Creative personalities want to worship God creatively. This involves dancing, singing, doing dramas, and skits. Playing in a heavy metal Christian band.
Critical personalities want to worship God in an organized, orthodox, liturgical way. They are mostly unemotional and sometimes overly critical of those who are.
Direct personalities want to worship God with intense passion, and zeal. They want to do whatever it takes to insure that "His kingdom comes." They are militaristic in their ministries.
Steady/stable personalities want to ensure that everyone is loved and accepted in the church. The way they see worship as praying one on one with as many people as possible and giving as many hugs as possible.
Influencers want all people to be included in the service, and they want them to have a positive experience. They are worried about being accepted by their congregation, and will conform to whatever the general atmosphere is in a particular church.
The problem is, each one of these personalities can see church worship through their own preferences. The solution is to keep in mind that we are not all the same, and we each find God in our own way.
Many churches I have been to are churches with a lot of the same personalities. "Birds of a feather flock together." Think about it, if a church has a rockin band, raise their hands, dance, and jump around they are labeled Pentecostal. If a church is slightly below that and has more of a passion to teach the correct doctrine they are labeled baptist.
The emotional are grouped with the emotional, the outcasts with the outcasts, the intellectual with the intellectual. It is like we are all organized. I think it is up to each believer to learn from all groups.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Worship is...
I am finishing up my internship this week. I have learned many valuable lessons during this time, and been encouraged more than I have been in my entire life. I come out of this semester hopeful about my future. As I look behind I have few regrets, as I look ahead I see endless possibilities. God is good. He is working behind the scenes in my life working together those things for the good (Rom 8:28), having thoughts higher than my thoughts and ways higher than my ways.
God is showing me that it okay just to be who he created me to be. I don't have to impress him or anyone else. His love is not conditional, but sealed with nails.
With that said, my blog is obviously going in a different direction than before. I am no longer doing Oswald Chambers journaling, but am now back to sharing-life-with-the-masses. This blog is about sharing my observations and stories from my life, my opinions, and my thoughts about my journey.
With that said, the other night I attended a chapel service. I helped set up communion and served the elements to the receiving students. There was a part in the service where people were invited to, "Come up and give God the precious in there lives." As I looked objectively at this activity I noticed the diversity of people and how they responded to this "alter call." Some came very willingly and expressed gobs of emotion, people cried, lifted their hands, danced, and bowed.
Others stood with their hands in their pockets. They seemed like they were obligated to be there, but really did not want to be. Still others sat in their chairs showing no response at all. Such diversity in one room.
Of course worship is not entirely about raising hands, singing songs, or giving lip service to God. Worship is not entirely prayer, fasting, speaking in tongues or feeding the homeless. Worship is not entirely reading your Bible, encouraging your friends, or loving people. Worship is not entirely about responding to altar calls, doing what the pastor tells you to do, or not cursing. Worship is not entirely about abstaining from sex before marriage, masturbation, or overeating.
Worship is Romans 12:1, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
This includes all of the above and then some. To be a living sacrifice you have to be willing to die. To die to your personal opinions and preferences. You have to be willing to do whatever it takes to be holy and pleasing to God. You don't have to do any of the above to make God love you any more than the next person, but if you REALLY want to KNOW GOD doing the above is not a bad idea.
What I am trying to say is, if you have never done something (such as raise your hands), why not try it? I am sure it is not going to hurt God's feelings if you do or don't, but you never know what kind of affect it my have on you. God does not have to respond to your gestures of "worship" but what if he does? It would change your mind about him forever.
God's presence is not invoked by some magical power, but doing some of the above exercises helps prepare the hearts and minds of the believer to receive from God by having open minds and open hearts.
God is showing me that it okay just to be who he created me to be. I don't have to impress him or anyone else. His love is not conditional, but sealed with nails.
With that said, my blog is obviously going in a different direction than before. I am no longer doing Oswald Chambers journaling, but am now back to sharing-life-with-the-masses. This blog is about sharing my observations and stories from my life, my opinions, and my thoughts about my journey.
With that said, the other night I attended a chapel service. I helped set up communion and served the elements to the receiving students. There was a part in the service where people were invited to, "Come up and give God the precious in there lives." As I looked objectively at this activity I noticed the diversity of people and how they responded to this "alter call." Some came very willingly and expressed gobs of emotion, people cried, lifted their hands, danced, and bowed.
Others stood with their hands in their pockets. They seemed like they were obligated to be there, but really did not want to be. Still others sat in their chairs showing no response at all. Such diversity in one room.
Of course worship is not entirely about raising hands, singing songs, or giving lip service to God. Worship is not entirely prayer, fasting, speaking in tongues or feeding the homeless. Worship is not entirely reading your Bible, encouraging your friends, or loving people. Worship is not entirely about responding to altar calls, doing what the pastor tells you to do, or not cursing. Worship is not entirely about abstaining from sex before marriage, masturbation, or overeating.
Worship is Romans 12:1, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
This includes all of the above and then some. To be a living sacrifice you have to be willing to die. To die to your personal opinions and preferences. You have to be willing to do whatever it takes to be holy and pleasing to God. You don't have to do any of the above to make God love you any more than the next person, but if you REALLY want to KNOW GOD doing the above is not a bad idea.
What I am trying to say is, if you have never done something (such as raise your hands), why not try it? I am sure it is not going to hurt God's feelings if you do or don't, but you never know what kind of affect it my have on you. God does not have to respond to your gestures of "worship" but what if he does? It would change your mind about him forever.
God's presence is not invoked by some magical power, but doing some of the above exercises helps prepare the hearts and minds of the believer to receive from God by having open minds and open hearts.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Weakness
If you have whine in you, kick it out ruthlessly. It is a positive crime to be weak in God's strength.
As Christians it is our weaknesses that perfect the power of God, for even if God had a weakness it would be stronger than the strength of man (2 Corinthians 12:9;1 Corinthians 1:25).
As Christians we need to come to a point where we realize that we are nothing without the power of God working in our lives. This power is not through the wonderful accomplishments that we have done for God, rather the realization that we can do nothing without his help. This divine dependence is something that we as the church need to remember if we are to see the church awaken once again in this postmodern generation.
As Christians it is our weaknesses that perfect the power of God, for even if God had a weakness it would be stronger than the strength of man (2 Corinthians 12:9;1 Corinthians 1:25).
As Christians we need to come to a point where we realize that we are nothing without the power of God working in our lives. This power is not through the wonderful accomplishments that we have done for God, rather the realization that we can do nothing without his help. This divine dependence is something that we as the church need to remember if we are to see the church awaken once again in this postmodern generation.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Eternal Life
Christians have hope that no other religion offers, the hope of eternal life in the presence of God himself. The hope of Christians is that we someday obtain this promise through Christ who was the first to be raised from the dead. We will share in this.
Resurrection is an interesting topic. Is is one that I don't hear preached a lot, but it was the goal of Paul to know the complete revelation of Jesus Christ and share in his resurrection from the dead (Phil 3:10-11).
This should be a lesson to Christians, that one hope that we have for certain in Christ is that we are going to live forever. This excites me and give me hope beyond this life. It is true that the sweet by and by, should not distract us from the nasty here and now, but to remember the gift of eternal life is to remember the very core of our belief, that God so loved the world that he sent his one and only son that whosoever believes in him will not die but have eternal life.
Resurrection is an interesting topic. Is is one that I don't hear preached a lot, but it was the goal of Paul to know the complete revelation of Jesus Christ and share in his resurrection from the dead (Phil 3:10-11).
This should be a lesson to Christians, that one hope that we have for certain in Christ is that we are going to live forever. This excites me and give me hope beyond this life. It is true that the sweet by and by, should not distract us from the nasty here and now, but to remember the gift of eternal life is to remember the very core of our belief, that God so loved the world that he sent his one and only son that whosoever believes in him will not die but have eternal life.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
The Cross
The center of salvation is the cross of Jesus, and the reason it is so easy to obtain salvation is because it cost God so much.
-Oswald Chambers
Salvation is free to anyone and everyone if they put their trust in Jesus Christ as their replacement for the punishment of their sin. For us it is free, for God it cost him everything.
Jesus in Gethsemane had much anxiety about his encounter with death on the cross. The anxiety was not specifically because he feared death or the pain that he would experience, rather it was because of the fact that he knew for a moment he would be abandoned by his heavenly Father. Jesus cried, "My God My God, why have you forsaken me?" In this moment Jesus was stripped of his divinity and he that had no sin was made to be sin for you and me.
Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain he washed it white as snow.
-Oswald Chambers
Salvation is free to anyone and everyone if they put their trust in Jesus Christ as their replacement for the punishment of their sin. For us it is free, for God it cost him everything.
Jesus in Gethsemane had much anxiety about his encounter with death on the cross. The anxiety was not specifically because he feared death or the pain that he would experience, rather it was because of the fact that he knew for a moment he would be abandoned by his heavenly Father. Jesus cried, "My God My God, why have you forsaken me?" In this moment Jesus was stripped of his divinity and he that had no sin was made to be sin for you and me.
Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain he washed it white as snow.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Be a Product of Pressing
We can never fathom the agony of Gethsemane, but at least we need not misunderstand it.
-Oswald Chambers
The Hebrew word for Gethsemane literally means, oil press. The garden was an olive grove, people would use the olives to make oil for cooking and light. Another thing comes to mind when thinking of oil, anointing.
When David was chosen to be the king of Israel he was anointed with oil as an outward expression of his inward potential. However, it was not until after he killed Goliath, and avoided being killed and not killing Saul that he was made the king of Israel. David's anointing was released through obedience to God and his response to difficult situations.
I think it is interesting that the setting of Jesus' most intense questioning of God's will was in an oil press. In his intense obedience to the will of God even to death on the cross he truly showed the world that he was the Christ, the anointed one.
In our struggles in life and questioning of God's will, I would suggest to you that we are in an oil press. Our struggles "press" us, and this pressing allows a release of anointing. It is through our obedience to God's will and our response to difficulty that release the anointing in our lives.
-Oswald Chambers
The Hebrew word for Gethsemane literally means, oil press. The garden was an olive grove, people would use the olives to make oil for cooking and light. Another thing comes to mind when thinking of oil, anointing.
When David was chosen to be the king of Israel he was anointed with oil as an outward expression of his inward potential. However, it was not until after he killed Goliath, and avoided being killed and not killing Saul that he was made the king of Israel. David's anointing was released through obedience to God and his response to difficult situations.
I think it is interesting that the setting of Jesus' most intense questioning of God's will was in an oil press. In his intense obedience to the will of God even to death on the cross he truly showed the world that he was the Christ, the anointed one.
In our struggles in life and questioning of God's will, I would suggest to you that we are in an oil press. Our struggles "press" us, and this pressing allows a release of anointing. It is through our obedience to God's will and our response to difficulty that release the anointing in our lives.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
April Fools!
One of the biggest issues in the church is the issue of hypocrisy. The Greek word for hypocrite is a theater term that means people pretending to be one thing when they are actually another (acting; wearing masks). In essence, for the church this would mean, people who are sinners who pretend that they have none. The ideal pursuit of the Christian life is to be completely free from sin and its affects, but the truth is that we will have sins (mistakes;impurities;bad attitudes;foul mouths) until we all reach perfection in the fulfillment of our lives on earth. No matter how hard we try, our flesh cannot be saved it is under a curse of death and will pass away until it is remade into a perfect one during the Resurrection.
The church is in desperate need of REAL PEOPLE. People who admit their struggles and do not act like they have it all together. The person with the microphone has just as many issues as the one on the back row, the only thing that separates the two is that one has been forgiven by accepting the sacrifice of Christ and one hasn't.
To make a difference as a Christian BE REAL, BE WHO YOU ARE, TAKE THE CHURCH MASK OFF.
The church is in desperate need of REAL PEOPLE. People who admit their struggles and do not act like they have it all together. The person with the microphone has just as many issues as the one on the back row, the only thing that separates the two is that one has been forgiven by accepting the sacrifice of Christ and one hasn't.
To make a difference as a Christian BE REAL, BE WHO YOU ARE, TAKE THE CHURCH MASK OFF.
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