkness away 

 

Verse 3: 

I will sing of the beauty of Jesus 

I will join in the angels refrain 

Lavishing our adoration 

Of him with the loveliest name 

 

Bridge:

I will sing, I will sing

I will sing, Sing of the day he’s returning again

The Only Way to Worship

The Only Way to Worship – Part 1

John 4:23-24

²³Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

Worship vernacular is filled with theological ideas that many of us have never stopped to wrestle through to determine what they mean.  As worship leaders, we are called to continual learners of worship. As we do this, our leading becomes much more effective.  

In a culture that glorifies being able to “do your own thing” and “find your own truth” it is wildly unpopular to make a statement that says there is only one way to worship.  However, in light of scripture, it is vital to grasp how worship happens at all.  To understand this, we first must ask, how has God commanded to be worshiped.  The gospel of John records a powerful encounter between Jesus and a woman living in sin to give us some insight. While we only have time for a cursory look at this passage, we will focus our lens on the worship element in the text.  It in in verse 24 Jesus explains to us that God is not a man created, but a spirit, and the ONLY way to worship him is in spirit and in truth.  What does that mean exactly to worship in spirit and in truth?

D.A. Carson writes in Worship by the Book, “God is Spirit, and he cannot be domesticated by mere location or mere temples, even if in the past he chose to disclose himself in one such temple as a teaching device that anticipated what was coming.  Moreover, in this book(the Gospel of John) – in which Jesus appears as the true vine, the true temple, the true manna, the true Shepherd, the true son – to worship God “in Spirit and in truth” is first and foremost a way of saying that we must to worship God by means of Christ”.

As we survey the book of John, the context in which Jesus is speaking becomes much clearer.  We are drawn to the conclusion that the only way to worship is in and through Jesus.  Jesus is the centerpiece, the vehicle and the origination of all biblical worship.  True worship is Jesus-mediated, it is cross-focused, it is gospel-centered.  It is obtained through the provision and to the specification by which God has set forth.  Over the next few weeks we will be looking more extensively at what worshipping in “spirit and truth” means on a deeper level, and discover more how it is that God commands to be worshipped.  My prayer for us as worship leaders is that we would walk away with a renewed sense of wonder of the cross, a deeper passion for Jesus, and greater love of the Gospel.

Reflections:

Define in your own words what it means to worship in “spirit and truth”?

What scriptures reveal more on how God commands to be worshipped?  Write them down and meditate on them.

worship by the book

 

d.a. workin the mic

 

 

d.a. carson has written (edited) probably one of the most vital books that every worship leader should go through.  in his 63 pages of the overview of biblical worship, he is able to make me want to resign as a worship pastor, and go figure some stuff out, get my act together, then plead to come back get hired again as a new man… at least a dozen times.

 

for the sake of space (and time) i am going to share with you a quote on his exposition of his half a page definition of what worship is. 

 

“in an age increasingly suspicious of (linear) thought, there is much more respect for the “feeling” of things – whether a film of a church service.  it is disturbingly easy to plot surveys of people, especially young people, who drift from a church of excellent preaching and teaching to one with excellent music, because it is alleged, there is “better worship” there.  but we need to think carefully about this matter.   let us restrict ourselves for the moment to corporate worship.  although there are things that can be done to enhance corporate worship, there is a profound sense in which excellent worship cannot be attained merely by pursuing excellent worship.  in the same way that, according to Jesus, you cannot find yourself until you lose yourself, so also you cannot find excellent worship until you stop trying to find excellent worship and pursue God himself.  despite the protestations, one sometimes wonders if we are beginning to worship worship rather than worship God.  as a brother put it to me, it’s a bit like those who begin by admiring the sunset and soon begin to admire themselves admiring the sunset.”

 

ahh… nothing like a kick in the pants.  

 

i have been a part of churches who have done this very thing – worship worship.  worship music.  worship themselves in worship.  worship the experience.

 

the end result of such pervasive practices is that in the end, our worship is broken.  God turns his ear away from the sounds of our words, and cannot be pleased with worship that reeks of this stench.

 

where this gets very uncomfortable is that i too have done this.  it’s embarrasing to write those words.  it’s healing to write those words.  

 

too often, we as worship leaders find too much joy in ourselves rather than in the one who is the object of our affection.  artsy people are prone to this.  it’s romantic…  and sin.

 

if you are a worship leader, or worship pastor, and you haven’t taken the time to learn from guys who have gone before as to what biblical worship looks like.  don’t let another day go by.  there’s far too much at stake.

 

oh, and d.a. – thank you.

news of hymnody

so, in all fair disclosure – i do a lot of hymns.  i love them.  the poetic style, the rich imagery.  

 

i also write a good majority of the songs we do at our church.  sometimes the songs we do on sunday are only a couple of hours old.  other times we sing songs that are 200 years old.  wherever your church conviction or musical preference lies, i found this witty hymn-style rant by peter baker very entertaining.  truth has a funny way of hurting and feeling good at the same time….

 

as a writer, a lot of the songs i hear in churches all do sound the same – loud.  sometimes i wish we could boycott songs that were 120, 4 on the floor…  and then i write another one.

 

for those of you who lead worship and write songs for your local church to sing – glean what you can from this… and keep writing.

 

“News of Hymnody”

 

Dear Lord and Father of mankind

Forgive our foolish ways

For most of us, when asked our mind

Admit we still most pleasure find

In hymns of ancient days

In hymns of ancient days

 

The simply lyrics, for a start

Of many a modern song

Are far too trite to touch the heart

Enshrine no poetry, nor art

And go on much too long

And go on much too long

 

O, for a rest from jollity

And syncopated praise

What happened to tranquility

The silence of eternity

Is hard to hear these days

Is hard to hear these days

 

Send they deep hush subduing all

Those happy claps that drown

The tender whisper of thy call

Triumphalism is not all

For sometimes we feel down

For sometime we feel down

 

Drop thy dews of quietness

Till all our strummings cease

Take from our souls the strain and stress

Of having to be blessed

Give us a bit of peace

Give us a bit of peace

 

Breathe through the beats of praise guitar

Thy coolness and they balm

Let drum be dumb, bring back the lyre,

Enough of earthquake, wind and fire

Let’s hear it for some calm

Let’s hear it for some calm