*scripture references and some of the applications in today’s
blog were shared by Pastor Bruce Powell
, Siler Presbyterian Church, from his smokin
hot preaching series on the book of Nehemiah. Thanks Bruce, YOU rock!
ORDERLY worship.
Does that give you visions of boring old people falling
asleep singing worn out hymns they have
known all their lives? YAWN
If you really want to “worship”’ nowadays, you MUST have the best cutting edge
praise band, leading everyone in the latest, most hip, FABULOUS contemporary tunes.
The louder the
better.
The more angst ridden
the better.
Fireworks are good
It could go on for hours if the spirit leads.
Forget praying or preaching, contemporary
Christian music is where it is AT.
Please don’t misunderstand me.
I like contemporary
worship.
I like old hymns.
I like Gregorian
chants,
fer cryin out loud.
All forms of worship
are GREAT and usually God honoring.
But when worship become a performance and a competition of the grooviest band
you can find, it makes me want to say
WHAT IN THE CAT HAIR
in a major way.
Well…..what about orderly worship? In the OT book of Nehemiah, 12: 27-47. That is EXACTLY what happened. I don’t have
space or time to give you the entire story, but the short version is this:
Nehemiah came back to Israel from exile in Persia, got some
other exileites to join him, and motivated and led the people to rebuild the
wall of the Holy City Jerusalem. Most of
the book is about that, and the major problems and opposition they encountered.
In Ch 12, however,
ROCK OUT BABY!!!
The wall is built, and the most amazing,
joyful ,awesome, WORSHIPFUL celebration
ensued.
BUT - the service was also ORDERLY.
Allow me to give you some exerps to prove my
point:
Nehemiah 12:27-47 (selected verses, NIV)
“At the dedication of
the wall of Jerusalem, we brought the
Levites to Jerusalem to celebrate joyfully the dedication with songs of
thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals, harps and lyres. The singers were
also brought together…I had the leaders from Judah go up on top of the wall, I
also assigned two large choirs to give thanks, one was to proceed on top of the
wall to the right..as well as some priests with trumpets…along with others with
musical instruments prescribed by David the man of God. .. The second choir
proceeded in the opposite direction. I followed them on top of the wall,
together with half the people. The two
choirs gave thanks, then took their places in the house of God…rejoicing because
God had given them great joy.THE SOUND
OF REJOICING IN JERUSALEM COULD BE HEARD FAR AWAY.”
HOLY CATHAIR,
Batman!
What an epic worship service of …..can I say Biblical proportions? ( YUP- I can say that)
My imagination runs away with me, thinking
what Hollywood could do with this description. Yet it was not a free for all- it happened in an orderly way.
It gives me visions of what worship might be like in Heaven...
Here are some things we all can learn about worship from
this event in Scripture:
1.Worship in a corporate setting is orderly, not a free for
all that no one really knows what is going on.
God’s Spirit can and does move in orderly worship.
2.That being said, making a joyful noise unto the Lord can
be a guy in Papua New Guinea pounding his kanga drum, or my hunny who can’t
carry a tune singing at the top of his lungs:)
3.Corporate worship is joyful and moving, (just like Nehemiah 12) whether it is hymns or a great praise band. It can be quiet or it can be rockin:) But it
is NOT a performance, and it does not go on for 2 hours with no time for
preaching or praying.
4.Be respectful of those who prefer other forms of worship
than you do. Making fun of,or making
disparaging remarks about another church’s style of worship is a sin. Period.
5.Corporate worship is not an end all. Worship is highly
important, and please go to a church where you can make a joyful noise joyfully in the style you most enjoy. But it is not the most important thing. Prayer,
bible study, preaching, and living the way Jesus wants us to, are just as
important. Some might argue all of those
things are forms of worship.
6.Worship is to be entered into humbly and with much prayer.
Worship with your whole heart.
There is much more to be said about worship, I have just
scratched the surface, and I know some won’t agree with me. That’s OK.
That is why God made chocolate and vanilla.
Scripture tells us we were put on this earth to Glorify
God.
End of Story.
How we do that matters to our Jesus immensely.
So be
purposeful with your worship. It’s not a rock
concert, and it’s not falling asleep singing hymns.
In closing I want to share my favorite worship song with you
written by Horatio Spafford. Many of you know the history of this
song. This fine Christian man had lost a
son at 4 years old, survived financial ruin after the Great Chicago Fires, and
then got word that 4 of his daughters were drowned at sea. He penned this song later while traveling by ship over the spot in
the Atlantic where his daughters were lost.
His joy in worship is the deep inner joyful peace that comes from
intimately knowing his Savior. If you
have never heard it, get out your hanky:)
And YUP it is a hymn:)
It is Well With my Soul:
My favorite verse:
My sin, oh the bliss
of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to His cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
click here: