Worship: a new kind of beauty

When human beings with diverse ethnicities, backgrounds, tastes, expectations, desires, priorities, peeves, admirations, and needs join their hearts and mind and voices and actions in unified worship of the one true God through Jesus Christ a reality has come into the world that is beautifully fitting - it befits the power and the worth of God, whose glory can win such humble, self forgetting praises from a diverse people .

John Piper (Page 35 Expository Exultation)

To The One

Check out this new song by MKCC worship - To the one.

To The One - Worship Video from MKCCVIDS on Vimeo.

If you would like to sing it in your church chord charts are available here.

Christ the Lord is Risen Today

This song and video about sums today up. From NCC 
Worship.

Worship - Risking yourself totally

Meanwhile, the eleven disciples were on their way to Galilee, headed for the mountain Jesus had set for their reunion. The moment they saw him they worshiped him. Some, though, held back, not sure about worship, about risking themselves totally. (Matthew 28:16-17 MSG)

In today's church "worship" is popular. "Worship" attracts. "Worship" sells! Well worship that has become synonymous with music does.

But we know really that worship is much more than singing songs to Jesus with great music, talented singers and energetic worship leaders to a background of video screens, lights & smoke machines. (even though I love all of the above)

Worship is about total and absolute surrender of everything we are and everything we have.

So rather than being critical of the few disciples who held back from worshiping Jesus in this moment, I have some respect. 

They respected Jesus and worship in that they were prepared to ask themselves the hard question. Were they prepared to risk everything?

That's in a nutshell what worship is: risking our lives for Jesus, not just glancing his way while singing about him in our pews.

I shall be satisfied

When I shall see Thy glory face to face,
When in Thine arms Thou wilt Thy child embrace,
When Thou shalt open all Thy stores of grace,
I shall be satisfied.

When I shall gaze upon the face of Him
Who for me died, with eye no longer dim,
And praise Him with the everlasting hymn,
I shall be satisfied.

- Horatius Bonar

I want to yearn for you.....

“Yearn” (Shane & Shane) from Desiring God on Vimeo.

Holy design
This place in time
That I might seek and find my God
My God

Lord, I want to yearn for You
I want to burn with passion
And over You
And only You
Lord, I want to yearn for You
I want to burn with passion
Over You
And only You
Lord, I want to yearn

Your joy is mine
Yet why am I fine?
With all my singing and bringing grain
In light of Him

Oh, You give life and breath
And in You we live and move
That's why I sing

Lord, I want to yearn for You
I want to burn with passion
And over You
And only You
Lord, I want to yearn for You
I want to burn with passion
And over You And only You
Lord, I want to yearn

Worship is more than a song

Click here if you cant see the video

Jimmy Needham

Clear the stage and set the sound and lights ablaze
If that's the measure you must take to crush the idols
Jerk the pews & all the decorations, too
Until the congregations few, then have revival
Tell your friends that this is where the party ends
Until you're broken for your sins, you can't be social
Then seek the Lord & wait for what He has in store
And know that great is your reward so just be hopeful

'Cause you can sing all you want to
Yes, you can sing all you want to
You can sing all you want to
And still get it wrong; worship is more than a song

Take a break from all the plans that you have made
And sit at home alone and wait for God to whisper
Beg Him please to open up His mouth and speak
And pray for real upon your knees until they blister
Shine the light on every corner of your life
Until the pride and lust and lies are in the open
Then read the Word and put to test the things you've heard
Until your heart and soul are stirred and rocked and broken

'Cause you can sing all you want to
Yes, you can sing all you want to
You can sing all you want to
And still get it wrong; worship is more than a song

We must not worship something that's not even worth it
Clear the stage, make some space for the One who deserves it
Any thing I put, before my God, is an idol
Any thing I want, with all my heart, is an idol
Any thing I can't, stop thinking of, is an idol
Any thing that I, give all my love, is an idol

Cause I can sing all I want to
Yes I can, sing all I want to
And we can, sing all we want to
We can, sing all we want to
We can sing all we want to
And still get it wrong
Worship is more than a song

Clear the stage and set the sound and lights ablaze
If that's the measure you must take to crush the idols

Fooling myself and others BUT not Jesus

Sometimes you sit in a church service and go through the motions. Sunday was one of those times for me. We sang and welcomed and watched church news. Anyway I was preaching so I was running through things in my head. What was I going to say? How was I going to say it?

So I had breezed through the service looking like I was engaging but in my heart anything but. Not in rebellion but in preoccupation.

Now it was time for the offering and Mark read a passage that I must have heard a 1000 times in the lead up to an offering:

And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on." - Mark 12 v 41-44

Still in automatic mode...

Then bam!

Of the poor widow who gave 2 small coins Mark said, "It's amazing how quick Jesus spots true worship and we don't."

To all around during the last 30 minutes I looked like I was engaged, I looked like I was offering "worship". But Jesus knew different. Perspective changed!

Like the people playing out their "worship" in front of Jesus we can get so blindsided by the outward appearance while Jesus always is captivated by the motivation of the heart.

Waste it all.....

A truly amazing song from Kim Walker-Smith's new album - Still Believe released today.



Six days before Passover, Jesus entered Bethany where Lazarus, so recently raised from the dead, was living. Lazarus and his sisters invited Jesus to dinner at their home. Martha served. Lazarus was one of those sitting at the table with them. Mary came in with a jar of very expensive aromatic oils, anointed and massaged Jesus' feet, and then wiped them with her hair. The fragrance of the oils filled the house. 4-6Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, even then getting ready to betray him, said, "Why wasn't this oil sold and the money given to the poor? It would have easily brought three hundred silver pieces." He said this not because he cared two cents about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of their common funds, but also embezzled them. 7-8Jesus said, "Let her alone. She's anticipating and honouring the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you. You don't always have me." John 12:1-8

Created Worshipping

It doesn't matter if I am in church, in the car listening to a CD, out walking with my ipod cranked up full in my ears, sacred words set to music has a way of transporting my spirit into the presence of God. Through "worship" my perspective is regained and my identity in Christ illuminated.

I have never understood the common and often said complaint from my fellow church goers that they "didn't get any thing from the worship in church this morning."

Worship is be definition about giving and not getting. But every time I have given no matter what the setting God has given me so much back. Not the local church band, not the world famous worship leader but God has given me so much back. But that is never why we worship, we worship because of who he is.

It doesn't matter if we are lead by a 90 year old off key lady in a cold ancient church on an old Hammond organ or we have the whole Hillsong band pitch up in our living room - worship is our privilege.

Of course worship is much much more that singing its part of who we are and as Mark Driscoll explains in his book "Who do you think you are?" it's something we NEVER stop doing!

Here are a few quotes from the first chapter:

• We are created continuously outpouring. Note I did not say we were created to be continuous outpourers. Nor did I imply that we were created to worship.... It might not even be safe to say that we were created for worship.

• It is important to say that we were created continuously outpouring.

• Worship is the continuous outpouring of all that I am, all that I do and all that I can ever become in light of a choosing God. - Harold Best

• We are not created to worship, but rather we are created worshipping. 

• All of humanity can be divided into two categories: those who worship the creator and those who worship created things.

• Everything in life is sacred, and nothing is secular.

Collective not Celebrity Worship

This year one of the band's that visited MKCC was Rend Collective. We really had a great time with them as they lead us in praising our saviour Jesus.

There new album comes out in January. Homemade Worship by Handmade people

The video below explains the ethos of the band and introduces the new album.

There out look is refreshing in the age of celebrity yes even Christian celebrity.

"Our heart is that no one will find an individual that they can elevate but they will see us all as one. That's even why we have two lead singers."

Let's make some noise

Day 13 - Rediscovering the Christmas season

Hallelujah! Praise God in his holy house of worship, praise him under the open skies; Praise him for his acts of power, praise him for his magnificent greatness; - Psalm 150 v 1 & 2

Yes I know worship is much more than singing, it is a lifestyle.

But one thing for sure is that the Bible makes it quite clear that worship is also music and singing focused on our great God.

Unfortunately growing up in church in the North of Scotland worship or more specifically worship style became a battle ground. Ancient Hymns we joined with "new" choruses. Churches were starting to discover other instruments than a Hammond organ. Clapping and raising of hands were acceptable in my church but moving of feet in any way that could be described as a "dance" were not.

Of course being a teenager in the early 80's I was one of the ones creating headaches for the older establishment. And if I am honest many times we were more focused on winning the worship war than the one who we should be worshiping.

But I remember reading a book back then by a guy called Arthur Wallis. I read a phrase that has stayed with me for almost 30 years. "The radicals of today become the die hards of tomorrow."

I vowed then that I would always be a radical or at least support the radicals.

So in the spirit of Psalm 150 lets turn the music up and rattle heaven with our extravagant offerings of magnificent worship and praise.

Spurgeon on Worship

“My happiest moments are when I am worshiping God, really adoring the Lord Jesus Christ, and having fellowship with the ever-blessed Spirit. In that worship I forget the cares of everything else. To me it is the nearest approach to what it will be in heaven” – Spurgeon

Nuff Said!

Teach Me to Woship

Amen!

HT Church Create

God is jealous for me

My favourite song of the last couple of years has got to be "How he loves us". It has been made even more popular in the last few months when David Cowder covered it but I cam across it a couple of years ago through this video on YouTube:



The opening line is "He is jealous for me".

Can God be jealous? Surely jealousy is a sin. So I decided to see what the Bible says:

"You must not have any other god but me. "You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. - Ex 20 v 3 - 5

Notice that God is jealous when someone gives to another something that rightly belongs to Him.

First place belongs to Him.
Our affection belongs to Him.
Our worship belongs to Him.

Give me faith to trust what you say

I loved this new song by Elevation Church to accompany their latest teaching series "Give me Faith".

One of the lines says:

Give me faith to trust what you say
That you’re good and your love is great

It is easy to trust when all is good, but I need to learn to trust whatever God says. He is always good and great no matter what.

Give Me Faith [Acoustic] from Elevation Worship on Vimeo.

Get the rest of the lyrics here.