Worship: Part 3 – Tensions and Contentions

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. 
He was with God in the beginning. 
Through Him all things were made,
and without Him nothing was made
that has been made.
In Him was life,
and that life was the light of men. 
The Light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
                                       -- (John 1: 1-5)

With these inspiring and worshipful words, the Apostle John exalts Jesus Christ as the Eternal God, and Creator.  Yet even in his worshipful introduction, John alludes to a spiritual warfare.   The “Light of Truth revealed by the written Word and Jesus Christ, the Living Word (v. 14), is being opposed by the “Darkness.”

Today, the world is becoming spiritually darker and darker.  Like the beautiful flowers of our Prickly Pear Cactus that are surrounded by sharp spines which wasps and bees must avoid; so, God’s creation in all its beauty and wonder still bears the marks of God’s curse of sin.  Like the visiting bees and wasps, we must move carefully to avoid sharp pricks in a creation governed by Satan, the enemy of our souls.   Yet as John promised, the Light of Truth still shines, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1: 5).  God is still calling Christ-followers to worship and serve Him as lights” in the midst of a spiritually dark world.  But what does it mean to worship God as He desires-- in spirit and in truth?

Part 1 on the subject of Worship was entitled “A Wider View of Worship.”  Beyond “Sunday worship,” God invites our worship to be interwoven with our work, recreation, and rest as a “sweet-smelling aroma” from our lives to Him. 

Part 2 addressed the “Value of Corporate Worship” and ways we should prepare ourselves to respond to God’s ‘Call to Worship.”  But, in reality, and as we noted from the reference to “light” and “darkness,” our individual and corporate worship is often threatened by “tensions and contentions.”  Why is this true, and how should we respond?

As certain as we engage in work and worship, we will experience pain, tensions, and contentions.  According to God’s Word, we all have a sin nature.  We tend to protect our own self-interest when we face spiritual attacks from
(1) our flesh (“carnal mind,” Romans 8: 5-8),
(2) the world’s way of thinking (1 John 2: 15), and
(3) Satan and his minions (demons) (Romans 7: 7-25, Ephesians 6: 12). 

Freedom to Worship
But there is good news for those who have responded to God’s call to salvation in Christ.  (See “Steps to Peace with God.”)  According to Romans 8: 1-2, and 9, the governing principle (law) of a life redeemed by God and ruled by His Spirit sets us free from the governing principle (law) of sin and death. 

Jesus Christ took our place, suffered the penalty of our sin, and satisfied the wrath of God’s judgment (Romans 8: 1-4).  Born again, Christ-followers are set free from the penalty of sin which is death (eternal separation from God; Romans 6: 23).  But, like unregenerate sinners, born again sinners still have natural bodies and carnal minds that are prone to sin (Romans 8: 5-8).  Therefore, freedom from the power of sin is a promise only possible when Christ-followers practice the spiritual disciplines of (1) private prayer, (2) regular private time in God’s Word, (3) regular corporate worship and fellowship with others of like faith, and (4) stewardship of our time, talents, and treasures for the sake of Christ and His kingdom (See Ephesians 6: 10-18 and Hebrews 10: 22-25).  Christ’s disciples recognize the need to practice these spiritual disciplines if we want to stand firm against spiritual attacks from the world, the flesh, and the devil.  One day when we are with Christ, we will be free from the presence of sin.  More about that later.

Having provided background on “spiritual warfare,” we can understand more clearly why our tensions, contentions, and pain can affect our worship.  The connection between these and worshiping God is very direct.  According to the Bible, “worship” involves sincere acknowledgment of God’s worthiness and holiness expressed in solemn reverence toward Him in spirit and in truth.  Specifically, worship of Jehovah God, Yahweh, acknowledges and demonstrates our faith that He is the only true God (First Commandment, Exodus 20: 3) and that Yahweh alone is worthy of our adoration and obedience (Second Commandment, Exodus 20: 4-6).  However, when Christ-followers individually and corporately worship God, they can immediately become targets of the spiritual attacks described above.

Facing Spiritual Opposition
Satan is a hateful adversary of both God and every one of God’s children (1 Peter 5: 8).  He deceived Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3).  Ever since then, Satan and fellow fallen angels continue to lie, accuse, and deceive Adam’s descendants (John 8: 44).  According to Ezekiel 28: 14 (NLT), here’s how God addressed Satan,
I ordained and anointed you as the mighty angelic guardian.
You had access to the holy mountain of God
and walked among the stones of fire.

But, although he was a glorious angelic being, Satan was unsatisfied and unwilling to submit in service to God.  His boastful claim is recorded in Isaiah 14: 14:
'I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.'
 
Isaiah 14: 15-16 records God’s rebuke of Satan, or Lucifer (2 Corinthians 11: 14, ‘angel of light’) and His pronouncement of Satan’s eventual doom:
Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol,
to the recesses of the pit.

Given the hatred of God by our Adversary, we can understand how Satan, the ‘Prince of the power of the air,” becomes outraged when we worship God.  Although we are saved from the penalty of sin, we must still battle against the power of sin.  The Apostle Paul, reminded first century Christians, …we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6: 12).   

The Apostle Paul warns that our real enemy is spiritual, powerful, wicked, and institutionalized.  How then should Christ-followers worship in a world where we are bound to face pain from spiritual tensions and contentions?

Tensions and Contentions
We will divide spiritual tensions into various categories even though attacks may come simultaneously from more than one category.  We hope you will identify those which create tension, contention, and pain in your life; and then, respond by practicing the spiritual disciplines noted above.

An Obvious Tension: “Sabbath”
According to Genesis 3: 1-5, the Serpent tempted Adam and Eve to ask, “Is God really good, or is He withholding something better from us?”  Ever since that time, we’ve been asking the same question.  Is God really good?

For example, does God really expect me to keep a commandment like resting from work on the Sabbath (Exodus 20: 8-11)?  How we respond to God’s call to regular “Sabbath rest” is a great indicator of whether we love God (John 14: 21) and truly believe God is good and that He cares about us.  As you read this, you can probably feel the tension between keeping God’s laws out of a sense of duty versus keeping God’s commands out of a desire to be pleasing to Him and to receive the blessings God has for those who follow Him.

Herein lies one of the tensions that Christ-followers face. The world system of thought and practice suggests that one day a week is wasted if we don’t use it to advance ourselves and our society.  Granted, it is true that for some to observe Sabbath, many others must be at work as merchants, attendants, utility workers, medical professionals, first responders, and many more.  But God simply asks us to follow His example of setting aside a day or parts of several days each week to rest and be renewed in mind, body, and spirit.  Let’s look deeper into what God has in mind in His Sabbath command by asking some personal questions.

Do I love God with all my heart and soul and strength, and with all my mind (Luke 10: 27)?  Do I really believe God created me, knows me, loves me, and knows what is best for me?  How can I honestly know the answer to these questions unless God gives me opportunities to demonstrate it by the choices I make?  If my answer is “yes,” then I ought to believe God has much to offer me when I set aside a day or the equivalent time each week for worship, spiritual refreshment, and rest.  And, when I “taste and see that the Lord is good,” I become even more willing to resist the pressure to stay in the “fast lane” for one “extra day” of the week so I can “get more done.”

When we “keep Sabbath” at least in principle, consider also that “Sabbath blessings” can accompany us like a pleasant fragrance into other dimensions of our lives.  For example, we may begin to insert “mini-Sabbath rests” into free times during our busy weekday schedule.  Here, we invite God into our private thoughts and reflections on His Word.  Conversations with our Father in Heaven can be sweet as we listen to a praise or worship song, recite and meditate on passages from His Word, and respond to God in prayer.  The spiritual fruit of abiding in Him more consistently can impact how we think and face the pressures and tensions outside of those times.  And, we may find ourselves having less and less tension between a legalistic “Sabbath keeping” and more and more of a desire for fellowship with our Heavenly Father who loves for us to walk with Him.

Tensions between “Seen and Unseen”
In spite of how we observe the Sabbath principle, our day-to-day priorities and efforts to “stay ahead” or “make a living” often compete with eternal purposes and promises of God.  Consider the “Tensions Arising from Competing Priorities” listed in the adjacent table.  Note that we are not suggesting one alternative is “bad” or that the two cannot be balanced when our choices are well grounded from a biblical perspective.  Yet, these contrasts point to some of the real tensions that surround us regularly.  The question is, “How will we respond?”

Tensions from a Culture in Turmoil
Our Western culture has become increasingly divergent from a Judeo-Christian foundation.  Historically, this biblical foundation has been the basis for the belief in objective truth and moral accountability to God which in turn have contributed to the advancement of science and techology, and government by the people.  Unfortunately, as a result of moral decline and the deterioration of the family, dysfunction in the evangelical church, and loss of quality of our educational systems, an increasing proportion of the citizenry has become ignorant of our history and opposed to Judeo-Christian beliefs.  Christianity has become a minority counterculture in which followers are increasingly encountering tensions and even pain and death when they take a stand for their faith.



We have listed several “Tensions from a Culture in Turmoil” (see above) to illustrate a range of contemporary challenges.  Very likely, you can relate to at least some of these.  Maybe you can recall the tension and even emotional pain that accompanied your experiences.  Thankfully, there is clear biblical instruction for how to engage with a hostile person or culture.  The Apostle Peter instructs us to do the following (1 Peter 3: 15-17):
(1)  BE HOLY: “sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts”
(2)  “BE READY“ to make a defense” when asked about your hope
(3)  BE POLITE: answer “with gentleness and reverence”
(4)  BE HONEST: “keep a good conscience” to avoid slander
(5)  BE WILLING to “suffer for doing right” than wrong

As our culture becomes increasingly opposed to the testimony of the Gospel of Christ, believers must become more practiced in applying the spiritual disciplines we have noted above.  Christ-followers who integrate worship into their busy lives as described in Part 1, “

A Wider View of Worship,”  and understand the “Value of Corporate Worship,” as described in Part 2 of this series on “Worship,” will be the most effective ambassadors for the Life Christ offers to our increasingly hostile world.

Tensions from within the Church
Surely, with access to biblical instruction in Christian conduct, Christian believers ought to find corporate gatherings a welcome relief from the tensions and contentions of our secular world.  But this is not always true.  As we noted above, every Christ-follower is continually beset with a natural body and a carnal mind that is prone to sin (Romans 8: 5-8).  What’s more, when the Adversary of God and of every believer sees us gather for corporate worship, study, and fellowship, he is eager to create discord to undermine and destroy the body of believers.

It is painful for us to list some of the sources of tensions and contentions that commonly arise within churches today.  However, just as in our complex and dangerous world today, our defense against our spiritual enemy will not be effective if we fail to identify him.   As we noted earlier, our spiritual enemy is Satan who creates tensions and contentions within our culture and within our individual God-given desires.

When local churches lose sight of their God-inspired, Spirit-empowered mission as described in Acts 2 and as we discussed in “Worship: Part 2 – Value of Corporate Worship,” then tensions and contentions can easily arise over mishandling of doctrinal issues or distractions over personal preferences.  Below is a short list of “Tensions within the Church” that are not uncommon today.  If you are a regular church-attender and many of these are unfamiliar to you, praise the Lord. 

Our list is short but it will be sufficient to illustrate our point.  Sadly, one of the major sources of the tension and contention in churches today is not a new one; namely, the choice of music deemed suitable for worship.  Astute readers of this series will realize that we have been repeatedly delaying this topic since the end of Part 1.  However, we believe God's Spirt has been pressing us to consider the wider context of what it means to worship both individually and corporately in a world of great tensions and contentions.  Please keep these in mind when you move on to Part 4, "Musing about Church Music." Music often is a major cause of tension and contention in churches today.

“Good” from Tensions and Contentions
No one should deny that Christ followers who are resisting attacks from the flesh, the world, and the devil will face tensions and contentions.  But, like the beauty of cactus flowers in the midst of thorns, there is much good that can come from these trials.  James, the half-brother of Jesus Christ, wrote what seems like shocking words to persecuted Christians scattered throughout the world:
Dear brothers and sisters,
when troubles of any kind come your way,
consider it an opportunity for great joy.
                                                -- James 1: 2 (NLT)

Really? Is James really saying there is “Great joy” in the midst of trials?  How can this be?  James continues with God’s answer:
For you know that when your faith is tested,
your endurance has a chance to grow.
So let it grow,
for when your endurance is fully developed,
you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
                                                -- James 1: 3-4 (NLT)

The Epistle of James is an “instruction manual” on how to be victorious over the pain, tensions, and contentions of the natural world.  James addressed both his immediate 1^st century readers living under persecution and all of us as disciples of Jesus today.  If you know the challenges of being prideful, or double-minded, or “loose tongued,” or impure in your thought life, or covetous; then, you know first-hand the weight of the tensions and contentions that come from the flesh, the world, and the forces of evil beyond flesh and blood.  Thankfully, the Epistle of James addresses each of these and more with practical answers.

Glyn Evans, in his devotional book, “Daily with the King” (Moody, 1989), writes (June 8):  The pain that comes to us in following Christ is the pain of change.  It is the change from living naturally to living spiritually.  It comes, as Blaise Pascal says, from the ungodliness that is still left in us.  The greater our resistance to this change, the greater our pain will be.  Evans adds that, only in Heaven will there be “no more pain” because every will has been brought into complete harmony with God’s will; thus, the tension of wills, which is the source of pain, will be gone.

Complete freedom for Christ-followers from the presence of sin will only be possible when we are with Christ in Glory where God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away” (Revelation 21: 1-4).  But meanwhile, as Jesus promised, In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world (John 16: 33).

Care to Comment?
How has this article affected your thinking about spiritual challenges or spiritual battles?  Is there an error in our thinking, or a missing point that you would like to add?   Often, readers who take time to use the “Comment” link below add much to the value of an article.  Or, if you’d like to comment privately, just email to silviusj@gmail.com   Thank you for reading.

Worship: Part 2 – Value of Corporate Worship

During the past year of pandemic, online learning, and “online worship,” many Christians are rethinking their own approaches to worship.  What attitudes and conditions are necessary for God-honoring worship?  Do we have to “go to church” in order to worship?  In “Worship: Part 1 – A Wider View of Worship,” we considered how a healthy lifestyle of worship should be a part of our work, recreation, and rest.  When this is true, our spiritual focus of each weekday can create a seamless connection to a more God-honoring and personally satisfying corporate worship.  

Turning our attention to corporate worship, what attitudes and actions in particular ought to characterize followers of Jesus Christ who gather to worship Him?  Warning: This is not a heavy treatment of the vast subject of worship.  This writer is only a layman with some points to share, and your responses will add much value.  (See “Comment” link at the end of this article.)

“Church Family” Gatherings
By definition, a church is an assembly of called-out believers in Jesus Christ.  After Jesus’s death and resurrection, His followers adopted the practice of continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer (Acts 2: 42).  As members of “the Body of Christ,” these “brothers and sisters” by faith in Christ were united by the Holy Spirit into a “faith family” in common love for their Savior.  Today we read from the Book of Hebrews the challenge to avoid forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near (Hebrews 10: 24-25).

According to the Bible, God’s design and His desire as our Creator is that His redeemed children come together each week to “worship Him in spirit and in truth (e.g. John 4: 24).”  Spirit-filled Christ-followers enjoy being together as a “church family.”  Meanwhile, God is continually drawing non-believers to “come and see” His church in the process of worshiping and serving God and loving one another (John 13: 35).

God created us to be members of both a spiritual family and a biological family.  Spiritual and biological families each have aspects that unify their respective members.  Within each family, members are unified by their common lineage, their shared history; and ideally, their shared values and affection for fellow family members.  However, because we all have a sinful nature and tend toward pleasing ourselves rather than pleasing others, both biological and spiritual families often experience strife and disunity for some of the same reasons (Philippians 2: 3-6).  Therefore, it will be helpful to consider how certain behaviors and their adverse effects within biological families could provide insights into how to identify and understand the dynamics within our church families. 

“Biological Family” Gatherings
Let’s begin by considering how a biological family plans to host a summer family gathering or reunion.  Then, we’ll compare the dynamics and behaviors that make for a great family reunion with those that are necessary for a God-honoring local church family? 

Maybe you are already having mental flashbacks of past family gatherings.  While we’re at it, let’s reason through the steps as if you were planning a family reunion at your home.  We will need to schedule a date, list who to invite, and plan for food, activities, games, etc.  Men in our family tend to think in spatial terms, selecting outdoor games and arranging their locations, or planning alternatives for bad weather—“Better rent a tent, or maybe clear out the barn or garage,” they say.

Meanwhile, women handle the guest list and food.  Should we plan for a large-scale barbeque, or just order-in the meat already prepared?  How about having each family bring a covered dish and a salad or dessert?  Should we invite the “patriarchs and matriarchs” of our family?  How can we honor them?   Will we have music or other media.  If so, who will perform or coordinate the entertainment? 

Once the plans begin to take shape, who can best serve as the host, or emcee?  Our family gatherings are usually not overly structured, but we have several naturally gifted entertainers or emcee-types.  Nothing like a good host or emcee to keep things running smoothly.  The host may call the family to attention in order to grant honor to elders, recognize the latest accomplishments of younger family members, and otherwise make everyone feel welcomed, involved, and loved.
 
Worship As a “Church Family”
By now, you may realize that our comparison of a biological family gathering to the assembling of God’s people to worship may be a bit far-fetched.  Shouldn’t there be a striking contrast between the two types of gatherings because of the greatness of God and His worthiness to be worshiped?  We believe so. Great as family reunions are, gatherings of God’s people as a “church family” ought to have several distinct qualities that demonstrate heart-felt worship, love for God, and unconditional love for one another. 

Rather than attempt an exhaustive treatment of the subject of corporate worship, we will list several qualities which, according to the Scriptures, should characterize true worship of God.  Remember, this writer is not an expert on worship, or even a person who “has it all together” spiritually—ask Abby about all of these.  So, after reading, feel free to critique, criticize, and add helpful comments.  See the “Comment” link below.  We can all learn more if we are willing to share Scriptural insights based on God’s Word and our experiences.

Come with Preparation of Heart
We know what it means to carefully prepare for and anxiously anticipate an upcoming family reunion.  How much more should we prepare to join with our spiritual family to worship Almighty God?  Weekly worship and preaching from the Word of God can help us be victorious over our sin each weekday.  In “Worship: Part 1 – A Wider View of Worship,” we emphasized how a spirit of worship should be an integral part of the lives of Christ-followers every day.  Daily worship and reliance on God, in turn, helps us worship in congregation.    

The psalmist David was aware of both his sinful tendencies and his need for a “lifestyle of repentance” (See Psalm 32).  Nevertheless, David continually aimed toward a daily life of integrity and whole-hearted devotion in preparation for those regular times of corporate worship of God (See Psalm 119: 9-11).  In Psalm 15 and Psalms 24-26, David asks questions like, “Who may dwell on God’s holy hill?” David’s answer: “He who walks with integrity.”  We must realize with David that maintaining our integrity each day enables us to come with hearts full and ready to worship in congregation.  Psalm 26: 12 expresses this relationship: 
My foot stands on a level place;
in the congregation I shall bless the LORD.

Come with Glad Anticipation
David wrote and sang this song (Psalm 122: 1): 
I Was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the LORD”

We ought to come to church with glad anticipation.  What a privilege to offer to God our expressions of His “worth-ship!” Worthy is the Lamb that was slain for us (Revelation 5: 12)!  Some who are reading this article are used to going to worship regularly with glad anticipation in spite of difficult circumstances or limited religious freedom.  Others may anticipate assembling in spite of severe penalties or even threats against their lives. When we remember to pray for our Christian brethren who are persecuted in many nations around the world we are more prone to lay aside our petty concerns.  When we join fellow believers in corporate worship we join millions around the world who are responding to God's invitation to come in glad anticipation to praise the Lamb who was slain for us.  Psalm 95 conveys this glad invitation:  
Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let us shout to the Rock of our salvation!
Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to Him in song.

Come to Encourage
Do you have a sense of glad anticipation as you make your way to church?  As a young family, we were not always glad and harmonious on Sunday mornings—ask our son and daughter.  But our family struggles often reminded us of how much we needed to be with fellow struggling followers of Christ to hold one another up in the presence of our Savior and Gentle Shepherd. 

As noted earlier, Scripture urges us not to forsake our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another (Hebrews 10: 25).  We gather to worship, but also to encourage one another.  To encourage (Greek, parakaleō) means “to come alongside, to exhort,” or “to comfort.” For more on the importance of comfort, literally “to come with fortification in faith,” see “Hearing the Voice of Jesus –2: When Suffering Comes.” 

Coming together as a spiritual family to encourage one another means the depth of our conversations ought to be greater and our purpose more intentional than in biological family reunions.  Conversations at family reunions range from very casual “Hi, how have you been?” to greater depths if we are willing to take the time and open up a bit about some of our family burdens.  Much more so, when God’s people gather as a church, it ought to be assumed if not evident that all of us are bearing at least some physical, emotional, and spiritual burdens.  Therefore, let us be intentional, according to Hebrews 10: 24-25, to consider how to lift up and encourage those with whom we gather to worship.  

Jesus Christ did not give His life blood to purchase followers that found “country clubs” where everyone comes “neat and tidy.”  Instead, as someone has said, the church of Jesus Christ is like a hospital where Christ-followers, carnal Christians, and unsaved sinners can come together.  Here, they can expose their spiritual bruises, emotional struggles, questions, and doubts; and be encouraged in a safe and loving environment where God is worshiped and His Word is central.  Does this description fit your church family?

Come to Focus Upward to God
Some biological family gatherings may express praise and thanks (vertically, upward to God) for the blessing of being together, for safe travels, for delicious food, and for God’s many blessings. Family members like to enjoy one another’s company and to catch up on the blessings, adventures, and accomplishments of each other since our last gathering.  Here, the main focus is on enjoying and strengthening human relationships—i.e. horizontal and not vertical and upward to God.

When Christ-followers gather as a church, the main focus ought to be on Almighty God and offering Him reverence, adoration, and thanksgiving.  The focus ought to be primarily upward.  According to Isaiah 6: 1, the Prophet Isaiah saw the glory of the Lord and was immediately humbled to worship. 
I saw the Lord seated on a throne,
high and exalted;
and the train of His robe filled the temple. – Isaiah 6: 1
Likewise, when we realize that we are coming to worship Almighty God, we will come with preparation of heart and glad anticipation to be encouragers who lift up our brothers and sisters. 

Our natural tendency is to focus on ourselves in ways that do not elevate our church experience above a family reunion—for example, what dress or slacks we will wear, who we will speak to, what to say to “Sally” who just separated from her husband, how much we will place in the offering plate, whether the choices of hymns or praise songs will be worshipful, who will give the message, whether the message will include memorable illustrations, will the pastor give an invitation?  If these concerns dominate our thinking, we are in need of a higher focus and purpose.

The Book of Psalms is filled with uplifting invitations to worship God:
Many, O LORD my God,
are the wonders which You have done,
And Your thoughts toward us;
There is none to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of them,
They would be too numerous to count.  – Psalm 40: 5

Hear the Call to Worship
Many corporate worship services begin with a “Call to Worship.”  This “call” is intended to be “God’s call” for us to gather with our “focus vertically” in worship of Him.  To respond in obedience to God’s call is to come before Him with preparation of heart and glad anticipation.  We pray that the points we have offered above will cause readers, especially Christ-followers, to reflect on the quality of our obedience to God who is worthy of our humble worship.

But the Scriptures also remind us to come with a “horizontally focused” sensitivity so we can encourage one another in our faith. As we listen to God’s Word, respond in song and prayer, and submit to God’s Spirit in our lives, we are less likely to become distracted by the methods and means, including the music chosen to assist us in worship.  We have found this Spirit-led focus especially helpful when it comes to accepting the choices of music for worship.  In “Worship: Part 3” we will consider “Music for Worship.”

Would You Care to Comment?
Now it’s your turn to respond.  How has this article affected your thinking about the way we ought to worship God?  Is there an error in our thinking, or a missing point that you would like to add?   Often, readers who take time to use the “Comment” link below will add much to the value of an article.  Or, if you’d like to comment privately, just email to silviusj@gmail.com   Thank you for reading.

Worship: Part 1 – A Wider View of Worship

During the past year, changes in requirements for social gatherings including church services have caused some people to ask, “What does it mean for me to worship?”  The original English spelling of “worship” is “worthship.”  According to The American Heritage Dictionary, “worship is an expression of reverent love and devotion expressed toward a deity, an idol, or a sacred object.”  

We all worship someone or something.  Because we have been created as relational beings, we assign varying degrees of “worthship” to the relationships we establish, whether to God or another person, or to some object or passionate interest.  Those who worship God recognize He is “worthy” of worship because they have come to treasure Him, His divine character, and His loving deeds.

We often associate “worship” with “going to church.” But in this article, we will consider how God is pleased when our worship overflows from our regular “corporate worship” and becomes a comprehensive part of our daily lives.  We will see that genuine worship is grounded in our exercise of good stewardship of the time, talents, and treasures God entrusts to us; and our discipleship demonstrates that we are willing learners and followers of Christ.  In "Worship: Part 2" we consider corporate worship and later, the role of music in worship.

Who and What Is Worthy?
As our Creator, God knows that we are most complete when we worship Him above all our other relationships and passions.  That is why God’s First and Second Commandments, respectively, state that You shall have no other gods before Me, and You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of what is in heaven (Exodus 20: 3-6).  These and all of God’s commands and statues are not intended to steal our joy.  Just the opposite:  Obedience to God’s Word frees us from pride and rebellion.  Amazingly, submission to a loving, gracious, merciful God revealed in the Bible and in His creation opens our eyes to experience His direction, purpose, and joy in life.

The Apostle Paul was set free from prideful legalism and ceremonial piety when He met Jesus Christ, God’s Beloved Son.  Paul’s words express the joy he found in God’s grace, forgiveness, and freedom to truly worship God.  He declared, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Philippians 1: 21).”  In practical, day-to-day life we are most complete and satisfied when we “love God with all our heart, soul, and mind” as He created us to do (Luke 10: 27). 

When we read and meditate on the living, God-breathed Scriptures, it’s like inhaling “spiritual air.”  Then, we exhale our worshipful praises to Him.  For example, God has given us the Psalms as a book of praise songs to lift our souls.  From wherever place we find ourselves, the Psalms invite us to join in prayerful songs of reverence, confession of sin, intercession for others, and commitment to walk worthy of God’s calling.

Whether we are at work or play, God desires our worship—i.e. keeping Him at the center of our thoughts and activities.  This principle runs throughout the Bible beginning when “God took the man (Adam) and placed him into the Garden of Eden to till (serve) and keep (preserve) it (Genesis 2: 15).” 

We Worship as Stewards
God had equipped Adam our forefather with the ability to serve or steward the Garden.  Adam was to understand that his stewardship of the Garden through his work and his recreation was a form of worship.  Thus, the quality of Adam’s work and his rest were to be a “sweet-smelling aroma” that conveyed his love and worship toward God.  The Apostle Paul explains that we express our “worthship” to God when we learn to worship Him in “Whatever [we] do in word or deed, [doing] all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father (Colossians 3: 17).”  We worship God through both how we work and how we rest.

The God who desires our worship and knows that we are most fulfilled when we place Him first has made provision of a weekly rhythm of work and rest.  God’s Fourth Commandment states, Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God (Exodus 20: 8-10).  Although the topic of “Sabbath Rest” is not our focus here, the Bible clearly teaches that God has designated one day in each week for us to come aside from our workday routine to worship and enjoy Him, our family, and a time to rest. 

God intends our worship on one day of the week to reflect our character and priorities on the other six days of the week.  Historically, in largely agrarian cultures around the world including Israel and rural America, people worshiped in buildings without air conditioning.  In the heat of summer, rural churches had to open up their windows and doors to the fresh air, carrying the fragrance of plowed fields, the sounds of birds and livestock, and later, the smells and sounds of factories.  All of this is a reminder that our “Sunday worship” should express our willingness to assign greater worth to God than to any other things that can easily compete with God among things we value.  Along these same lines, God is most pleased when we give generously from our material earnings as a testimony that we acknowledge our dependence on Him for income, and our desire that He guide us in using the moneys we retain.

We Worship as Disciples
If worship is an expression of reverent love and devotion to God, how exactly do we know our worship pleases Him?  As noted above, we worship God through the quality of our stewardship of what He has entrusted to us as servant-managers for His glory (Colossians 3: 17).   Although we may not question the importance of good stewardship in our worship, we may still remain unsure of the genuineness of our worship.  For example, do we attend a Christian concert because we are enraptured by the Christian artists?  Or do we switch churches because we are more elated by one of the church’s worship teams?  Are we worshipping God or simply adoring the artists and the entertainment?   This potential confusion is clarified immensely when we include a second concept by which we can identify the quality of our worship; namely, discipleship.   

Those who worship God “in spirit and in truth” can become willing disciples.  A disciple is a willing learner and a devoted Christ-follower.  Jesus made it clear to His disciples that “Follow Me” required their complete devotion.  He said to them (emphasis added), “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.”  And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.  For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it (Luke 9: 22-24).”  From these words of Jesus, we conclude that Christian discipleship is costly, and requires great personal discipline and commitment.

In Bonhoeffer’s Cost of Discipleship, from the Shepherd’s Series (Holman, 1998) study notes for Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship (1937), we read this distillation of Bonhoeffer’s “costly discipleship:”

A Christian must deny self.  This means to be aware of Christ and not of self.  In this we must know that He leads and we are His only by keeping close to Him.  Only when we become selfless, unaware of the pain of our own cross, are we ready to bear the cross for the sake of Christ.  Rather than being a tragedy, such suffering—enduring the cross—for the Christian is in reality the fruit of “exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ (p. 27).”

The disciple, with the inspiration of God’s Spirit and the Scriptures, who is disciplined to be “aware of Christ and not of self” can take up his own cross after the example of Christ who went before us (Hebrews 12: 1-3).  The above study guide (p. 28) adds that, in bearing His cross for us, Jesus modeled for us the meaning of “communion.” As His suffering maintained His communion with the Father, so our endurance is necessary for followers of Christ to maintain communion with God.

Worship for Wonderers
Jesus left little doubt that His call to “deny self, take up your cross, and follow me” would be a difficult one.  Do we realize what Jesus is calling His disciples to do?  Maybe we should take some time to ponder the previous paragraphs for a while.  As we do, let’s reflect on the Gospel message and the Life of Christ.  Do we doubt that we are up for such a calling?  Or, like “Doubting Thomas,” are we unsure of the reality and the deity of the Risen Christ who is calling us?

Recall that Thomas was not with the other disciples when the Risen Christ had appeared to them.  The other disciples therefore were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I shall see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe (John 20:25).”  Eight days later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples and went directly to Thomas, saying, Reach here your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing (v. 27).”

The response of “Doubting Thomas” should encourage any of us who doubt Jesus or doubt our ability to follow Him as a disciple.  Jesus met Thomas’s doubt with a pointed invitation to intimately examine His hands and side.  Having seen and touched Jesus’s wounds, Thomas could only exclaim, “My Lord (Master) and my God (v. 28).” We can see in Thomas’s stewardship (of the evidence of the Risen Christ), his discipleship (he faced his doubts and stayed with the other disciples to examine the evidence), and his communion with Christ (being invited to literally touch the body of Christ and the marks of His suffering), a convergence of the key elements for WORSHIP (professing the deity of Christ: “My Lord and my God.”).

Today, the Risen Christ invites us as stewards of His unmerited favor (grace) to take up our cross and follow Him.  When we suffer as a result of our obedience, the Holy Spirit, our Comforter draws us into communion with the sufferings of Christ.  How can we not join with the Apostle Paul in worshipful praise with his worshipful words:

I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus (Philippians 3: 8-12).

Is He Worthy of Our Worship?
Yes, God is worthy of our worship in congregational settings but also throughout our daily routines of work and rest.  Remember, God seeks those who “worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4: 24).  We must first humbly repent and confess our sin before His righteous throne.  Perhaps God might use this article to lead you to repent of your sin so He can redeem you from the curse and penalty of sin by accepting God’s payment for your sin through the blood of Christ.  For more information on how you can invite Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of your life, see “Steps to Peace with God.”

Thank You for Reading
We have only scratched the surface of subject of the worship of God.  But hopefully, this article has encouraged our readers to dig deeper into God’s Word.  As always, we also hope you will share your Comments and Questions which add so much value to each article (Use link below).

For further reading on how worship of God can be a part of our daily lives, here are a few links to earlier articles in Oikonomia on the subject of worship, work, and recreation:
Looking Up from Our Work
Sports: Exhibit of Stewardship and Worship
Stewardship of Righteousness -- Part Two
Earth Day – Keeping the Earth with an Eternal Perspective
Stewardship: Aligning Work with God’s Providence

Pondering Christ’s Passion During Passion Week

When you think of Palm Sunday, what images or words come to mind?   Many of us have vivid mental pictures etched there from our childhood experiences with crafts, skits, or video portrayals.   We may have a picturesque image of Jesus riding on a colt, and with His followers cheering along His procession while waving palm branches and shouting, “Hosanna! and “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD…” (Psalm 118: 26; Luke 19: 38).  But do our mental images of Palm Sunday accurately portray the passionate heart of God on that Sunday before the crucifixion of Christ and His Resurrection three day later?  

The “Passion” of Christ is often rightly focused on His suffering and death on the cross.  According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word passion can also mean “an intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction.”  This more deeply defined passion arises when one's conviction toward a belief or purpose, or love for a person is so intense that he or she is willing to suffer and die if necessary.  

According to the Scriptures, God’s love for the world was so passionate that He was willing to suffer and die to provide for its redemption and restoration (John 3: 16).  Below, you will find seven short devotional meditations that focus on the passion of Jesus Christ leading up to and including Palm Sunday.  We hope these meditations will deepen you love and passion for God as you use them during the coming days of Passion Week.

Day 1 “Jesus Was Going On Ahead”
And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden [of Eden] in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3: 8-9).  
Adam and Eve chose the promised pleasure of eating the one forbidden fruit which resulted in broken fellowship with their Divine Creator.  But immediately, God’s passionate love moved Him to open a Way to restore mankind from the slavery of sin and death.  Hebrews 1: 1-3 summarizes how God…spoke long ago to the fathers [e.g. Abraham and the other patriarchs, and the nation Israel], in the prophets, in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son[Jesus Christ] through whom God created the world.   Jesus is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.  God’s loving plan to redeem mankind was the driving purpose of His Son, Jesus Christ.  Even as a boy twelve years of age, when His parents, Mary and Joseph, thought they had lost Him, Jesus asked, Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business (Luke 2: 49)?  His Father’s loving pursuit passionately compelled the ministry of Jesus throughout His life.  As His death was drawing near, Jesus stopped in the city of Jericho where He transformed the life of the chief tax collector, Zaccheus (Luke 19: 1-10).  There, Jesus repeated His mission:  For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19: 10).  God’s mission through Christ is still to restore lost people and His broken creation.

Consider:  When they were leaving Jericho, Mark 10: 32-34 and Luke 19: 28 reveal that Jesus was walking on ahead of them… walking resolutely to the place where He would be crucified.  Imagine that!  Three days later, Jesus rose again to provide  Eternal Life for all who would believe (John 3: 16).
Ask Yourself:  Can I imagine Jesus walking ahead?  Do I understand the depth of God’s love as shown in these verses?  Have I received God’s Gift of Eternal Life?  If so, am I “on mission” to know and do my Father’s will?

Day 2 “Ascending to Jerusalem”
A voice is calling, "Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God (Isaiah 40: 3). 

It was customary in the eastern culture for servants to prepare the highway for a visiting king and his entourage.  The prophet Zachariah had written 5 centuries earlier, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey (Zechariah 9: 9).  But the highway that Jesus chose to travel to Zion was anything smooth and pleasant.  After His ministry to Zaccheus the tax collector, Jesus led the way out of the city of Jericho.  Interestingly, Jericho is the oldest city on Earth and is located west of the Jordan River at an elevation of 860 feet below sea level!  This means that for Jesus to “ascend to Jerusalem” (Luke 19: 28) He would need to walk approximately 17 miles on a steep, winding, and often dangerous road through desert terrain leading upward through an elevational change of 3,500 feet!  If that were not enough, Jesus was bearing the weight of comforting his disciples while knowing His suffering and death were immanent (See Mark 10: 32-34).
Video of a Jericho Road Trip:  See link HERE
Consider:  What steep and challenging path are you walking today?  Why are you on this path?
Ask Yourself:  Am I walking the path on which God has placed me?  Am I relying on His Spirit, my Helper and Comforter, to guide me along?   See John 14: 15-17; 26-27.

Day 3 “You Will Find a Colt”
Jesus said, Go into the village opposite you, in which as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it, and bring it here (Luke 19: 30).
Our two meditations so far have focused on how purposeful Jesus was in setting out a long and difficult ascent to Jerusalem, the “city of God” on Mount Zion.  Now we learn from the Scripture above that Jesus had already planned ahead for His “Triumphal Entry” into Jerusalem.  He had prearranged to borrow a colt on which to ride.  When He asked His disciples to go bring the colt, Jesus, our Messiah, was fulfilling a prophecy from centuries before (Zechariah 9: 9).  At the same time, Jesus reveals that He is a God of order, planning, and purpose.  The God who planned and created the universe is the same God who revealed His plan from the beginning of human history to redeem us and restore all of His creation from the ravages of sin.
Consider:  Have you realized that God is not only purposeful but that He knows the future and is now bringing about His plans and purposes just as He did on the first Palm Sunday?
Ask Yourself:  Is my relationship with God such that I am assured of His love, plans, and purposes for my life?   See God’s promise in Jeremiah 29: 11-13, For I know the plans that I have for you ….

Day 4 “The Lord Has Need of It”
And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of it (Luke 19: 33-34).”

To accomplish the plan for His entry into Jerusalem, Jesus evidently had arranged with the owner of the colt to lend it to the two disciples who would use the code phrase, “The Lord has need of it.”  Here, we see a glimpse of the God who planned, created, sustains, and owns the universe now has planned to borrow transportation to ride to His sacrificial death.  Here, the Mighty God empties Himself to the point of having to humbly borrow a lowly donkey on which to ride into the city where He would eventually give His sinless life in exchange for yours and mine.
Consider:  How wonderful and awesome is this God, Jehovah, Creator and Owner of the universe, that He “had need of a colt” for transportation?   How humble and unrecognized was the kindness of the colt’s owner to have said “yes” to those who came to get the colt?
Ask Yourself:  What current “need” might God be asking me to address, even “to the least of His brothers and sisters (Matthew 25: 40).”  What gifts and abilities has God given me to share as His steward?  See 1 Corinthians 4: 1-2.

Day 5 “Hosanna,” [or] ‘Save Us Now’
“Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD (Matthew 21: 9)

In a bold, preplanned move, God’s Messiah, the popular “prophet Jesus” enters Jerusalem, riding on a colt.  Meanwhile, He has a price on his head (John 11: 57).  But rather than slipping into the city unnoticed, or entering on a white horse like a conquering king, Jesus rides in on a lowly donkey.  His disciples join the odd procession, praising God, waving palm branches, and shouting, “Hosanna!”  To the nation Israel oppressed under the iron hand of Roman rule, “Hosanna” meant “save us now from the Romans.”  The Jewish leaders urged Jesus to silence His followers out of fear that the Romans would violently squelch the gathering.  But Jesus had repeatedly taught that, “My kingdom is not of this world (John 18: 36).”  Unknowingly, the multitudes were observing the beginning of the climax of God’s restoration of His groaning creation.  The meek leader on a borrowed colt was about to give His life, be buried in a borrowed tomb, then rise again to establish His spiritual kingdom.  This kingdom would outlive the Roman Empire and eventually inaugurate Jesus’ reign on Earth as King of Kings for 1,000 years, and then in the New Heaven and New Earth (Revelation 21).

Consider:  If you had been in the Palm Sunday procession, what would you have been shouting?
Ask Yourself:  To what extent have I unwisely surrendered my hope in the rule of Christ to a hope and trust in political leaders?   How do I decide between my allegiance to government and to God?  (See Romans 13.)

Day 6 “He Saw the City and Wept”
When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it… (Luke 19: 41)
This dramatic scene has Jesus pausing during the Palm Sunday procession as it descends from the Mount of Olives (Luke 19: 41-44).  From here, Jesus and His followers were afforded a magnificent view of the city of Jerusalem.  But shockingly, in the midst of the joyous procession in this beautiful setting, Jesus, seated on the donkey, weeps over the city.  Earlier, at the tomb of his friend Lazarus, Jesus had wept quietly and shed tears (John 11: 35).  But now, God the Son in all His humanity expresses His grief through audible sobbing.  The “high drama” of this scene becomes evident when we realize that Jesus will soon present Himself in the city of God for all to see.  On top of that, this first Palm Sunday is also “lamb selection day” when sacrificial lambs were customarily selected for sacrifices for sin as part of the Jewish Passover observance.  Jesus, the Lamb of God now enters the city to offer Himself as God’s perfect sacrificial lamb.  Each person must decide whether to receive Jesus, the Lamb of God, as their Messiah or to reject Him.

Consider:  As you meditate on the Scriptural accounts of Jesus’ “Triumphal Entry,” what praiseworthy character traits of God and His Son do you find?

Ask Yourself:  Have I ever been deeply grieved to the point of weeping at the awareness of how my sin grieves my Father in Heaven (Ephesians 4: 30)?  How does my relationship to the “sobbing Son of Man” affect my attitude toward God and my passion for lost family members and friends?

Day 7 “Who Is This?”
And when He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” And the multitudes were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee” (Matthew 21: 10).
How ironical and how sad that Jerusalem, the city of the Great King (Matthew 5: 35), was thrown into confusion by the entry of Jesus, the “King of the Jews,” riding in on a colt.  This was not the first time the Jews and others failed to recognize who Jesus really was. Nor was it to be the last time.  On Tuesday following His Palm Sunday entry, while Jesus was teaching in the temple, the Jewish leaders interrupted Him, saying: Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority (Luke 20: 2)?  They still did not believe Jesus’s claim to be the Divine Son of God.
Consider:  Jesus claimed to be One with God the Father:  He said, I and the Father are one (John 10: 30).  According to C.S. Lewis, anyone who would claim to be God is either a liar, or a lunatic, or who He said He is—the Lord God.
Ask Yourself:  Who do I say Jesus is?  Have I confused Him with my own caricature of who God is and what He expects of me?  What do I need to do to know Him better?   See John 15: 1-17.

How Will You Respond?
We hope the “Palm Sunday ponderings” have stimulated a deeper appreciation and reverence for Jesus Christ who did not waver from His mission to “seek and to save the lost.”  We invite you to share a spiritual insight you have gained.  Please click on the  “Comments” link below to share or raise a question as the case may be.  Or, you may write to us at silviusj@gmail.com.  Thank you for reading.

Related Reading:   Palm Sunday: Don’t Miss Jesus Today!  Oikonomia, April 9, 2017