Worship One, Two, Three

Several weeks ago the worship team invested the weekend digging deeply into God’s word. Seeking the heart of God for our church and driving down into authentic relationships with one another led us to some great discussions. One of the key struggles we dealt with had to do with who the audience of our worship is.  I was challenged thinking about the two contexts of worship and how they practically impact our lives.  We found this simple phrase that Mike Cosper uses in his book, Rhythms of Grace, helpful as we worked through this:  Worship One, Two, Three.

Worship has One object and Author:  God.  The Triune God is at the center of all Christian worship.  God declared His centrality to worship in the 10 commandments (Ex. 20:1-5).  He explicitly states in other places that He will not share His glory with another (Isaiah 42:8, 48:11). As creation progressed, the Father lifted up Jesus as the central figure of worship (Philippians 2:1-11). God is not only the supreme object of our worship; He’s also the author.  He alone gives us life, breath, vision, redemption, eyes to see, ears to hear and mouths to declare His goodness and glory. Worship is all about God.

Worship occurs in two contexts: gathered & scattered. Gathered worship occurs when the church meets to remember the story of God’s faithfulness, encouraging one another and blessing one another.  The gathering of the church is one key way to hold fast to God under the pressures of a broken world and the temptations to sin (Hebrews 10:24-25). Scattered worship is the Spirit filled life of the Christian in the world. Jesus effectively deconstructed worship from time and place in John 4:21-24.  This means that when we leave the gathered worship service, our scattered service of worship begins!  The apostle Paul says that our entire lives, even the messy parts, are transformed in Christ and offered to God the Father as a beautiful sacrifice of praise (Romans 12:1).

Worship has three audiences:  God, the church, and the world. God is both the object of and the witness to our worship.  The church both participates in and witnesses the gathering of its people.  The world is watching from the darkness.  Having God in our audience means there is One who accepts us as we are and deems our imperfect worship as made perfect in Jesus.  Worship offered humbly in Jesus’ name is always received with joy by the Father (Hebrews 10:12-14). When you enter the gathered worship of the church, don’t fear acceptance or lack thereof.  Trust in Jesus. Your fellow worshipers, the church, also act as an audience to your worship, “ The gathering of the church is … an encounter with God intensified among the people of God, filled with the Spirit of God, spurring one another along in the mission of God.  Gathered worship is a communal experience, not an individualistic one. Christ in me meets Christ in you.”  (Mike Cosper, Rhythms of Grace)

 The world also watches as we worship.  When we gather, it’s the clarity of the gospel message that allows the Holy Spirit to transform the heart of an unbeliever.  As we testify to the power of God in our lives, God allows the world to hear us worshiping Him (and in fact commands us to worship in front of the nations). Who knows but that someone might give glory to God and say, “surely God is in this place!” (1 Corinthians 14:24-25)

Worship: One Object and Author.  Two Contexts.  Three Audiences.

As you put the gospel on display for the glory of God, the edification of the church, and as a testimony to the unbeliever this coming week, know that worship team is cheering for you, praying for you, and worshiping with you. 
-- Pastor Nate (for the musicians that lead our church in musical worship)

Redeeming the Time for the Days are Evil ……… a testimony by Babs Gaziano

 

The year 2013 brought three major events in to my life:  I celebrated my 80^th birthday in May, my husband of 56 years died in June, and my dear daughter-in-law, Mysti, accepted Christ as her Savior in September.

 

Anyone living as long as I have has seen this country turn from worshiping God to worshiping materialism and self love.  So, it is not surprising that we are in “the days are evil” (Eph 5:16b). What are we as believers to do about this?  Keep on serving the Lord, serving His people with encouragement and hope and truthfully speaking up for the Lord every chance we have.

 

For several years I brought Mysti to women’s special events at Salem First Baptist, and she began to feel comfortable with those she met.  This September I was able to get her to sign up for a Bible class, only to learn it was already filled and unavailable. Suddenly I began to feel a great burden for her soul – as nice as she is, I suspicioned she was not a Christ follower since she grew up in a cult.  It was time for Mysti to get in a study and to choose salvation.  Many prayed. We joined the Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets them Free book study class.  In her cult days, Mysti learned lies about God and now she needed to hear the truth.  We began studying together.  The first lesson was on the devil, the father of lies.  One reference we looked at referred to the “Gospel.”  I asked her if she knew what the Gospel was.  Her answer revealed she did not.  “Would you like to know what it really is so that you can have your sins forgiven and spend eternity with Jesus?” I asked.

 

First, I confirmed that she believed Jesus Christ is God in human flesh who died on the cross taking our punishment for all of our past, present and future sins.  I continued to detail the whole Gospel story ending with His resurrection from death to eternal life in which God showed He accepted Christ’s sacrifice of dying in her place for her sins–“Would you like to accept Him as your Savior and become a saved Christian?”  A quiet, serious women held my hands as we prayed the sinner’s prayer.  What rejoicing in my heart, in the angels’ hearts and with everyone who prayed for her!!  Now, she is my sister in the Lord.

 

I want to use every opportunity to speak for God’s truth–I hope you do too!  Redeem your time because the days are becoming dangerously evil.