Worldy Christianity!?

Jones in GPTG (222-223) deals with the issue of how the church is becoming more and more like the culture.
"Fifty years ago the idea that one would need to argue in support of the existence and use of hymns in the worship of the church would have been laughable, With the exception of those who held to exclusive psalmody, hymns were an element of Christian worship as customary as bread at mealtime. In the postmodern, post-Christian age in which we live, however, we should not be surprised that worship and worship music in evangelical churches have followed the path of out culture.( 222)"

He continues after that statement dealing with the entire value system of the church, its philosophy, object of attention, and occupation. Why if the church is supposed to be God centered does it seem to be continually getting farther from the WORD of God? Why is our success measured by our numbers, our relevance by technology, and our worship by how good it makes us feel?(223) When did God stop being our God and when did we begin to take HIS place in the church.

Purposeful and Proper Prayer

The reading from Burroughs this week challenged me and was very helpful in reminding me of what should happen when I go to the Lord in prayer. I like when he says on p. 272 "labor to get your hearts sensible for what you are going for. I am now going to God. For what?" I think many times I am not purposeful when I pray to God. Burrough's statement of how "The glory of God should be the chief matter we are to pray for" (p. 273) was also very good. My question relates to something he says on p. 274: "Spiritual things may be prayed for absolutely, but outward things must be prayed for conditionally." I understand the examples he specifically gives of confession of sin (inward) and health (outward), but what about things that are not so easily distinguished? Can we pray absolutely for our Father to give us our daily bread? Are there outward things that the Lord has promised us that we can pray absolutely for?

Emotions in Worship

In this weeks reading of Give Praise to God, I was struck be Robert Dabney’s quote on page 370, “Blinded men are ever prone to imagine that they have religious feelings because they have sensuous animal feelings in accidental juxtaposition with religious places, words or sights.”

Dabney goes on to say that this mistaken perception has led many souls to Hell, but I wonder if there are not just as many guilty of improperly analyzing worship among the body of Christ. Is it only the one who has no knowledge of God who misunderstands how worship is to impact the affections, or is their an undercurrent of emotional blindness in the worship of real believers in our midst?

We have maintained that worship is engaging with God on His terms. We have further maintained that worship is to be a continuous practice for the true believer. So the one who longs for true worship will hold that our essential approach to worship must be the same each time, and that we should be worshipping all the time. When we have this opinion, we see no distinction between worshiping in song, worshipping in conversation, and worshipping in the private reading of the Bible. In fact, we will hold that there cannot be any distinction between forms of worship.

Emotion shows itself in our singing in multiple ways. Some contort their faces as if they were in great pain for their own unworthiness in relation to God’s kindness. Others raise their arms, clench their fists, or bounce around. Are any of these actions wrong in and of themselves? Clearly not. Are they wrong for worship? Not necessarily, but my concern is not with the actions themselves, but with the emotional confusion that could be behind them. Do we practice those same actions when we talk to someone about how God has changed them? Do our hearts swell with joy as we read the sweet words of scripture? Those are also worship are they not? Then there should be no difference in emotional response.

My point is not that emotions are wrong. True knowledge of God must produce fire in our hearts. But we must ask ourselves, do our emotions react this way in all forms of worship? If they do not, then we must ask ourselves, what is different about singing? What brings our worship to a new level of emotional manifestation when the activity is singing and not serving someone in need? If it is the sound of the instruments or the joy in hearing our own voices, and not the truth of God’s revelation that brings about an emotional reaction, than we are guilty of idolatry. St. Augustine once said “He loves Thee too little who loves anything together with thee, which he loves not for thy sake.” So we go on singing in an emotional frenzy, truly believing that we are revealing to God the depth of love that we have for him, when in fact, our worship has been diluted by the love of sounds. Would this not disgust a holy God? That he has not been enough to excite us?

Again I must point out, emotions in worship are not wrong. However, I maintain that an influx of emotions in one form of worship that is absent in another form reveals a terrible truth about our hearts. We must be careful then. We must examine our hearts in all areas of worship and derive where our hearts get their warmth. I personally love worshipping in song. But if my emotions are more active than in any other form of worship, I know that something has gone awry. So if I go about my week worshipping myself, and then come to dance around during singing, I know that my “religious feelings” in song are nothing more than “sensuous animal feelings in accidental juxtaposition with religious places, words or sights.”

These concerns are completely separate from the concern that some may worship in a very distracting way. The excuse “that’s just how I worship” will not suffice since worship is engaging with God on His terms. Also, the claim that each person should mind their own business in worship is ill-grounded since public worship is supposed to be communal, and to disregard the needs of others will not contribute to any worship; not even the worship of the individual who has selfishly ignored the needs of others.

So what should we do? Have I forever condemned the raising of hands or any other physical manifestation of a heart swollen with the truth of God’s grace, beauty, or faithfulness? I hope not. All I ask is that we consider two things: First, is our worship totally unto God, or has it been mixed with a love for music? Secondly, are the motions that I use bringing glory to God in a tasteful manner, or are they distracting other eager-hearted worshippers?

We must ask, and properly handle these two questions or we will be in danger of selfishness, and (worse by far), idolatry in our worship.

Gratitude for Grace in Ministry

Thought this related well to something Doc once said.

Gratitude for Grace in Ministry

ARTICLE BY WILLIAM VANDOODEWAARD NOVEMBER 2010

Do you have a critical, jaded spirit towards the church? [1]

Albert Mohler, in a 2009 episode of his talk show, asked, "Why Do Pastors Leave the Ministry?" noting the troubling trend that evangelical ministers are staying in congregations for shorter windows of time, with an average of about three years in a call. Many are also quitting entirely. Why? Perhaps in part because three years marks a point where a minister is really getting to know the people in his congregation, and the congregation is really getting to know him. The reality of sin in the congregation is by this point increasingly transparent - in a way it was not when the call was first accepted. The reality of the minister's inability to change people (if not understood from the beginning) is also clear by this point, stripping away any misplaced confidence in personal ability. Evidences of lack of spiritual growth and change, along with evidence of spiritual decline, can make the work of the ministry at times seem more of a disheartening grind than a high and glorious calling. At the same time, years or decades of the sacred work of sermon preparation, prayer, and pastoral ministry tempt the heart to slide into considering it routine and mundane. It is at these confluences of ministry realities and temptations that wearied pastors may succumb to a jaded, critical spirit in ministry.

In his Religious Affections, Jonathan Edwards warns that because of remaining sin the believer's spiritual sight is easily darkened or dulled "to all spiritual objects." [2] This is true for every Christian; those called to church office are no exception. Our vision for the powerful, supernatural, gracious work of God is too small and easily diminished because, as Edwards says, we have "distempters of the eyes" and "sight enfeebled." [3] So when a critical, frustrated spirit rises in my heart, I need to ask, "Is my spiritual sight clear? Am I seeing the powerful, supernatural, gracious work of God in His church? Am I taking note of and rejoicing in God's ongoing work of new creation, His bringing life where there was death, beauty where there was ugliness, holiness where there was sin, love where there was selfishness and bitterness, faith where there was unbelief?" To most accurately assess yourself you could ask what your wife, kids and closest friends hear from you about the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Despite the visible form and condition that may discourage you, do people hear and see gratefulness, thanksgiving? Do they see a spirit of love and affection for the church, for her ministry and ministers? Or a critical spirit, a dismissive spirit, or a depressed spirit?

Wherever your attitude, you can be certain it will affect those around you. Charles Spurgeon in his excellent chapter on earnestness in pastoral and pulpit ministry says:

For the sake of our church members, and converted people, we must be energetically [earnest], for if we are not zealous, neither will they be. It is not in the order of nature that rivers should run uphill, and it does not often happen that zeal rises from the pew to the pulpit. It is natural that it should flow down from us to our hearers; the pulpit must therefore stand at a high level of ardour, if we are under God, to make and to keep our people fervent... a dull minister creates a dull audience. You cannot expect the office-bearers and the members of the church to travel by steam if their own chosen pastor still drives the old broadwheeled wagon.[4]

Spurgeon's words of "earnestness," "fervor," and "zeal" apply to our spirits when we become critical and jaded. Just as a ministry without zeal weakens a congregation, so also a ministry lacking a thankful awareness of God's grace at work can lead to an unthankful and unhappy congregation.

So how can we tackle the problem of a critical, jaded spirit towards the church and her ministry? Undoubtedly there are many potential avenues of addressing the heart issues underlying this problem: the steady need to be personally refreshed in the gospel of Jesus Christ, to walk in renewed sweet communion with Him, to live in the Word and prayer by His Spirit. These are essential to tackling the problem. However, there is another exercise which can prove tremendously beneficial in the life of ministry and the life of your congregation: developing gratitude for the marks of grace displayed in others.[5]

The immediate question is, "How?"

We need to know and remind ourselves what marks of grace, or evidences of grace are. A beekeeper needs to know signs of health and growth in his bee population if he is going to produce honey; pastors, elders, and church members need to be students of the marks or evidences of the grace of God in the lives of people to spur on spiritual development.

An important, initial distinction needs to be made between common or natural graces and special or supernatural graces. Common or natural graces, which we undoubtedly should be thankful for and rejoice in, are found both in Christians and non-Christians. For example: your unbelieving neighbor brings your garbage bin back to the house for you. This is an act of kindness, for which you should be thankful to God and to him. But what is it rooted in? Perhaps a twinge of conscience, maybe a good mood, maybe some understanding of the social benefits of this, but most certainly the ultimate source in the unbelieving heart is tied to a self-love, or some other sinful idolatry, rather than love for God showing itself in love for one's neighbor.

In contrast, special or supernatural grace is the fruit of the regenerating, transforming, sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in the Christian. God's glory is the motive, end, and goal of actions or characteristics rooted in special grace. They are fruits that stand as evidences of the work of the Holy Spirit--proof of the power of the Word of God, in transforming, uniting and conforming people to Jesus Christ. These marks of grace are what the minister needs to intentionally study.

Scripture is replete with biblical examples of marks of grace in the saints. Study them. Study fruits of the Spirit displayed throughout the Old and New Testaments. Study the heroes of faith, praying and meditating on how their marks of grace reflect, point to, and are ultimately found in Christ Himself. Study Christ Himself, listen to Him. When you see Christians pursuing a life conformed to the Ten Commandments, positively desiring to keep them in love to God, especially as they are expounded by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, you will know you are seeing evidences of grace. However small the growth may be, if it is in Christ, it is by grace. When you see Christian parents prayerfully living out the call of Deuteronomy 6 to instruct covenant children in the grace and knowledge of God, this is a mark of grace. When you see a Christian leaving a job, a social setting, a relationship, because he wants to avoid the pattern of spiritual decline exposed in Psalm 1, you are seeing evidence of the Spirit's work. When you see a woman, single or married, pursuing the paradigm of Proverbs 31, you are seeing marks of grace. When you see someone who is beginning, however slowly, to exemplify the Beatitudes, you are seeing evidences of grace. You are seeing the work of the Triune God. And yes, when a Christian, out of love for God and neighbor brings back their garbage bin, this is an evidence of grace.

Is there a biblical basis for calling Christians to look for evidences of grace in the church and the individuals that make up her body? Yes, Scripture not only gives us warrant, but also commands us in Old and New Testaments. Consider Psalm 48. The reader is called to: "walk about Zion" (Psalm 48:12). What is the Psalmist calling God's people to? To admire the city of Jerusalem, the center of Old Testament temple worship, the place of the presence of God in His abounding grace and sure promise of complete salvation in the Christ to come. To admire the city that God established, then to admire the God who established it. They were called to take an unhurried walk to examine the stone and brick buildings, understanding that God established them by His grace. The Psalmist calls us to meditate on and give thanks for the spiritual reality that the temple and city display: God is building a spiritual city, a people saved by Him, set apart to Him. The New Testament equivalent of Jerusalem, of Mount Zion, is the church, the bride of Christ. Psalm 48 doesn't call us in the new covenant administration to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem: we are to do this in the church. Walk around it--open your church directory--and look for God's gracious works!

Psalm 48 provides a pattern of how to do this. The Psalmist says "consider her bulwarks, palaces" (Psalm 48:13) - a clear call to take note with specificity the evidences of the grace of God. In the transition to verse 14, the Psalm gives us the goal of our search and study: trace the graces back to the giver and source of all grace, "for this God is our God forever and ever." (Psalm 48:14) The Psalm is also passionate in calling us to communicate our gratitude for God's evident grace to others, "Let Mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of your judgments", and above all to communicate our thankfulness to God (Ps. 48:1, 8, 9, 10). The whole Psalm is intended as a song of worship.

The New Testament is replete with similar examples. Paul's ministry exemplifies this over and over in the opening words of his epistles (cf. Romans 1, 1 & 2 Corinthians 1, Ephesians 1, Philippians 1) and throughout these letters. As a Spirit-inspired apostle of Jesus Christ he takes note of evidences of grace with specificity, communicating his gratitude to God and the people of God for them. Revelation repeats this pattern, as our Lord Jesus Christ addresses the seven churches of Asia Minor and through them the church of every generation. Jesus commends the churches for the very marks and evidences of grace that are made possible only by and through Him! Certainly there are rebukes and warnings as well. In some cases, like many of the prophets, Paul's address to the Galatians, and the words of Christ to the church at Laodicea, there is little to no commendation, due to the urgency of error and sin that needs to be confronted and a concurrent void of marks of grace. At times strong correction, prayerful intercession, and sorrow are the only legitimate response to someone's life. Yet, recognizing and addressing these occasions, individuals, and at times, churches, does not negate the simultaneous call to look, listen, and take specific note of evidences of grace, to trace them back to the Giver, and to communicate gratitude. Take note of the evidences of God's powerful, supernatural, actively recreating work for your own encouragement, for the encouragement of fellow Christians, and so that you can praise Him for His unstoppable grace. Open your eyes and see: His mercy, His redeeming love, His new creation is being written over and over throughout His church. He is building a glorious church as He saves people from sin and conforms them to the image of Christ His Son. He is sanctifying his bride so that she grows in holy beauty.

Pursuing a life marked by the biblical paradigm of gratitude for marks of grace is crucial for ministry. Our souls have to overflow spiritual gratitude for the grace of God to us and others if we are going to reach people. Only an overflowing heart can make our life communication passionate and alive to others. A church that overflows with spiritual gratitude will shine. There will be an evident, tangible, distinct sweetness. When rebuke or warning is needed it will then be spoken in a context that evidences love, humility and gratitude, with a gospel heart, and Christ-centered focus. It will be vibrantly gracious rather than critical, petty, jaded or dull. There will be growth in love to God, and love to others, rather than self-love. What would we and our churches be like if we were transformed to conform to Christ in this? Take a few minutes to walk mentally around the parts of Zion you know. As you consider the mighty works of God in the hearts and lives of the saints around you, give thanks and praise to Him, and tell them. Encourage each other, and join together to worship our great God and Savior, the God of all grace:

"Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power..."

"Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth." Revelation 4:11, 5:9-10 (ESV)

When excusing ourselves is acceptable

A problem I have seen among evangelical circles, which Edgar addresses in his chapter, is the idea of driving for dominance or fleeing for purity. As I have seen, it fleshed out in my own life and the circles I have crossed paths with, most are willing to give lip service to the idea, that we should be in the world but most do not follow through with their actions. Instead, they tend to seclude themselves in order to protect themselves. An idea Edgar presents as opposite that which we are called to as believers.

My question in all this is What is an acceptable “temporary withdrawal”, and how should or can this be practiced with in evangelical circles?

Purging sin from the local church

On page 241, Burroughs outlines the Jewish traditions to cleanse the house of leaven. This took three steps: diligently seek out any leaven in the house, when they find it, cast it out, and lay a curse upon themselves if they withhold any leaven. If this is a model for how we are to deal with sin in our own lives, how can we as ministry leaders properly lead our congregation to seek to purge sin from their lives? What issues need to be considered in administrating such action?

To Come With Broken Hearts

In GW on pages 237 and 238 it talks about how we're to come with a suitable disposition and it uses a lot of referencing to how we're supposed to be able to connect with how Christ did all that he did for us and we're to feel such broken heartedness in knowing that.
How are we even supposed to begin to connect with that in the way it's making it seem here? It's so hard to really truly connect with on such a level. We weren't there to witness it happening and most of us haven't had a circumstance in our lives that would help us connect with that so deeply.
What's a way that could actually help us to connect our hearts with that brokenness?

Change

In the reading for GPTG Edgar talks about how we can't expect people to change very quickly. This is true for both the believer and the unbeliever. And I agree with this statement as change in anything is hard. I'm sure you've all experienced the difficulties of yourselves or others changing their ways or views, etc. True, lasting change times time.

But my question is, should change really take so long? I'm speaking specifically about the believer here. We are not to be conformed to this world but transformed by the renewing of our mind. I think that when dealing with sin change must happen immediately. The same with putting on the fruits of the spirit. Shouldn't we seek to put these on as soon as possible? God, in His power, is the One Who changes us. Is He not able to effect a lasting great change in our lives even in a short time? He did it when He saved us from death.

Communion and Confession?

"Lord as ever I expect to receive any good by this body and blood of Christ that now I come to receive, so Lord, here I profess against every sin that I have found in my heart. I desire to find out all, and profess against all, and renounce all and I would do to the uttermost what I am able for the delivering of my soul fully from every known or beloved sin. Oh, that there might not be any remaining sin in my heart" (Jeremiah Burroughs, gospel worship pg. 242). At first glance, I found myself wholeheartedly agreeing with Burroughs in the endeavor to renounce all my sins when coming to partake of communion. However, I know that I do not remember all of my sins and more importantly that all of my sins, (past,present, and future) have been nailed to the cross and are forgiven. That doesn't in any way take away from me seeing that my sin as ugly, but I know it has been paid for. So my question is, to what extent do we confess and ask forgiveness of sins in preparation for communion? The idea of continual confession seems a bit Catholic.

Purging the Sin from Our Lives

The Jews had very specific guidelines for the Passover and Burroughs touches on one on page 241. Here he discusses the process that the Jews followed in removing the leaven from the house for the time of the Passover. They followed three steps in the purging. First they would search for the leaven, then they would cast it out, and finally they would curse themselves if they were willing to keep any leaven in the house.

Burroughs ties this process into the sanctifying of God's name. "The third thing that is here to be done in the sanctifying of God's name is the purging and cleansing of the heart from sin, and actual cleansing and purging of the heart from sin there ought to be. "

How different would the lives of the believers be if they took their sin as seriously as the Jews did removing the leaven from the house. It is a three step process for the believer, first we need to search our lives for the sin, then we need to get rid of it. Finally, we need to be willing to ask for the punishment or discipline that we deserve every time we allow sin to continue in our lives.

Sanctifying God's name cannot be done in its entirety if we do not purge our lives of the sin that we commit daily.

Stomachs full of Trash

"Therefore you must take heed you do not come with your stomachs full of trash, as children do when they can get plumbs and pears and fill their stomachs with them when they come to your tables. Though there is never so much wholesome diet, they have no mind to it at all" (GW, pg. 244)

I could not help but see broader application of this principle to our discussion last week. As we discussed causes of dry seasons in personal worship, I'm not sure that we came at it from this particular angle. Nonetheless, it is true that desire for Christ in daily worship, like desire for Christ in communion, can be dulled by a daily intake of lesser "foods". Often the reason daily Bible reading seems boring, daily prayer appears dry, or taking communion feels mundane is because we have allowed a thousand less-fulfilling things to take the place of these means of communion with Christ.

Though Burroughs has probably already modeled it for us, how do we set about teaching people in our churches the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus in daily life? How do we re-train our own taste-buds?

What Sort of Grief?

Before I was born again, I had been acquainted with the gospel for quite a while. But the element that finally grabbed my heart was my depravity. For the very first time, I become painfully aware of my sin, my desire for sin, and my inability to turn from that sin. Strangely it was not the cross that made me aware of my sin, but the thought that my creator had made me for more, and that I had rejected Him.

I reacted like Burroughs on pg. 238 "I see that by my sin such a breach was made between God and my soul that all the angels in heaven and men in the world could never make up this breach." And I changed. God had drawn me so that I would thenceforth have a tremendous desire to maintain relationship with Him.

I know many other who have been grieved by their sin, but in a much more cross centered way.

They say with Burroughs (on pg. 242),"Oh! Let me never have to do with such sin that was the cause of such sufferings to my Savior, who shed His blood."

Now, it seems plain to me that grief over sin is absolutely essential to not only the conversion experience, but to the sanctification process. But I sometimes wonder, what sort of grief should we experience? Is there not a sense in which our current sins are entirely paid for, but may still have consequences, particularly in our relationship with God? In this case, is it possible that we should not feel grief because we have sent Christ to the cross, but because the cross is a picture of how much was needed to fix the breach between myself and God?

The Eye, Hand, and Mouth of Faith

Burroughs wonderfully explains the great importance of faith in communion (GW 245-247). Multiple times he uses the phrase the "eye of faith" to describe how believers need faith to really see Christ in the sacrament. By faith they must also reach out and take it (the hand), and then finally eat it (the mouth). This grand imagery is a magnificent picture of what the faith of the believer should look like during the Lord's Table. My question is: How do we help those whose faith is weak (and possibly even sometimes our own: Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!)? I ask this in reference to being able to see Christ in the sacrament, to being able to take hold of the elements and fix one's eyes on Christ and not one's own sin, to being able to grasp the gravity of it all.

Seasons of private worship

In GPTG (313-314) Whitney, talks about there being seasons of desire in our private worship some being time of great growth while others are times when we have no growth in our spiritual lives. How do we try and keep our selves from falling into the seasons of winter where there is no growth in our spiritual lives?

Worship in Reverence and Awe.

In GPTG Whitney reminds us of the importance of worshiping God with reverence and awe (pg312). This really hit me because so often our worship, public or private, really lacks these aspects. Whitney states, " Worshiping God with reverence involves viewing the time of worship as more than mere duty or a formality, but an actual meeting with God himself. When I'm reverent in worship I am mindful of his holiness and justice, remembering that "our God is a consuming fire."

When we think of God as a consuming fire, it should bring a sense of reverence to us. God could consume us every time our worship is done in a way that does not bring Him proper glory but he does not. We need to give God reverence in our worship.

Slow but Sure

On page 316 of GPTG there is this statement,

"Closeness to God, growth in Christlikeness, and knowledge of the Bible generally come in small daily increments as well. And as with growth of the body, growth of the soul is not noticed every day, every week, or even for months. But over time the consistent private worship of God will become on the most powerful and transformational experiences of your life."

It's true that growth in Christ is gradual, something that happens over a lifetime. Sometimes you may grow a lot in a little amount of time and other times you may grow a little within a lot of time. In my life I always went to grow all at once. But I know that true growth in Christ takes time.

In your own personal relationships with Christ, what have you experienced in regards to growth rate, being patient in learning, persevering in the race, waiting for the Lord? What are things that have helped you be in it for the long haul and have helped you accomplish steady growth in Christ? What can I do so that I don't try to grow all at once?

Motivation

After reading what Burroughs has to say about coming to the Lord's Supper, I remain very confused concerning the believer's motivation when partaking of communion. If we are to gaze at the cross of Christ so vividly as he describes, how are we to avoid motivation by guilt? Is this something we can understand or is it part of the mystery he talked about?

The grip of prayer

I have found in my life that living a life of constant prayer is a nice, but seldom enjoyed experience. I would love for all of my thoughts to be directed back to conversation with God, but as the day goes on this happens with only a percentage of my thoughts.

I find two reasons for this. First, we fail to pray habitually because we have not learned anew what prayer is like. Prayer is such a mysterious blessing that it feels new more often than anything else I know. When I have re-taught myself how to pray in the morning, it returns to me much more easily.

The second reason I fail to pray in each though is directly related to the text of Give Praise to God on pages 306 and 307. As I stated before, prayer is a mysterious blessing. How are we to know when our prayers have become arrogant, or when we have asked more often then we should, and not praised enough? How are we to know when our prayers have become little different than talking to ourselves? It all comes back to what this class has seen as foundational time and again: sola scriptura. Only by the word of God do we find it possible to pray appropriately. Why else do those who had the very closest of relationships with Jesus Christ on earth ask him how it is that they can pray? Is it not terribly apparent that prayer is a discipline impossible without heavy reliance on revelation?

It is for this reason that I find the text so helpful. We must practice "prayerful reading". We must practice "praying that same section."

Only when we come to a point of emptiness in ourselves do we find prayer as God intended it. He never longed to be like another human friend, but rather, one who is seen with "reverence and awe" (Heb. 12:28). "Reverence and awe" are wonderful reasons to scour the scriptures for ways to worship God more appropriately. He is a loving God, but as the text states "the radiant glory of this consuming fire (Heb. 12:29) dazzles angels without ceasing. The infinite power of this never-ending fire illuminates heaven forever."

Would we find some way to love a God of such untouchable majesty? I pray that we will not be so arrogant as to try without trembling through scriptures that show how worship is to be done.

What's in our hearts

In GPTG (pg 310) it talks about how in worshiping in spirit if our hearts aren’t completely sincere that it’s something that God doesn’t even accept - “..While worship in spirit is more than worshipping sincerely, it is not less than worshipping sincerely. The Lord looks on more than the heart; that is, what we do in worship also matters, but he does look closely at our hearts”

Stephan Charnock says “Without the heart it is no worship; it is a stage play; an acting a part...”

 “Regardless of what we say with our lips or with our bodies in our private worship, God always turns away if our heart is far away.”

In Jeremiah 17:9 is says “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”

How can we even know if our hearts are in the right place if our hearts are beyond cure from being so deceitful? 

Permanent Questions with Progressive Answers

I was thinking today about questions. Some questions have simple answers, static answers. "Who is God?" is an important question with an answer that will never change, even though the words necessary to penetrate our skulls might need to be rearranged now and again.

But some questions don't have simple, static answers. Even though it sounds scary, we can't afford to back down from these inquiries. The question most frequently raised by this class in my mind is "What is the best way to worship God with music?". The answer to this is a progressive one, always changing as our situations change. It can be as simple as instrumentation. The best way might be with drums, but it might not: if a church lacks a competent drummer, then it's safe to say that's not the best way to worship God with music. But in five or ten years God may bring a drummer into that church, and the same question may have a different answer.

The important thing is that we continue to ask these questions continually in need of asking. Permanent questions with progressive answers offer a chance to grow or improve.

Experiences in Family Worship

Today in "Give Praise to God" we began the chapter on Family Worship. As we begin to delve into this subject, I am curious about our experiences of family worship as a class. For those who grew up in a Christian home, did your parents do "family devotions"? What did it look like? How did it match up with what we're reading about it "Give Praise to God"?

In Relation to the Lord's Table

My question from this week's reading of Burroughs arises from his discussion on the partakers of the Lord's Table (p. 215ff). Must unsaved people be removed from the congregation before the elements are passed; i.e. are they allowed to observe and not partake? Another related set of questions comes to mind: Are believers who have not been baptized allowed to partake in Communion? Also, are non-members of a church allowed to take part?
[My belief on these questions are that unsaved people can surely watch and observe the church take part in Communion and do not need to be removed from the building. I also think that non-members should be allowed to partake; there is common ground among all believers in this area. The most difficult of these questions probably is the one about whether one needs to be baptized first; in response to this I'd say that a believer can indeed take part but should truly evaluate why he or she has not yet been baptized.]