Thoughts on Essentials Red Project

For: The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essentials Red Fall ‘08 Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt.

 

During the first week of the Essentials Red course, as we studied the Language of Time and Space, while reading the discussion posts of the other class members, I realized that each individual has had their life shaped in Christ through significant times, places, and events.  I was reminded of the second verse of the hymn, Come Thou Fount, where it says, “Here I place mine Ebenezer,” which are moments of remembrance where you realize God moving in your life.  As I read scripture, I am struck how God moves at just the right time.  He moved in the lives of the Israelites at the right time, Jesus’ birth was at the right time, His death and resurrection timed perfectly and His second coming will be in the fullness of time, all according to God’s plan and purpose.

Although I’m not a songwriter, I wrote the song, “In the Fullness of Time,” not as a congregational song, but as one to be used for special music, or to be sung during an altar call for salvation.  It tells of God bringing His salvation in the fullness of time and is roughly based on Ephesians 1:1-10.

Chord Chart In The Fullness of Time

In The Fullness of Time mp3

 

The project also includes a daily Bible study for the Advent season.  This came about during the one hour early morning prayer time the pastors host each Sunday morning at our church.  I like reading “succulent chunks” of scripture during this time and chose to read the final chapters of Isaiah a week ago.  As I was reading, I realized how these chapters seem to reveal God’s promises when Jesus comes again. Our celebration of Advent this year is tending to focus on expectantly anticipating (is that too redundant) His second coming. Therefore, I divided the passages from chapters 59 through 66 into fairly equal-length daily readings for the 2008 Advent season; allowing for divisions in seemingly logical places.  The person doing the study is asked to write down main themes they find as they read, what they believe the Holy Spirit is revealing to them as they read and a prayer for the day.  At the conclusion of the study, they are to write what the Advent season has meant for them this year.  

Advent Bible Study pdf

Thoughts on Sign-Acts of Worship

For: The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essentials Red Fall ‘08 Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt.

In most Christian worship services, the spoken word (reading of scripture, public prayer, liturgical responses, the sermon, singing) is the primary expression of our faith.  But humans seem to have a need to express their beliefs in ways other than the spoken word; specifically, through actions (sign-acts).

Historically, the church has been a center of creative arts which express the story of the Christian faith.  Examples of architecture, painting, sculpture, music, and other art forms are found throughout church history.  Craftsmen and artisans have used their talents to glorify God in beautiful, and often awe-inspiring ways to tell the story of religion.

How do us “mere mortals,” who have little in the way of artistic abilities, get to express our worship in ways other than words or art?  How can we portray our beliefs, our telling of the story?  The church has developed traditions, which over time, help us to remember what God has done for us, and when we partake in these traditions, a spiritual communication seems to take place between the individual and God and among the community of believers who share in the traditions.

What does the tradition, or as some feel the sacrament, of sharing in the Lord’s Supper mean?  It is not my intent to define the many doctrinal positions on communion (Eucharist).  As a Christ-follower, what does it mean to you?  In 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, the apostle Paul tells us to examine ourselves, so I find the action of communion to be one of repentance remembering that  Jesus gave up His life, His flesh and blood, for the forgiveness of sin.  He died with my sin poured out on Him.

The Bible tells us to give honor to whom honor is due.  For me, partaking in communion demonstrates my honor for Him.  And, I also enjoy pledging myself anew to Him.  I remember the Hebrew betrothal banquet when the bridegroom places a cup of wine for the “bride to be.”  He then waits to see if she will accept his offer of marriage by picking up the cup and drinking from it.  When I take the cup, even without speaking a single word, I am saying to Jesus, “Yes, I am yours.”

Taking part in traditions, in ceremony, in celebrations, in sacraments allows us as believers to give action to what is in our hearts.  If the individual’s heart is not engaged in the tradition, the motions are meaningless and it would be better to not take part. We are approaching the season of new beginnings in the church as we prepare for and celebrate the incarnation at Christmas.  It is a season where we can be lost in and overwhelmed by the traditions, or we can engage with them.  When engaged in them, we may find a new spiritual beginning, a new spiritual communication with God and with the community with which we share the traditions.

Thoughts on Public Prayer

For: The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essentials Red Fall ‘08 Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt.

This week’s discussion question evoked great response on how public prayer and reading of scripture in a worship service give language to our worship.  The prayers found in books of worship used in many churches give rich, Biblical vocabulary and focus to the worship.  Using these prayers helps eliminate the opportunity for individuals to preach their little mini-sermon under the guise of prayer.  These prayers are focused usually on a single theme or idea, and their reading keeps all on the same thought in the worship. But, from personal experience, they can lose their meaning when used week after week after week in the same manner.

It is my thought that it must be a very difficult task for a church’s leadership to keep the use of these prayers fresh and meaningful to the people.  An example I will offer is our way of creating a public prayer meeting around the Lord’s Prayer.

Four times a year, usually on a Friday night, we have a worship/prayer gathering. Our worship singing offers one or two songs for each of the themes of the Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11:2-4) followed by individuals to come to the mic to pray on that specific theme.  Our elders facilitate the prayer time with the pastor closing the meeting.  These are the themes we pray within:

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name”  

“Your kingdom come”  (Here we pray for our community and community leaders and for the church of our community and for governmental leaders)

“Give us each day our daily bread” (Provision for the advancement of His kingdom and small group prayer for individual’s needs)

“Forgive us our sins…” (A time of personal and corporate repentance)

“And lead us not into temptation” (Strengthening of us as a church body, asking the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us)

Celebratory worship singing, declaring again who God is, and celebrating what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will do.

The pastor then brings us all together with a prayer for unity.

Thought About Responsive Reading As Worship

For: The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt.

Declaration of Worship

For the final Essentials Blue’08 course project, I developed a responsive Declaration of Worship to be read between the worship leader and the congregation. It declares that we worship God, the Creator, the Sovereign Lord, the Triune God, and Savior based upon our study of the ways God reveals Himself in Scripture as One who creates, rules, fellowships, and saves.

If I were to poll our congregation, asking, “What is worship?,” the majority of the people would respond to the time we spend in a service singing songs. This despite monthly newsletter items which I have written over the last six years and two to three sermons I give each year trying to teach that a lifestyle as described in Romans 12:1-2 is our spiritual worship. It is my intent to introduce this declaration as we transition from singing our worship to the sermon on a Sunday morning in hopes to intentionally bring a new expression of worship to the congregation.

Many responsive readings in liturgical settings have the congregation responding with a simple phrase while the leader articulates the substance of the reading. In my own experience, the congregation tends to blindly respond this way without ever having attended to or perceived the substance of that which has been read. In this declaration, the worship leader introduces the thought with the congregation articulating the substance. The responses are based upon Scripture, even quoting Scripture in many places.

This declaration, “We Worship The Lord!” is linked here in PDF format and as a PowerPoint slideshow. Please feel free to use it if applicable to your situation.

We Worship the Lord! PDF declaration_worship1

We Worship The Lord! Powerpoint slideshow we_worship1

Thoughts on the Liturgical Calendar

For: The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt.

Growing up in a large liturgical church, in a large city, in a family serving as faithful church members taught me many things. Serving the local body was evident in my parents’ actions as they were involved on committees, the church council, women’s and men’s serving groups, and my mother as church secretary. My siblings and I were in Sunday school every week, sang in the children’s choir and attended confirmation classes to their completion. Yet, I never recall being taught what the liturgical calendar was about. Not that I wasn’t taught about it, I just don’t recall being taught.

Advent meant Christmas was only 4 Sundays away. Lent meant mid-week services, which we never had other times of the year, and plays about characters from the Bible or movies about Jesus, which were pretty cool for a youngster who was more visual in his learning style than auditory. The colors of church decorations and the pastor’s robe decorations changed occasionally, but I did not know what they meant or why they were used. Each Sunday, we heard Scriptures from the Old Testament and New Testament, but I had no clue why those Scriptures were chosen, nor who made the decision to use them on that Sunday.

I have been a member of the congregation, for which I now serve as worship pastor, for 20 years. In my time here, I cannot recall any reference to the liturgical season of the year in our worship services. Nothing is said of Advent, Lent, or Epiphany. Pentecost is welcomed, not as a season of the year, but as a major empowering event in the life of the New Testament church. But in the past few years, I’ve begun to wonder what we as a church could learn from the liturgical calendar in our worship services.

The seasons seem to remind of us of who Christ is, why He came, how He loved, how He suffered and died, how He arose and is alive today, and how He challenged and empowered His church to spread the Good News of the Gospel to all nations. He did it to restore all to Him; to bring about His Kingdom as it was intended. Our worship can relate that message whether we follow the liturgical calendar or present our corporate worship in a seemingly less formal way.