This month, however, we are going to be looking at worship:

•    What is worship? •    Why do we worship? •    What does worship mean?

The [...]]]> We are in between two major studies – the Story of God, which we just finished, and the life of Jesus, which we will be starting in March.

This month, however, we are going to be looking at worship:

•    What is worship?
•    Why do we worship?
•    What does worship mean?

The general outline we will be using these next few weeks in answering these questions is as follows:

1. Trusting God - We have to really trust God before we are willing to surrender everything to Him in worship. For example if you don’t trust God then you are less likely to really let go and enjoy Him during musical worship. Instead you are going to try to maintain a certain demeanor while sings the lyrics.
2. The Heart of Worship – Is there a difference between praise and worship? How do you worship God amidst distractions? Why do we signing songs for half an hour?
3. How Worship Changes Us – Shelton Taguma will be teaching us from a Zimbabwe perspective.  When I originally asked him to speak a month ago, all I knew was that he was a lover of worship – I didn’t know that he recently finished teaching a series on worship in Zimbabwe before he came to the States with this wife to have their second child. God really set us up… =/
4. Non-Musical Worship – Worship God goes beyond the musical song service into everyday life. True worship is an ongoing daily relationship with Jesus that is real and personal.

I must warn you though… as I’ve been studying this topic, I have to say that it may sting some of you… worship can be a touchy subject full of emotions, so I just pray that you all while open your hearts and minds to Jesus as I’m sure I won’t be able to have all the right words or phrases… But I know that His Spirit will guide us all – individually and corporately as that is what Jesus told us in John 16:13-14:

13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.

Amen?

Worship…

I looked up the word “worship” in the Merriam-Webster dictionary yesterday and this is what I found:

1.    : to honor or reverence as a divine being or supernatural power
2.    : to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion <a celebrity worshipped by her fans>

To honor or reverence….to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor or devotion…

I then turned to the NIV Bible and noticed that there were two main Hebrew words used in the Old Testament:

Shachah – 170 times – to bow down low (in worship); prostrate oneself; pay one honor, homage: worship (39), bow down (33), bowed down (30), worshipped (23), pay honor (7), worshiping (7), bowed (6), bowing down (5) bowed in worship (2), prostrated himself (2) worships (2), bow (1) bow down to worship (1), bowed low (1), bows down (1), fell facedown (1), fell prostrate (1), honor (1), humbly bow (1), kneeling (1), knelt (1), paid homage (1), paid honor (1), reverence (1), worshiped leaned  (1)

Abad – 290 times – to work, serve, labor do; to worship, minister, work in ministry; to be plowed, be cultivated; to be worked; to reduce to servitude, enslave, cause to serve; to be caused to serve, worship (a god): serve (88), worship (37), served (28), worshiped (13), do (11), work (10), serving (8), subject to (8), ministers (6), enslave (3), enslaved (3), labor (3), subject (3), work for (3), worked (3), worked for (3), worshiping (3), burdened (2), farm (2), hold in bondage (2), serves (2), till (2), used (2), work (2), workers (2), works (2), be cultivated (1), be plowed (1), been plowed (1), been worked (1), been (1), bondage (1), cultivate (1), do work (1), do (1), doing (1), done (1), drive (1), efforts (1), enslaving (1), farmer (1), fulfilling by doing (1), laborer (1), led (1), make slaves (1), make work (1), observe (1), perform (1), profits (1), put to work (1), reduced to servitude (1), servant (1), serve as slaves (1), service (1), slave (1), subjects (1), subjugate (1), submit (1), to subject (1)

If we move to the New Testament we find one primary word for ‘worship’:

Proskyneo – 60 times – to worship, pay homage, show reverence; to kneel down (before): worship (28), worshiped (17), knelt before (3) worshipers (3), fall down (1), fell on knees in front of (1), kneeling down (1), on knees before (1), paid homage (1), refused to worship (1), reverence (1), worshiping (1), worships (1)

Did you see anything in common between all of those definitions? I saw two main themes:

1.    They are physical – bowing, falling down in front on, kneeling
2.    They include some sort of surrender – becoming a slave, worker, giving homage or loyalty to

The word picture of worship would be someone entering the throne of a 16th century king – say King Henry VIII of England. When you enter into that room, the first thing you would do is say “Your Majesty” – you recite how power, just and kind the king is before lowing yourself down in an act of submission, the bow. You may even give him a gift to try to win his favor or perhaps you would present your petitions to him – asking him to do something on your behalf. After this you would have to wait for the king’s answer as to do anything else would result in him calling the guards and having you imprisoned or worse.  If the King Henry’s reply was good, you would rejoice and praise him all the more.

This physical act of surrendering is also why it is very, very important to watch what or whom you worship. You will become what you worship – if you worship money, you will become a greedy person. Sex – a lust filled person; people – co-dependent person; power – egotistical person.
Idols make us into themselves, but if we worship the living God, we become more and more like Him in our intentions and actions.

Surrendering

Surrendering everything to God requires trusting God. It is very interesting to me the context of the first time “worship” is used in the Bible. Genesis 22:1-5

1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”
3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”

Wow! Abraham had to really, really trust God as he was going to go and give his only son to Him…

Trust

This brings us to the definition of trust as seen in the dictionary:

1. assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something
2. one in which confidence is placed

Abraham had absolute assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, and truth of God. He knew that if he went up that hill in an act of physical submission of worship to the Lord, God Himself was going to take care of everything.

And what happened? God provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice instead of his son…

You know what else is interesting? The first time the word “trust” is used in the Bible is right after the people of Israel crossed the Red Sea on dry land while the Egyptians who were pursuing them died:

And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant. –Exodus 14:31

They put their trust – their dependence and reliance in the person of the Living God who delivered them from slavery.

Isaiah 12

Isaiah chapter 12 sums this up very well:

1 In that day you will say:
“I will praise you, LORD.
Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away
and you have comforted me.
2 Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense;
he has become my salvation.”
3 With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.
4 In that day you will say:
“Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name;
make known among the nations what he has done,
and proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things;
let this be known to all the world.
6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,
for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”

In other words, let us put our trust in God because He was the one who pulled us out of darkness and brought us into light. He took us at our worse when we were trying to rule our own lives – when we were buried under anger, pride, addictions…when we were trying to make our own way and was stressed out and mad at the world – the one who saved us from all that, in Him will I trust and worship.

Nahum 1:7

7 The LORD is good,
a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for those who trust in him,

Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

Isaiah 8:11-17

11 This is what the LORD says to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people:
12 “Do not call conspiracy
everything this people calls a conspiracy;
do not fear what they fear,
and do not dread it.
13 The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,
he is the one you are to fear,
he is the one you are to dread.
14 He will be a holy place;
for both Israel and Judah he will be
a stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.
And for the people of Jerusalem he will be
a trap and a snare.
15 Many of them will stumble;
they will fall and be broken,
they will be snared and captured.”
16 Bind up this testimony of warning
and seal up God’s instruction among my disciples.
17 I will wait for the LORD,
who is hiding his face from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my trust in him.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.” –Jesus,  John 14:1

Communion

Today we are going to end with communion… and as we do so, I ask that you take time to ponder these verses. To think about who or what you are worship with your life. Think about what or whom you trust… This is not an easy one time question; this is a daily question as we are constantly bombarded with things trying to take our eyes off of Jesus.

But for now, at this moment, let us turn our eyes to Jesus and remember what He did for us.

Two weeks ago the Roman Catholic and Oriental Orthodox Churches released a landmark book focusing on the areas of theological agreement between themselves. The book, which can be downloaded for free, is simply entitled “Joint Statements” and addresses various issues under four main areas:

Marc Gunn, the Celtfather, performing his song  “St. Patrick Never Drank” at DragonCon 2011:

By the way, if you haven’t yet check out Marc’s Irish and Celtic Music Podcast as it is an amazing collection of independent music delivered on a monthly [...]]]> Here’s a bit of Irish satire for you this morning.

Marc Gunn, the Celtfather, performing his song  “St. Patrick Never Drank” at DragonCon 2011:

By the way, if you haven’t yet check out Marc’s Irish and Celtic Music Podcast as it is an amazing collection of independent music delivered on a monthly schedule. You’re guaranteed to love it!! 

“I’d rather burn out for Jesus than rust out.”

I know the heart behind the phrase was one of excitement and joy at being able to do great [...]]]> Recently I heard the following phrase coined during the Jesus Movement of the 1960 and ‘70’s that helped motivate a generation of Jesus followers:

“I’d rather burn out for Jesus than rust out.”

I know the heart behind the phrase was one of excitement and joy at being able to do great things for God, but I have to myself if burning out is really what Jesus want us to do….

Think about it, a match flares up big and bright when first lite before running out of fuel and oxygen. For a short time it is powerful, but I wouldn’t want to carry a match into a dark cave! Instead I would want a lamp or something that would burn slow and steady, giving me plenty of time to accomplish my task.

All too often we hear about new pastors or evangelists (or dare I say ‘believers’ in general?) who burst onto the Christian scene burning brightly only to crash and burn a few years later. Yes, they accomplished a lot of ‘stuff’ during their time – but was it worth it? Did they really make that much of a difference in discipling and teaching people to follow Jesus with everything they are?

As I reflected on these questions, I was reminded of an old International Harvester Farmall H tractor my grandfather had when I was a kid. Being a dairy farmer he used it for just about everything: hauling hay bales, cutting hay, balling hay, scraping manure, spreading manure, moving manure (hay and manure – the hallmarks of a dairy!), grinding corn, etc….  Even after he ‘upgraded’ his haying equipment to a trio of Case 930s he continued to use that old tractor.

The crazy thing was that Farmall H tractor was more of a rust bucket than a tractor. Yet for some reason it working year after year despite the weather, abuse and/or neglect.  It was just plain dependable and would do what every you wanted it to do.  Basically it accomplished the task it was built for, or, in other words, it finished well.

That’s how I want to be.

I want to keep on following Jesus day after day after day, year after year after year, decade after decade after decade. I want to be a dependable friend of Jesus – you know the kind, the ones you would call in the middle of the night when you ran out of gas on the road. Or the one you call when you just want to hang out.

I want to be a long term follower of Jesus who finishes well. Yes, it would be nice if I had a long list of title behind my name or fancy accomplishments to brag about…but in the end when we stand before Jesus the only thing that really matters is whether or not we listened and obeyed Him all of our days.

In other words, did we rust out for Jesus over years of service? Or did we just burn bright for a second and then fade away into darkness once again?

Kenneth Bailey, an American Presbyterian minister/professor who spend 60 years (1935-1995) in Egypt, Lebanon, Jerusalem and Cyprus, tries to remedy this issue with his book [...]]]> The sad thing about living in a Western influenced culture is that we rarely have the opportunity to hear and learn from our brothers and sisters in the East.

Kenneth Bailey, an American Presbyterian minister/professor who spend 60 years (1935-1995) in Egypt, Lebanon, Jerusalem and Cyprus, tries to remedy this issue with his book “Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies In The Gospels.”

“Middle Eastern Christians have been called the forgotten faithful. The world knows that across the centuries there have been Jews and Muslims in the Middle East. For the most part, however Middle Eastern Christians evaporated from Western consciousness after the Council of Chalcedon in A.D. 451. Few are aware of the existence today of more than ten million Arabic-speaking Christians who possess a rich heritage of ancient and modern literature. Speaking a Semitic language, these Christians are a people who live, breathe, think, act and participate in Middle Eastern culture; they are rooted in the traditional ways of the Middle East. Their voices, past and present, need to be heard in biblical studies.” (Preface, pg 11-12)

Accordingly Bailey draws from a collection of Syriac, Hebrew/Aramaic and Arabic commentaries, Bible translations and other writings to bring a fresh look at the message of Jesus.  It is this connection to our Eastern family that makes Bailey’s book so refreshing and welcoming.

In other words, this isn’t a novelty book full of ‘new’ theological ideas. Nay, a lot of what he says is similar to what I’ve heard before or has worked out myself with the Lord. The genius of the book is Bailey’s reliance on the Church Fathers of the East who illuminate the culture around the life of Jesus.

Take for example the parable of the unjust steward in Luke 16. For those of in the West this parable tends to be ignored as it seems that Jesus is praising someone who cheats their boss and lies about it. Yet, as Bailey points out, the ‘missing’ piece in the story is the community in which the steward and his boss lives in. Once you ‘add’ that piece back into the story, you begin to realize that there is more subtlety to the steward’s actions that glorified his master and placed him in a position of shaming the community as a whole or hiring the steward back.

“The parable is built on the psychology of an oppressed peasantry, such as is known to have existed in Galilee at the time of Jesus. The steward is a Robin Hood figure, a countercultural hero. But at the end of the story, Jesus calls him ‘a son of this age/world.’ He is smart enough to know that his only hope to put his entire trust in the unqualified mercy of his generous master. His morals are deplorable. Nonetheless, Jesus wants ‘the sons of light’ to use their intelligence, like the dishonest steward, and to trust completely in the mercy of God for their salvation.” (pg 341)

As you can see, this isn’t so much a ‘new’ concept as it is a deeper one with more meaning and depth. It’s like watching a movie in 3-D as opposed to 2-D. You get the general jest of the film in both formats, but the 3-D version just brings things to life as the images bring you into the world of the movie. Bailey’s culture studies does this with the life of Jesus, bring you into the world in which Jesus lived so that the depth and genius of his words and actions come alive.

“Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes” is definitely a good book to have on hand when studying the life of Jesus.

PS => Bailey recently published a companion book called “Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes: Cultural Studies in 1 Corinthians.” While I personally have not read this one yet, I’ve heard that it is just as good as “Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes.” So if you are studying Paul or 1 Corinthians this may be a book worth picking up.

“We have learned from the prophets, and we hold it to be true, that punishments, chastisements, and rewards are rendered according to the merit of each man’s actions. Otherwise, if all things happen by fate, then nothing is in our own power.

“For if it be predestined that one man [...]]]>

Saint Justin Martyr

“We have learned from the prophets, and we hold it to be true, that punishments, chastisements, and rewards are rendered according to the merit of each man’s actions. Otherwise, if all things happen by fate, then nothing is in our own power.

“For if it be predestined that one man be good and another man evil, then the first is not deserving of praise or the other to be blamed. Unless humans have the power of avoiding evil and choosing good by free choice, they are not accountable for their actions-whatever they may be….

“For neither would a man be worthy of reward or praise if he did not of himself choose the good, but was merely created for that end. Likewise, if a man were evil, he would not deserve punishment, since he was not evil of himself, being unable to do anything else than what he was made for.”

-Justin Martyr (110-165 AD) First Apology chap. 43

While history may not be in the Bible, this is a very, very important topic as God did not stop working after [...]]]> This last Sunday service was a a tad different as we looked at the church history between Acts chapter 28 and today (Act 5 Scene 2 in the Grand Story of God).

While history may not be in the Bible, this is a very, very important topic as God did not stop working after St. Luke penned the final words of Acts. He is very much active today and He has always been active within history.

There is a reason that the majority of the Scripture is written as history – Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Jonah, Matthew, Luke, Mark, John, and Acts. They are all history books detailing the work of God among humanity… and if God deemed it important enough to include the history of the Jewish people in His Sacred Text, than I feel it is important to know the history of the Church, birthed with Jesus and infused with the Holy Spirit.

The prophet Jeremiah speaks to this in the sixth chapter:

16 This is what the LORD says:
“Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
-Jeremiah 6:16

The “ancient paths” => we are not alone on this journey. There have been many followers of Jesus who has walked this path before us. Hebrews 12:1 says that we are “surrounded” by a “great cloud of witnesses” who are cheering us on – encouraging us to finish the race set before us by “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”

The Teacher, Solomon the wise, also taught us that history always comes around again:

9 What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one can say,
“Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.
11 No one remembers the former generations,
and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow them.
-Ecclesiastes 1:9-11

“No one remembers the former generations” => it is as George Santayana, the Spanish philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist, said:

“The one who does not remember history is bound to live through it again.”

Jeremiah the prophet agrees – or should I say that George agreed with Jeremiah?

Let us return to Jeremiah chapter six?

16 This is what the LORD says:
“Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17 I appointed watchmen over you and said,
‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’
But you said, ‘We will not listen.’
18 Therefore hear, you nations;
you who are witnesses,
observe what will happen to them.
19 Hear, you earth:
I am bringing disaster on this people,
the fruit of their schemes,
because they have not listened to my words
and have rejected my law.
- Jeremiah 6:16-19

The people of Israel did not listen to the words of God nor did they “ask for the ancient paths” of their forefathers “where the good way is.” Instead they decided to do things their own way, as has history ironically tells us; they made the wrong choices and failed to follow the Lord.

So today as we look at the history of the church, think about lessons we can learn – the testimonies and stories of Jesus working among His people.

Here’s a prime example, a lot of folks in the church today are scared about the decline of Christian values in the United States. They see different religions and places of faith popping up all over the place; they see the removal of the Ten Commandments from the public eye; they see a sexual culture idolizing the human body; and a greed for money and material items that is out of control… they see all this and they get scared.

But let me tell you something – the Church has been through this before!! This is not new!! Many a Christian parent had to raise his or her children in a world full of idols, sex, and greed. In fact, the fact that we are ‘losing’ Christian values is a HUGE bonus as they did not even have that!!! They were surrounded by evil on all sides – and guess what? Jesus won!! He protected and guided His Church through the evil and made it stronger than ever.

By knowing history we can defeat fear as we have the testimonies of the faithful to strengthen and encourage us. Think of history as larger version of Hebrews 11 which outlines the challenges the “ancients” overcame by faith the Lord Almighty.

Amen?!

Church History

History… well as you can guess 2,012 years is a lot of history to cover, too much in fact for this morning so we are going to move fairly fast and broad. However I pray that each of you will be prompted to dig into history a little more than you have in the past – or, bearing that, at least I hope you will look at things a tad different. For example, watch the History Channel prayerfully – looking for the hand of God in shaping the nations. =D

History: First 300 years

While it seems so long ago, it is amazing how much of the modern church life was set in motion by Christians of the first 500 years. Below are some highlights.

•    Theology

o     As the Faith went out into the Gentile world, it became confused and twisted
o    This is why Paul wrote so much of his letters as well as John, Peter and James. They were trying to guide and protect the church from false teachers within the body
o    A lot of the false doctrines of today can be traced back to these first 500 years. In fact if you want to know how to stand up for your faith, go read some of these old saints – they knew what they were talking about!
o    Gnosticism – is one such heresy that as continued till today.

•    While there are many variations of it, at its core it is a doctrine that states that the physical world around us in evil and bad and only the spiritual part of humanity is good and worth saving
•    This is FALSE as both the New and Old Testament declares that God is ruler and creator of both the physical and the spiritual
•    Both are good and both have been corrupted by evil and both will be made new again on that glorious day when Jesus returns

•     Persecution -  The 2nd-century Church Father Tertullian wrote that “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church.”

o    Not all at one, nor was it as wide spread as we sometimes think… it was mostly local in nature
o    Following Jesus was illegal as Jesus required full obedience  – King Jesus vs. King Caesar
o    St. Polycarp (69-155 AD)

•    Disciple of St. John
•    2nd century Christian bishop of Smyrna – most likely was the bishop when John wrote Revelation

o    Smyrna was one of two churches to which Jesus did not give a word of correction.
o    Interesting that the Lord told them:

10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown. – Revelation 2:10

•    Survived at least 4 major Roman persecutions
•    Death

o    Choose not to escape; told his murders the following when they tried to get him to turn away from Jesu

“For 86 years I have served Him, and He has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King and Savior?”

o    Burned alive with only his hands bound behind him as he told his murders that God would help him stay still.

o    The Fish

•    Persecution of the Christians lead to the creation of various symbols to help them know who was a believer and who wasn’t
•    How many have seen this sign?
•    The word in the middle, Ichthys, means “fish” in Greek.
•    However, the letters are an acronym for “Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, Θεοῦ Υἱός, Σωτήρ”, (Iēsous Christos, Theou Yios, Sōtēr), which translates into English as “Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Savior”.

History: Christendom

•    Constantine  the Great – one of four Roman emperors, there were two senior emperor and two junior emperors split between the East and West –became the only emperor left after a series of battles in 312 AD

o    Constantine changed the official policy to allow Christians to own property and build churches.
o    Continued to worship other gods throughout his life even though he claimed to follow Jesus…
o    Called for a church wide council in 325 that set the stage for future councils and decisions in Christianity
o    He changed the face of Christianity as it now became political favorable to be a Christian – he also tied the faith with the crown, a decision that would haunt the church to this day…

•     Official religion

o    On February 27, 380, with the Edict of Thessalonica put forth under Theodosius I, the Roman Empire officially adopted Trinitarian Christianity as its state religion. Prior to this date, Constantius II (337-361) and Valens (364-378) had personally favored Arian or Semi-Arian forms of Christianity, but Valens’ successor Theodosius I supported the Trinitarian doctrine as expounded in the Nicene Creed.

History in General

•    I don’t have time to tell you about

o    Saint Augustine – a black African whose was the most influential theologian in the Church outside of St. Paul
o    Gregory the Great – Roman pope, Pastoral Letters, Gregorian chants.
o    Venerable Bede – Father of modern history
o    St. Patrick and the Celtic church
o    The African church of Nubia or Axum
o    The missionary brothers Cyril and Methodius whose legacy lives on in the Moravian Church who prayed 24 hours 7 days a week for over 130 years.

Conclusion

Let us follow the words of Jeremiah the prophet and look behind us as well as forward to the Blessed Hope of King Jesus.

16 This is what the LORD says:
“Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
-Jeremiah 6:16