Archive for the ‘Worship’ Category

13 Apr

How to have a Devotion/Quiet Time

Posted by tyrellh in Christianity, Devotional, Religion, Worship. Tagged: , , , , .

Bible readerOne of the sad things about being in many Bible teaching churches is that people are often afraid to ask questions. Especially questions that they feel will make them look silly. While that is a whole ethos issue on its own that needs to be dealt with, I would like to use the opportunity today to answer the question, “How do I have a private devotion/quiet time?” Now if you already have a strategy for devotional times, I still encourage you to read this as you might find some of the ideas enriching to what you are already doing.

First a few helpful disclaimers: Firstly, none of the ideas in this post are original to me, they came through listening to others and seeing what works and doesn’t work for me. Secondly, this is not the only way to have a devotion, this is just one possible way that I have found most helpful. Thirdly, I am not dealing with principle issues around ‘quiet times’/devotionals. Issues of frequency, guilt associated with not doing devotions and the motivation for doing one’s devotions will not be covered. To deal with those and other issues I will merely point you back to the gospel. You can never do enough devotions to make God pleased with you, conversely a lack of devotions is not going to bring God’s wrath down on you. If you know Jesus Christ in a way that has assured you of your acceptance with God and showed you the wickedness of your heart than you are at a place to think about doing devotions. If you use devotion times to try and replace the acceptance with God you should have in Christ, they will kill you.

devotionHaving said that, let’s begin.

Pick a section of Scripture. Why not begin with the book of John? Or any book for that matter. But because I think John is a good place to start I’ll suggest you try that if you don’t have your heart set elsewhere in Scripture. In most Bibles there are normally breaks in a chapter that subdivide the book into shorter sections. In the Bible I am currently reading John’s first chapter has an opening section of 18 verses entitled, “The Word Became Flesh”. Now my suggestion is that every day you take a section like that and read it slowly two or three times.

After you have done that, ask the following questions of the text:

1)    What does this passage tell me about God?

2)    What does this passage tell me about Jesus Christ?

3)    What does this passage tell me about myself?

4)    Are there any examples to emulate or avoid?

5)    Are there any promises to claim?

After having answered these questions, choose two or three insights that you found particularly helpful. Then take each insight and ask the following questions:

  1. Adoration – How can I love and praise God on the basis of this? What do I see here that I can praise him for?
  2. Repentance – How do I fail to realize this in my life? What wrong behaviour, harmful emotions or attitudes result when I forget this?
  3. Gospel Thanks – How can I thank Jesus as the ultimate revelation of this attribute of God (#1) and the ultimate answer to this sin or need of mine (#2)?
  4. Aspiration- How does this show me what I should or can be and do? How would I be different if this truth were powerfully real to me?

Basically this is what we are doing – taking a Scriptural truth and asking three questions of it ( I know it looks like 5 when I wrote it outimages, but in reality they are just three). How does this show me something about God to praise? How does this show me something about myself to confess? How does this show me something I need to ask God for? Adoration, confession, Thanksgiving and supplication(ACTS). Luther proposes that we keep meditating like this until our hearts begin to warm and melt under a sense of the reality of God. Often that doesn’t happen. Fine. We aren’t ultimately praying in order to get good feelings or answers, but in order to honour God for who he is in himself.

I hope this helps some of you out there.

28 Mar

Relevance and Anti-Relevance

Posted by tyrellh in Christianity, Religion, Worship. Tagged: , , , .

ImageI recently read an article addressing the apparent exodus of young people from churches. Of the ten reasons the author gave one of them stood out as an ironic danger. “The church is ‘Relevant’”. The author rightly ridiculed the attempts of churches to package things as ‘cool’. Truth be told when churches try to be cool they often come across as cheesy instead. Skinny jeans and lattes are not going trick people into thinking the gospel is cool. On that note that article made an obvious point. On the other hand if you say ‘a pastor must not wear skinny jeans’ or ‘must wear a tie’ you have lost me completely. The externals are not the issue, the principles are.

There is danger that runs next to this ‘Relevance’; I’d like to call it ‘Post-relevance’. That is adopting a ‘means’ or ‘way’ that was relevant during the 1700-1800′s and assuming that it Imageis the right way to communicate truth today. We could say this  is the mindset of the traditionalist  over and against that of the progressivist. One is trying to be ‘grand’  (old word for cool) to an audience that  is no longer around, the other wants to be cool to the audience  that is around, but they just can’t hack it.

As far as I can see traditionalists are motivated by two things. One being fear, fear that others in my conservative and traditional circles will judge and reject me; I mean surly if they see me doing something beneath my ‘class’ to communicate with the riff-raff. This fear of man is renamed ‘fear of God’, because we all know God only likes 19th century British and Dutch culture right? Flip the coin over and we see not fear but cultural superiority. He doesn’t wear a tie, how can anyone take him seriously. It’s the assumption that a single moment in a single cultures history is the most excellent expression of Christian values for the whole world in every time. Now I am not saying that they were not expressing those values well, nor am I saying that we cannot learn from them. I am saying that Scripture and not that previous momentary expression of the truths of Scripture should be our rule.

 Image

As for the ‘progressivists’, we see a similar thing. There is a fear of becoming ‘unliked’ and thought of as regressive that drives much of the cheese. A fear of what people in the culture will think about us; which is cleverly renamed as ‘care’. Oh  we only  care about the  lost and so we want them to see how fun and  cool it  is to be a Christian; how in  touch with them we are- maybe if they see that we are cool, they will think Christianity is cool. This also manifests in a certain pride,  that looks  down on the traditionalists as regressive- it breaks unity in many churches and often caters only to one generation, because its only twenty and thirty something’s that need the gospel right. The whole idea of Christ breaking down  boundaries is foreign here, unless it means doing a short term missions trip… to the beach…  where we spend some time with  another generation, culture and class so they can  have one week  of hip and happening Christians among them. In churches it means that we don’t care about communicating  the gospel to anyone but western, middle to upper class, yuppies.

What do we see when we look at Christ? One who though He was rich, for our sake became poor. Who did not consider equality with God as something to be held onto but humbled himself and took the form of a servant. One who apparently had children and adults come to hear him speak, in the same setting. One who spoke to an agrarian society using pictures from the agrarian world,  or to students of the law using texts from the law. One Who had to be with people and bear with people that they might understand the truth; that the truth is a person.

The answer is not ‘wear skinny jeans when you  preach’, nor is it wear a tie when you preach. The answer is ‘how can I preach is such a way that I remove as many obstacles as I can from these people seeing Christ’. How can we sing in such a way that pressures the traditionalists to not  make an idol out of  an  era or  the progressivists not to make an idol out of a niche subculture. How are they missing Christ by not seeing Him as a Christ that offends every culture and yet is the deepest answer to every culture’s aspiration?

Perhaps a safer word that relevant is contextualize. Because unless you embark on some kind of generation colonialism (that works for both sides by the way) the only other alternative is to relate the solid unchangeable truth of Scripture in a way that the entire spectrum of the contemporary audience will be able to clearly see Christ. It will be loving people too much to care what they think about you and loving Christ so much that you will share Him in the clearest way possible.

29 Jun

Book Review: Singing and making Music

Posted by tyrellh in Book Review, Christianity, Worship.

I have read my fair share of books on ‘worship music’ and music in general within the Christian sphere, many of them are written arrogantly, reflect bad scholarship and a weak understanding of music (everyone thinks they are an expert when it comes to music), it is because of these things that ‘Singing and Making Music’ by Paul S. Jones is a breath of fresh air into the turmoil of the ‘worship wars’. Written very humbly, and not setting out to fix all problems, Jones does in fact remedy core issues with regards to church music, he does a lot more than the meekly worded preface sets him up for.

Written in a scholarly fashion, by someone who holds a doctor of music degree as well as undergrads in Bible, performance and composition, ‘Singing and Making Music’ is a must read for all elders, musical directors (‘worship pastors’) and musicians in churches that are eager to think biblically and astutely through the issues surrounding church music.

The book is broken up into four different parts, namely: Corporate Worship; Hymnody and Psalmody; Issues; and Composers and Compositions- with two very helpful closing appendixes. Under ‘Corporate Worship’ Jones deals with many issues, from clapping after a performance in church to the vastness of King David’s praise team (some 4000!) to the issues of authenticity in corporate worship. In the section on ‘psalms and hymns’ Jones works very helpfully with the issues of hymns and psalms in the modern context, including a very helpful chapter entitled, “What Psalm Ascriptions Tell Us”. In the ‘Issues’ section new ground is broken and questions asked (at least for those of us not exposed to them) that add new dimensions to the discussion in evangelicalism, things like where church musicians should be paid or not (don’t throw this issue out till you have read it!), what can small churches do to improve their music, common misconceptions about church music etc. The final part of the book is where those with some music knowledge are really able to appreciate the work put in by Jones, while some of that section is lost on a lay-person (though not all, there is much to learn there) musicians will benefit from it immensely.

This book is appropriately provocative on worship matters, it serves its purpose of being an aid to pastors/elders and church musicians excellently. What I have most appreciated it its thoroughly biblical nature and handling of issues surrounding worship music, Jones does not make (as far as I can see) unfounded statements and leaps of logic to push his agenda, he does not merely ask a whole litany of questions without offering real advice and applications to situations. If you are serious about working through the issues of worship, or just growing in your thinking, this book is a MUST read! Jones style of writing makes for easy reading, his thoughtfulness makes for a thorough examinations of issues, it is by far my book of choice when it comes to worship music, I can’t think of no other book on the issue that comes close to be as helpful as ‘Singing and making Music’, not only to think through the theoretical issues of worship, but also to deal with the practical issues that would improve your churches worship music and liturgy.

14 Jun

Did the Sabbath Move to Sunday?

Posted by tyrellh in Christianity, Doctrine, Religion, Worship. Tagged: , , , , , .

There is a growing discussion these days regarding the day of the Sabbath, I am not sure why this is but part of the reason may be due to the growth of the Jewish roots movement, at the same time Seventh-day Adventists seem to be capitalising on a potential gullibility of an overall biblically illiterate country

I hope to explore 6 reasons why the Sabbath day has been changed from Saturday to Sunday. The Baptist Confession of Faith (based on the Westminster) states:

“As it is the law of nature that in general a proportion of time, by God’s appointment, should be set apart for the worship of God, so He has given in His Word a positive, moral and perpetual commandment, binding upon all men, in all ages to this effect. He has particularly appointed one day in seven for a Sabbath to be kept holy for Him. From the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ this was the last day of the week, and from the resurrection of Christ it was changed to the first day of the week and called the Lord’s Day. This is to be continued until the end of the world as the Christian Sabbath, the observation of the last day of the week having been abolished”. (Chapter 22.7)

Thus I hope to in the following seven points defend this statement, as well as encourage believers to think through the issue, these points are summaries of those given by Jonathan Edwards on the subject.

  1. 1. The 4th Commandment does not exclude Sunday

The 4th commandment says nothing that would be an objection to Sunday being the special day of worship. The words of the 4th commandment do not say which day of the week we should keep as a Sabbath, what is does say is that we should rest and keep a Sabbath every seventh day, or one day after six days of work, “Six days you shall labour, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:9-10- ESV).

This clearly teaches that there should be six days of labour, and then next day is to be a day of rest, and to be kept holy. But these words don’t say when the six days should begin, thus by implication it doesn’t say which day the rest will be on. There is nothing in these verse that tell us how to reckon time (where to start and where to end). That is obviously supposed to be determined in another way.

Now we know that this command was spoken to the Jews, and so it did refer to their Sabbath, but that doesn’t prove that the specific day was determined and appointed to be Saturday. The command should be obeyed in a general way as God should appoint any day to be that day. Since God appointed that specific day for the Jews to be Saturday, this is what the command meant for them, however it doesn’t preclude the possibility of God appointing another 7th day for the Christian Church. Just like the 5th commandment is a command for people to obey different fathers and mothers (not to mention the synecdotal nature of the commandments and all that it implies) so the 4th commandment can oblige people to rest of another appointed day.

So by the institution of the Christian Sabbath, there is no change in the 4th commandment, but there is a change of manmade reckoning of which is the day that labours begins and ends. As Edwards so excellently puts it, “What is the reason that Christians rest every seventh, and not every eighth, or every ninth, or tenth day? It is because God worked six days and rested the seventh.”

2.      The Sabbath: A Commemoration of Redemption

Part of the reason behind the Jewish Sabbath was to commemorate the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt (Deut 5:15), which was a shadow and type of Christ’s redemption of His Church. But the deliverance of the Jews from Egypt was just a shadow, it was nothing compared to the work of redemption. How small a thing it is that one nation was redeemed from a temporal slavery compared to the eternal Salvation of the whole church of the elect from all ages from eternal damnation. If the shadow was to be celebrated, how much more the glorious substance that caused the shadow?

 

Furthermore, the words of the 4th commandment that talks about the deliverance from Egypt mean nothing to contemporary Christians unless they are interpreted through the gospel of redemption. That day we were redeemed, the day Christ rose for our justification

3.      Christ’s Honouring of the 1st day of the week

Jesus Christ obviously on purpose and as part of His plan, honoured the first day of the week, by choosing it to be the day on which He rose from the dead; by choosing to appear to the apostles on the first day of the week from time to time; by pouring out the Holy Spirit on the Apostles (Acts 2) on the first day of the week. Since we know that Pentecost was the first day of the week (Lev 23:15-16). Christ also honoured this day by pouring out His Spirit on the apostle John and giving him visions, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day” (Rev 1:10). It must be obvious that Christ indented to distinguish this day

4.      The Early Church worship on Sunday

It is crystal clear in the New Testament that Sunday was the day used by the church for public worship, as they were directed by the apostles.  We are told that they came together to break bread and be taught by the apostles (Acts 20:7). So the Holy Spirit saw to it that public contributions be made on this day, in all churches, rather than any other day, as is clear from Scripture (1 Cor 16:2).

5.      The first Day of the Week was Called the Lord’s Day

 

This first day of the week is in the New Testament called the Lord’s Day; see Rev. 1:10. – Some people ask how we know it was the first day that was ‘Sunday’. Maybe the Lord’s Day is every day; if that’s the case then we can’t know. Well to understand this expression, we don’t have to look far. Just like any other expression in the Bible we look at the universal significance of that expression in all ancient language. This expression, the Lord’s Day is found to be in common use by the whole ancient Church, from the day of the apostles onward, it was always the first day of the week.

The expression implies in it the holiness of the day. Just like the Lord’s Supper designated as holy by its title, so the Lord’s Day is designated as holy by its title. Both the Table and the Day are there to remember the redemption won for us by Christ.

The title the Lord’s Day for the first day of the week should be sufficient evidence to show that it is the day of the week that is to be kept holy to God, since God call it by His own Name (cf. Num 6:27; 2 Chron 7:14; Deut 7:6, 14). In the same way the city of Jerusalem was called by God’s name (Jer 25:29; Dan 9:18-19).

So also, we find that the first day of the week is called by God’s name, being called in Scripture God’s Day, or the Lord’s Day, which sets it apart as a holy day, a day for holy use, above any other day in the week.

 

6.      Tradition of the Church

Tradition is not a rule or an authority for genuine Christians; however it can be a great confirmation of the truth, as in this case. In all records that we have we see that it was the universal custom of the Christian Church in all ages from the Apostles to keep the first day of the week as a Sabbath. From the writings that remain of the Church Fathers. This day has been kept as a Sabbath by all Christians in all countries of the world, by almost everyone that calls themselves by the name Christian, however different their opinions may be on other issues

Though that is not in itself sufficient to prove the case without the foundation of Scripture, it does act as a confirmation of the fact.

21 May

Worship: Leading a Church through Biblical Change

Posted by tyrellh in Christianity, Worship. Tagged: , , , , , .

Some ideas I have picked up during the course of my reading, on how to help lead a church through biblical change are as follows:

Make sure your leaders are in agreement. If a pastor, elders, and other leaders don’t see eye to eye in this area, an unhelpful comparison can take place and the tension will be evident. Many people will see the issue. A ‘worship leader’ shouldn’t try to “balance out” his pastor nor should a pastor feel like he’s contradicting his worship leader. Have as many conversations as necessary to fully understand where other leaders are coming from, express concerns, and come to an agreement. Leading a church through changes is ultimately the pastor’s (the eldership) responsibility.

Lead theologically. Don’t make changes simply for pragmatic reasons (e.g. it will attract more people), out of personal preference, or as an attempt to appease differing factions in the church. Lead from biblical convictions. If you’re introducing a new style of music, use it as an opportunity to teach that God’s glory can’t be expressed in only one music style and that one kind of music is insufficient to communicate the broad range of responses to God. Every time we make a change, it’s an opportunity to ground people in biblical principles that will serve them in other contexts as well.

Teach and re-teach the church what biblical worship is. It doesn’t matter how mature a church is, they’ll need to be reminded how to worship biblically. Each week they’re tempted by idols and deceived by indwelling sin. Also, we have guests and new Christians attending who come with various misconceptions about what we’re doing. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we all at times forget what we already know. What was once a faith-filled encounter with the living God becomes a dull, same-as-every-week experience that leaves us cold. We need to be reminded what an life-altering, awe-inspiring event worshiping God together really is.

We can teach the church on worship in different ways. Some churches have done a series on worship, either on a Sunday morning or a weeknight. At least once a year give a message on worship on a Sunday, to make sure everyone hears it. Regularly share a brief comment while  leading on some aspect of how people should understand what is happening. Say something like, “One of the reasons we gather is to remember God’s mercy to us in Christ.” or, “We’re using a smaller band this morning to remind ourselves that the real ‘worship team’ is everyone in the congregation.” You can also spell out your philosophy of worship on your website. In some cases, it would be wise to meet with individuals who have expressed concerns or raised questions.

Lead humbly but confidently. Once you’ve prayed, done your homework, and prepared, don’t second-guess your decision if you receive negative feedback. God frequently sends critics not only to test our hearts, but to tweak what we’re doing. Humble confidence means we’re open to questions but won’t change course just because someone disagrees with us. Perhaps families will leave the church because they didn’t agree with your choice of music, but surely many more will stay because they have a more biblical understanding of how music works in corporate worship.

12 May

Worship: Cognitive and Emotional

Posted by tyrellh in Christianity, Doctrine, Worship. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , .

There are typically two kinds of churches in people’s minds. One kind loves expository preaching, Bible studies and doctrine. But they have no life, people are generally cold and appear unchanged by good teaching. The second kinds is warm and friendly, and sings passionately. But there is no truth. Scriptures are out of context, and everything is out of order.

I think the issue is that people have a hard time connecting the knowledge of the head with the passions of the heart. But they are related and are both vital to biblical worship.

Head

Whenever we are participating in corporate worship we are doing more than singing a song. We are fighting for truth. The system of the world has been trying to brain-wash us into fearing it. Our flesh has been telling us not to trust God… constantly we are fighting against lies.

This is why worshipping God with our minds matters. We are to set our minds on things above (Col 3:2). We are to wrestle with doctrines and theology, getting our understanding of God as clear as we can with the revelation He has given in His Word.

Worship is not about mere ‘self-forgetfulness’. Our worship must be intelligent and informed. We must stretch our mind to the limits as we consider the greatness of God and the wonder of His works. This means that some songs will have to be heard twice before we can fully comprehend it.

Helping people to worship with their minds means we may have yo use songs that go beyond the tired Christianeeze that we have grown so accustomed to. Not new truth, but new ways of presenting it. To have worship which makes God seem dull is sin! But it will not be great productions and excellent musicians that will change that. It is by helping people clearly grasp the character and works of God.

We may also want to spend time explaining words that are unfamiliar (or maybe too familiar) to people; words like justified, Zion, grace, Ebenezer and glory. Non-Christians, children and regular members can benefit from knowing what they are singing about.

Intellect however is not an end in itself. We can become more impressed with our theological systems than we can with Jesus. Orthodoxy (good theology) without orthopathy (good emotions) brings no glory to God.

Heart

I do not think that overemphasising doctrine and truth is the problem in churches, if anything that is vitally needed. However, not many churches do well at passionate worship from the heart. They are often struggling through meetings without ever responding, being affected or being engaged.

Jonathan Edwards said that his job was to, “raise the affections of my hearers as high as I possibly can, provided they are affected with nothing but the truth, and with affections that are not disagreeable to the nature of what they are affected with.”[i]

The emotions we want are more than fleeting, shallow self-induced sentimentalism. We don’t want excitement for the sake of excitement. Godly-affections are deep and long lasting. They are a result of focusing on Who God is and what He has done.

A Clear picture of the living God moves our heart. His transcendence causes us to feel awe. His holiness evokes repentance from sin. Mercy begets gratefulness, Sovereignty brings peace. The gospel leaves us lost in wonder. God is particularly concerned with our joy. He tells us, “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!” (Psalm 32:11).

When we fail to demonstrate delight and satisfaction in God, we’re not only dishonoring Him, we are disobeying Him. More than any other people, Christians should celebrate.

Bring it Together

As valuable as emotional engagement is, is possible for emotions and feelings to become our goal, rather than God. We come hoping to get a good feeling from worship and are not really concerned with what produces it or how we express it.

Expressing our emotions in unclear or inappropriate ways can be dangerous, and wrong. It may be helpful thus to avoid songs that overuse the words intimate, embrace or intoxicating, which our culture commonly uses to describe romantic love, and this makes things unclear. We are corporately, not individually the Bride of Christ.

This issue is far more than just hymns versus contemporary choruses. Some hymns are sentimental and feeling-oriented; some contemporary songs are rich in theological truth. The real issue is elders taking responsibility for what their church is singing, leading them wisely into truth-based affections, and making sure good fruit is produced.

Most of all we are meant to remember that both biblical truth and deep affections are a must in worship to God. This healthy tension must be maintained.

In the next few posts I will discuss (God willing)

-          Instruments and the weaker conscience

-          How to best bring about godly change in a Church

Thanks for reading, your encouragement, participation and question are a great help. May God help us all as we strive to the unity of the faith.

[i] Jonathan Edwards, “Some thoughts Concerning the Revival,” in ‘The Works of Jonathan Edwards’, Vol 4, ‘The Great Awakening’, ed.C. C. Goen (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1972), 387.

5 May

Worship #5: Where to From Here?

Posted by tyrellh in Christianity, Doctrine, Worship. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , .

I promised in my last article to write about the apparent short comings on the ‘Baptist Confession of Faith’s’ section on worship, however, the more I have been looking at it and comparing it to other creeds I feel that I would be making a mountain out of a mole hill. The real issue still lies in other places…

I think that a tradition, whether it is 500, 100 or 10 years old, suffers from the same problem; We start with Scripture, but eventually put our final authority in our own traditions or views.  This may be one of the reasons why we have such a hard time figuring out what God wants us to do when we worship.

Every generation of the church is responsible to weigh its tradition and practice against the final authority of God’s word, and to be honest God has not been as specific in this area as some might prefer. The bible doesn’t give an order of service that applies to all cultures at all times. Similarly the Bible commands us to respect one another, but in African culture respect is shown by not looking someone in the eye when talking, in European culture, one should maintain a degree of eye contact, so just as the way respect is shown varies in those two cultures, it will also vary in the way worship is preformed. For example the Old Testament is full of choirs, musicians, processions, priests, robes, annual celebrations and instrument praise; but how relevant are these things since the New Testament doesn’t even mention them? Should we come before God with singing, dancing and instruments like Psalm 149? Or are those things now forbidden in the New Testament command to worship God ‘with reverence and awe’ (Hebrews 12:28)?

I find so ironic, that some of my own reformed brothers would use the ‘regulative principle’ to forbid instruments in Church along with hymns and spiritual songs… and then only sing unaccompanied Psalms which constantly mentions instruments, dancing and the like? AT the same time my Charismatic friends would sing about the holiness of God and His majesty, and then treat worship in a cavalier, superficial and sentimentalist way.

Some Christians think God has said nothing about worship, but the need for me to refute this thinking is useless now since if anyone has read the bible in even a superficial way they will see the folly of this thinking (I pray). God hasn’t told us everything, but He certainly hasn’t been silent on the topic.

PRINCIPLES FOR FORM

I would like to at this point suggest the guiding principles for how the ‘form’ of worship should be decided upon and evaluated. (It is helpful at this point to have read my article on the varies parts of worship). What principles guide, not the ‘elements’ or ‘circumstances’ of worship, but the ‘form’?

  1. Do what God clearly commands (regulative principle without the exclusivity part)
  2. Don’t do what God clearly forbids (Normative principle)
  3. Use SCRIPTURAL wisdom for everything else

We need to recognize that God has not given us a prescribed order of service that defines biblical worship. However we must seek to faithfully apply biblical principles and examples.

Furthermore, we must grasp the vital role that faith plays in corporate worship. Thus we never want ‘our way’ of doing things to replace vibrant real trust in the finished work of Christ to make our worship acceptable.

The next few blogs will be on how I think these principles should be applied in around 9 different tensions (I hope to make these blogs on worship more regular than once a week as we climb to the crescendo now). I also intent of shortly releasing a questionnaire that I trust will cause us to evaluate if indeed we are applying certain principles in our church.

For the growth and maturity of the Church as we all strive for the unity of the faith.

28 Apr

Worship #4: The Regulative Principle at Work… But Where?

Posted by tyrellh in Christianity, Doctrine, Religion, Worship. Tagged: , , , , , .

In my last article on worship I went into detail to explain what the ‘regulative principle’ is, I also spent some time breaking worship up into its various parts, namely: Elements, form and circumstances.

Today I would like to look at how these two things meet, in other words what interplay is there between the ‘regulative principle’ and the various parts of worship? If you have no idea what I mean by the parts of worship I have listed, or what I mean by the ‘regulative principle’ I strongly recommend you read the previous post on worship before continuing with this one.

The big question that I think often goes unasked in our everyday churches is, “Does the ‘Regulative Principle’ apply to all the parts of worship, or only to some of them?” It is my opinion that it is an incorrect application of the ‘RP’ that is behind much ‘unhealthy’ worship in churches.

-          Circumstances -

The Baptist Confession of Faith which in line with all generally with the other historic creed says the following about the circumstances of worship (Chapter 22:6):

Under the Gospel, neither prayer nor any other aspect of religious worship is tied to, or made more acceptable by, any place in which it is preformed, or towards which it is directed(1). God is to be worshipped everywhere in spirit and truth(2)… (1. John 4:21; 2. Mal 1:11; 1 Tim 2:8; John 4:23-24)

I think it is clear from the confession that the ‘circumstances’ of worship is irrelevant. A church is a church whether it meets under a tree or in a building or even in a Cathedral.

-          Elements -

With regards to elements, I think chapter 22:5 makes reference, but instead of calling it ‘elements’ calls it ‘parts’. It then goes on to mention all the elements which Scripture explicitly state must be in worship:

1)      Reading of Scripture

2)      Preaching and hearing of the Word

3)      Teaching and admonishing of one another

4)      Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs

5)      Baptism

6)      The Lord’s Supper

The first chapter affirms again the main idea of the ‘regulative principle’ when is says, “He (God) may not be worshipped … by any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures (22:1)”

I agree with this, I must since my conscience is captive to God’s Word. I will not have smoke things shaking in my church to show how our prayers rise to heaven, I will not have icons or crucifixes for worshippers to fix their focus on (22:1 uses this as an example of what it means). These are the acceptable methods we use to Glorify God in worship (note that ‘announcements’ are considered as part since natural light tells us we need them).

So far we have seen that the regulative principle does not apply to the ‘circumstances’ of worship, but clearly it does apply to the ‘elements’ of worship. Which leads me to my next question…?

-          Form –

Does the regulative principle apply to the ‘form’ of worship? It is my opinion that it does not, but rather that the ‘form’ calls for an application of Biblical wisdom (Col 3:16) and ‘natural light’. If we were to apply the regulative principle in its strictest sense to ‘form’ (meaning not doing anything in a way not explicitly said in the New Testament) we would have no lecterns, pulpits or stages, the shortest sermon in church would have to be 50min minimum (based on book of Hebrews), seating would be an issue since we have no idea of where or in which direction people should sit, furthermore, the use of projectors/overheads would be very questionable. I realize I am being facetious, and an argument from inconsistency of those who hold to the principle is not an argument against it.

I think in ‘form’ we need to apply a variety of Biblical principles as well as the wisdom God has so given men to be able to make the elements most conducive to their purpose, namely worshipping God, or to put it another way, to declare the worthiness of God in ALL His attributes.

Conclusion

I trust that again you have found this helpful and stimulating as we think on this issue together. Next week I will address the issue where I feel the Baptist Confession of Faith falls short, as mentioned in my last post, since it ties in closely with the kind of wisdom I am talking about with regards to form.

21 Apr

Worship #3: A Principle to Know

Posted by tyrellh in Christianity, Doctrine, Worship. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Worship is an intricate and difficult subject to address, hence the huge debate about it. I think it may be helpful at this stage to break it up into its different components before moving forward

Worship is made up of three things, the elements, forms and circumstances. Let me explain what I mean by each one.

Elements of worship are those things which are done in public worship: ie. Prayer, singing, preaching, offering, benediction, announcements, reading of Scripture, etc

Form: is how the elements are put into practice or action: E.g. Preaching with a pedestal, lectern, pulpit, free-standing; Reading of Scripture from KJV or NKJV, Long or short passages, both Testaments or only one. Order service is conducted in: Announcements first or song first etc

Circumstances: The circumstances of worship are the setting you find yourself worshipping in, eg. under a tree, in a prison, in a house, in a church building.

By understanding what Scripture teaches on each one of the above components I think it will be possible for us to make much headway in trying to grasp Biblical worship in our current environment.

THE KEY PRINCIPLE:

A key principle in godly worship is known as the ‘regulative principle’. It is the opinion of this author, along with the historic creeds of the faith that this principle is ‘crucial’ in understanding worship. Many of the current discussions on worship which commits the error of ‘forgetting history’ lose out on this key principle and thus end up in a flurry of debate which is unnecessary.

Briefly stated the regulative principle is as follows:

“The light of Nature shews that there is a God, who hath Lordship, and Soveraigntye    over all; is just, good, and doth good unto all; and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and served, with all the Heart, and all the Soul, (a.) and with all the Might. But the acceptable way of Worshipping the true God, is (b.) instituted by himself; and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be Worshipped according to the imaginations, and devices of Men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representations, or (c.) any other way, not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures. a. Jeremiah 10:7; Mark 12:33 b. Deuteronomy 12:32
c. Exodus 20:4-6 (1689 London Baptist Confession, Chapter 22:1)”

Essentially the regulative principle says that only those things which God has explicitly stated should be practised in worship. This is opposed to the ‘normative principle’ of the Anglicans and Lutherans which says that only those things which Scripture forbids should be prohibited. Based on the above statement from the Baptist Confession of Faith I would have to disagree with the ‘Normative principle’. On another note it would be interesting to do a study of where those churches that espouse the ‘normative principle’ find themselves today, I dare say in the clutches of Liberalism, however, this is not an argument against it, Scripture is our rule of Faith.

Regulative Principle Normative Principle
Only do that which Scripture Commands Do anything so long as Scripture does not forbid it

The Confession goes on in Chapter 22:5 to delineate accurately just what elements the regulative principle allows in worship based on Scripture:

“The (q.) reading of the Scriptures, Preaching, and (r.) hearing the word of God, teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual songs, singing with grace in our Hearts to (s.) the Lord; as also the Administration (t.) of Baptism, and (u.) the Lords Supper are all parts of Religious worship of God, to be performed in obedience to him, with   understanding, faith, reverence, and godly fear; moreover solemn humiliation (x.) with fastings; and thanksgiving upon (y.) special occasions, ought to be used in an holy and religious manner.”

q. 1 Timothy 4:13 r. 2 Timothy 4:2; Luke 8:18 s. Colossians 3:16; Ephesians 5:19
t. Matthew 28:19-20 u. 1 Corinthians 11:26 x. Esther 4:16; Joel 2:12
y. Exodus 15:1-27; Psalm 107:1-43

Let me say at this point that I do not think this Confession has grasped all that must be said about worship, and I believe that what it has left out is telling…

I hope that you have found this week’s blog entry on worship informative. Please do take the time to think about it as next week I wish to engage with these concepts in a practical way.

14 Apr

Worship #2: WHY ARE WE WHERE WE ARE?

Posted by tyrellh in Christianity, Worship. Tagged: , , , , , .

If you are starting to read this blog now, I encourage you to start on Worship #1, to get the full gist of the development of my thought. Today I wish to consider what I think we are  three major reasons for why we are where we are in worship… and why the subject is so controversial.

1)      Reactionism: People see an error and assume that the opposite must be truth, so they swing. If the Protestants had done this when they reacted against the heresies in the Roman Catholic Church of the 1500’s we would have abandoned the doctrine of the Trinity. Sometimes people are in a church where there is cold dead orthodox worship, and because they feel no heart there, they assume the opposite must be right, and go to the extreme of pure emotionalism.

On the other hand some people go to a charismatic type church and see people swinging and swaying and dancing and barking like dogs and all manner  of things, or perhaps they just hear endless choruses of empty words that sound no different to contemporary love songs, so they assume the opposite must be right, and go over to the cold dead guys.

2)      Ignorance of History: Some people enter the whole realm of dealing with worship as if they are the first people in history to get into the debate, they often end up trying to re-invent the wheel so to speak, but never really get anywhere. Imagine every scientist began his/her study, starting off with trying to work out the table of elements! There are confessions of faith and major articles written by godly men in history who have thought deeply on some issues we don’t even know are applicable to the subject. Works like the 1689 Baptist confession of Faith chapter 22, or the Westminster Confession of Faith

3)      Ancientariansim: This is the word I assign to those who think that, because we have always done things like this, it must be the right way to do it. Because we have always understood this way of doing worship to be biblical , our older understanding must be right. This is also a major error, praise God that Luther didn’t think like that when he started challenging the Romanists on their ‘old’ errors. Really what often happens in this case is that peoples ‘older style’ (which exists due to limitations of the time) become equal with Scripture or at least the supposed sole application of Scripture.

Let me say that perhaps the major issue relating to worship, which summarizes the three mentioned above, is a lack of going back to the Scriptures, as well as a lack of love and understanding. Till next time, mull these things over

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