Biblical Worship

A couple of years ago Dr. David Peterson, author of the well-known book on worship Engaging with God, was on the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary campus in Louisville, KY to lecture on worship (www.sbts.edu).  One of his sermons,”The Worship that Pleases God,” centered on Hebrews 12:18-29 continuing into chapter 13.  Peterson’s succinct definition of worship in the sermon comes from verses 28-29:

Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.

This new kingdom comes to us as believers through Jesus Christ who offered for us the full and final sacrifice on the cross to pay for our sins.  He is the mediator of a new convenant made possible by His blood.  When we realize the extent of what Christ has done for us, our response is simply gratitude.  We cannot earn this salvation for we could never repay this great debt. We can only accept this gift of grace and show gratitude.  Jesus Christ paid a debt He did not owe to satisfy a debt we could not pay.

So Peterson reminds us that our worship is really all about showing gratitude for what Christ has done for us.  Our lives should be filled with gratitude to Jesus Christ. Our corporate worship times - our songs, our prayers, our testimonies all point to one theme — gratitude.  The Apostle Paul reminds us of this gratitude in his Colossians letter:

Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. Colossians 2:6-7

Let us be a grateful people this Thanksgiving season!  As we recount the Lord’s blessings with family and friends, let us not forget to show gratitude for the work of Christ in our lives.

Also see these quotes from Peterson’s book, Engaging with God:

http://biblicalworship.com/?p=264

http://biblicalworship.com/?p=354

Our small group at church is studying a book called How People Change (Timothy Land, Paul Tripp, New Growth Press, ISBN 0-9770807-2-2).  The first chapter deals with the topic - The Gospel Gap.  The authors relate that there is often a “gap” for Christians between their conversion and their future life in heaven.  This is demonstrated when Christians fail to make the Gospel a vital part of their everyday lives - family, work, and leisure.  Part of the problem according to Land and Tripp is that we as ministers fail to help our people see how the Gospel should permeate every part our lives by giving them practical application.  They call pastors to make sure there is a connection in their preaching between the Gospel and its application to our daily lives. 

Land and Tripp state:

“It is in the here and now that many of us experience a gospel blindness.  Our sight is dimmed by the tyranny of the urgent, by the siren call of success, by the seductive beauty of physical things, by our inability to admit our own problems, and by the casual relationships within the body of Christ that we mistakenly call fellowship.  This blindness is often encouraged by preaching that fails to take the Gospel to the specific challenges people face.  People need to see that the Gospel belongs in their workplace, their kitchen, their school, their bedroom, their backyard, and their van.  They need to see the way the Gospel makes a connection between what they are doing and what God is doing.  They need to understand that their life stories are being lived out within God’s larger story so that they can learn to live each day with a Gospel mentality.”  (page 4 - How People Change).

The first challenge for pastors is to make sure that our worship services are full of the Gospel.  We then need to make sure our people see the connection of how this Gospel should permeate our lives.  Are we helping our people prepare to face life on Monday when we are opening and sharing God’s Word on Sunday?  I’m not talking about a list of 10 things that will make your life successful.  We do not need more self-help lessons.  We need to hear about the life changing Gospel and how this impacts our lives 24/7.