After moving to Utah and starting a new job I quickly began to have terrible times of private and public worship. In private worship my mind would dart all over the place, mostly back to work. In public worship my heart would easily harden and forfeit the grace available in assembled worship.
Through a bookstore sale I picked up a copy of A Remedy for Wandering Thoughts in the Worship of God. This old puritan work lives up to its title. It's not lengthy by puritan standards but brims with remarkable analogies and pointed statements that deeply convict and then comfort.
If you struggle to keep focused during worship, seek out the remedy here.
Christ the Center interviewed Rev. Glen J. Clary on John Calvin as a servant of the Word of God. The high view of preaching taught by the Reformers would be medicine to the souls of God's people who humbly and obediently sit under it.
Listen to the Christ the Center podcast to learn about preaching as worship, the real presence of Christ in preaching, and union and communion with Christ through preaching. A high view of preaching will make Sunday your favorite day of the week.
The popular internetmonk blog received a loud response when he lamented the approach to corporate worship found within much of evangelicalism--"an approach that demands ridiculous levels of musical, technical and financial commitment and resources".
His points are worth serious reflection; here are a few.
"We have a lot of happy people right now. They have no idea what Biblical worship is outside of the context of their favorite songs played by a kickin’ band."
"We have tied ourselves to the Christian music industry and its endless appetite for change and profit.
"We have accepted that all of our worship leaders are going to be very, very young people."
"Worship is now a major audience event, led by skilled entertainers, aimed at a demographic and judged by the audience reaction."
"Let’s worship means the band will play. We need to give more time to worship doesn’t mean silent prayer or public scripture reading or any kind of participatory liturgy. It means music."
"Even singing is getting lost in this. As the volume and the performance level goes up, who knows who is singing?"
The elders at our church would be the first to tell you that our corporate worship has room for improvement. But what we are after is better congregational singing (i.e. more joyful and reverent). We're very thankful that our congregation isn't interested in the approach found in most evangelical churches today.
This new hymn puts the emphasis upon the importance of hearing God’s Word preached. It makes for good corporate worship preparation. In days when so much criticism is levelled by some at modern hymnody - at times entirely justified, at others sadly prejudicial and unfair - here's an example of a good modern hymn.
These are the words:
Speak, O Lord, as we come to You To receive the food of Your Holy Word. Take Your truth, plant it deep in us; Shape and fashion us in Your likeness, That the light of Christ might be seen today In our acts of love and our deeds of faith. Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us All Your purposes for Your glory.
Teach us, Lord, full obedience, Holy reverence, true humility; Test our thoughts and our attitudes In the radiance of Your purity. Cause our faith to rise; cause our eyes to see Your majestic love and authority. Words of pow’r that can never fail— Let their truth prevail over unbelief.
Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds; Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us— Truths unchanged from the dawn of time That will echo down through eternity. And by grace we’ll stand on Your promises, And by faith we’ll walk as You walk with us. Speak, O Lord, till Your church is built And the earth is filled with Your glory.
Three farmers each desired a good harvest. One farmer knew that only God can cause a seed to sprout and so did no work himself. At the end of the season he had only a field of weeds. The second was a lazy farmer; rather than labor for his harvest, he drove to the nearest supermarket and bought canned vegetables. The third farmer labored in season and out and with difficulty brought forth a bountiful harvest.
One worshipper knows that only God can cause a heart to fill with delight and so does no work in preparing for worship. At the end of the service he has little more than he started with. The second worshipper is lazy, he sees no reason to prepare for worship and instead uses his money to find delight elsewhere. The third worshipper knows the great worth of worship and prepared himself thoroughly for it, bringing forth a heart brimming with delight.
After moving to Utah and starting a new job I quickly began to have terrible times of private and public worship. In private worship my mind would dart all over the place, mostly back to work. In public worship my heart would easily harden and forfeit the grace available in assembled worship.
