While there are many practical things a Christian can do in order to prepare a time and place to worship, there are some spiritual things that must me done in order to prepare for worship, too. Recently I've been teaching through the Psalms of Ascent on Sunday night. The Psalms of Ascent are Psalms 120-134. There are several interesting discussions about there origin and purpose and their use. One theory maintains that worshippers coming to the temple utilized these psalms to prepare their hearts to meet with the living God. Tradition holds that the worshipper would stand on one of the fifteen steps and recite one of the psalms. The worshipper would repeat this pattern for all fifteen steps and psalms. If that theory is correct, I would imagine that the worshipper would be ready to worship by the time he got inside the temple. In the same way these worshippers prepared themselves to meet with God, there are some very practical things (and spiritual things) we can do in order to prepare ourselves to meet with God.
Having a time of prayer prior to a worship experience (whether that experience be in a church worship service or in a personal / private time of worship) can be instrumental in helping the worshipper to focus on God. You might think of this as tuning in to God. Each week before our morning Bible study time, we have a time of prayer dedicated to help us prepare to worship. In addition to the prayer time, you might consider singing one or two of your favorite worship songs as on offering to the Lord. Remember, you don't have to be a gifted singer, just a joyful noise maker. Finally, simply making yourself available to the leading of the Holy Spirit prior to and during a worship service makes all the difference in the world. How many times have church goers come to church expecting the same ole thing and never once consider that God might want to do something today? Make sure you're not missing the leading of the Spirit in your worship experiences.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Worship Takes Work
Each week I spend a considerable amount of time with our music guy planning the worship service at the church. We give every aspect of the service attention because we want everything we do to please God and to invite others into God's presence. It takes a great deal of time and energy to plan the services each week, but the investment is well worth the sweat when Sunday rolls around. When we've sought the Lord and allowed his Spirit to guide us in all that we plan, there is a special anointing that comes when the actual service begins to unfold. We have seen God do some extraordinary things that I think would have been impaired had we not planned and sought the Lord in advance.
In the same way we give time and energy to the worship service each week, every Christian who desires to live in the presence of God must give some attention to the work of worship. Let me share some practical things that must be done in order to worship God on a regular basis. First, you have to dedicate yourself to meeting with the Lord on a regular basis and that means scheduling time to worship. The important will always give way to the urgent and the problem is that most of us see everything as urgent and neglect what is important. Set a time and stick to it. Pick a place where you can meet with the Lord. It is good to go on retreats and into the remote desert places where you can meet with God, but it will be rare that you'll be able to drop what you're doing everyday to run up to the smokey mountains to meet with God. Pick a place in your home or yard and go there regularly to meet with the Lord. Just a couple of more things. If you like music, take along some of your favorite worship music and sing it to the Lord. Take it along and listen to it while you meditate on the Word. Always take your Bible. It is in the Word that God reveals himself and it is in his presence that you worship. Take the time, make the investment and do the work that is necessary for worship. Blessings!
In the same way we give time and energy to the worship service each week, every Christian who desires to live in the presence of God must give some attention to the work of worship. Let me share some practical things that must be done in order to worship God on a regular basis. First, you have to dedicate yourself to meeting with the Lord on a regular basis and that means scheduling time to worship. The important will always give way to the urgent and the problem is that most of us see everything as urgent and neglect what is important. Set a time and stick to it. Pick a place where you can meet with the Lord. It is good to go on retreats and into the remote desert places where you can meet with God, but it will be rare that you'll be able to drop what you're doing everyday to run up to the smokey mountains to meet with God. Pick a place in your home or yard and go there regularly to meet with the Lord. Just a couple of more things. If you like music, take along some of your favorite worship music and sing it to the Lord. Take it along and listen to it while you meditate on the Word. Always take your Bible. It is in the Word that God reveals himself and it is in his presence that you worship. Take the time, make the investment and do the work that is necessary for worship. Blessings!
Monday, August 4, 2008
The Importance of Rest
I've heard some say that Americans live to work and folks in many other countries work to live. That is a whimsical way of saying that we tend to be work-a-holics. Maybe the reason for our obession with work is theological.... When Adam and Eve sinned, God cursed the ground and told Adam that he would live from the ground, but by his own sweat. Sin has a way of twisting our desires in order to create within us unhealthy levels of desire. I know some people who are so engrossed in their work that they spend over 80 hours a week at work and leave little time for their family, God or personal rest. May the reason for our obession with work is jealousy... We live in nice houses, but someone always has a nicer house. We drive nice cars, but someone always has a nicer car. Whether we realize it or not, we live in constant competition with the Joneses (whoever they may be). We want more so we work more. The irony of that is that with the added work comes decreased time to enjoy the things you work for. Maybe the reason for our obession is the erroneous beleif that rest equates laziness... Afterall, if a man will not work, he shouldn't eat! True, but whoever said taking a break was bad or made one lazy? The simple truth is that we need rest.
If you study the Gospels you'll find that Jesus was one of the busiest people, ever! He constantly had people around him. He constantly had work to do. Someone was always asking him for something. People constantly wanted to see him or be near him. Jesus couldn't even spend time in prayer with the Father unless it was the wee hours of the morning. If you take a close look at the Gospels you'll find 6 or 7 times or so where Jesus seemingly drops from existence and can't be found. I don't mean that he disappeared or anything metaphysically spiritual. I simply mean that he would pull away from the crowd and demands of his work and he would rest. He would spend time with the Father. He would pray. He would be still. He would be in solitude. He would rest. Since Jesus is our example and we should honor him by becoming like him, maybe we could find some creative ways in which to pull away from the crowd and rest. Who's up for a nap?
If you study the Gospels you'll find that Jesus was one of the busiest people, ever! He constantly had people around him. He constantly had work to do. Someone was always asking him for something. People constantly wanted to see him or be near him. Jesus couldn't even spend time in prayer with the Father unless it was the wee hours of the morning. If you take a close look at the Gospels you'll find 6 or 7 times or so where Jesus seemingly drops from existence and can't be found. I don't mean that he disappeared or anything metaphysically spiritual. I simply mean that he would pull away from the crowd and demands of his work and he would rest. He would spend time with the Father. He would pray. He would be still. He would be in solitude. He would rest. Since Jesus is our example and we should honor him by becoming like him, maybe we could find some creative ways in which to pull away from the crowd and rest. Who's up for a nap?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
