Corporate Worship pt. 2

This is post 2, in a 4 part series, on the seriousness we have in worship and specifically if we are serious about corporate worship, what can we do to take it serious. Like I said yesterday, we are going off the premise that like me, the corporate worship service is one of the most important things in your life as a Christian. Today I want to continue the idea of preparing for Sunday, but not in the way we did yesterday. Yesterday we considered how we set the rest of the week up for Sunday. Today I want to consider how we get prepared each Sunday for what is about to happen in the day ahead of us.

If we are truly serious about the Sunday gathered worship, we must be prepared for the day ahead and get ourselves ready spiritually, emotionally, and even physically for the day. Going to bed early and getting enough sleep is the first thing we must do to prepare for the glorious activities that Sunday will hold. I know that there are those who work or have requirements that effect sleep Saturday. But the rest of us have no excuse and should all be getting our bodies rest and giving it the energy it needs to enjoy and have strength for the worship that is to follow.

Another way to prepare for Sunday on Sunday is preparing our hearts before we even enter the church doors. We need to take the time and effort to do so becasue our soul will be the beneficiary. We need to rise early and spend time reading the Word, praying, and worshiping God privately on a Sunday morning before we get together with the rest of the body. We need to cultivate a spirit of joy on Sunday mornings in our homes. If this is the highlight of our week, then we need to act like it in private as well as public. And this also means our times with our families before we even get to church. Do we talk about the wonderful opportunity ahead with our spouses and children? Do we wake up with excitement and give that same excitement to others in our family? Listening to good worshipful music at home as we eat breakfast or in the car on the way to church is key in getting our soul ready to respond in worship ourselves.

Another way to prepare ahead of time for Sunday worship on Sunday, is making sure we have enough time in getting to church. We can arrive at church early and deal with what needs to be dealt with before any worship or study starts. We can get to church early and read the bulletin thinking through the songs and those me might be able to encourage and pray for. We can get to church early enough so that we might be able to pray in church for those who might also come to church and for those who are on their way to church. Setting our Sunday up for success by being on time and even early is key to being prepared and ready to worship God with our faith family.

Being prepared for Sunday and getting our souls ready for worship on Sunday is key. You know the days that Sunday seems to be more of a struggle because of bad attitudes, tardiness, and sin. Getting prepared before the day begins and then getting prepared as the day unfolds is key to making the corporate worship serious for our life and keeping it as the center of our week and relationship with God. How do you prepare yourself each Sunday for what is about to happen with God that day?

Corporate worship pt. 1

This week I want to write a series of 4 posts about the seriousness of the Sunday Worship gatherings. I am going off the premise that everyone reading this is like me and understand the importance and place that Sunday and specifically the worship service has, in the life of everyone who calls Jesus, Lord of their lives. If Jesus is our King, His Word, His people, and His day are the most important things to us and our life in every other aspect revolves around the Word, His people, and Sunday. So if we understand the seriousness of Sunday and worship, the next question is, what do we do about the seriousness of Sunday Worship? That is the point and question behind this weeks posts.

So if Sunday is the most important day of the week and the worship service is one of, if the most, important event in our week, what can we do about this reality?

The first thing we can do is start early. If Sunday is the most important day in our week the place to begin is setting up the rest of our week to revolve around Sunday. The seriousness with which we come to corporate worship must begin far before we enter the doors of our church on Sunday mornings. We need to seize the rest of the week in anticipation of what Sunday has in story and what Sunday can bring us. We need to make Sunday so important we get ready throughout the week for it by worshiping with our family and spouses in anticipation for Sunday. We need to plan our Saturday events so that Sunday will not be a problem. We need to make clear with others that Sunday is our number 1 thing and that we would be glad to spend time with them as long as Sunday is not effected. Yes, this world does not regard Sunday's anymore with the reverence and the place it deserves. But starting early on our Sunday prep means that we place God and His corporate worship time above even what the world has set down. And when we leave the worship service and gathering on Sunday, we need to already be preparing for the very next week. Are we in the Word search out the passage for next Sunday's service? Are we talking with others about what is to come next Sunday? Does the rest of our family know by our lives that Sunday is more important than all else? And do we invite others to come with us to worship God and meet Him for the very first time?

The Lord of glory is speaking to us and the grace of Christ is being extended to us. And both of these happen every Sunday if we are serious and prepared for it. Do you start early each week getting ready for the coming Sunday?

Theology Matters pt. 2

This is post 2 is a series of post for the week, unpacking the truth that theology matters. These post came about in response to a friend's reply from last week about theology. Yesterday we discovered the truth about what theology really is and is not. As I said, theology is a study of a particular topic or person and their nature from the Bible. Theology is not facts about the Bible or Bible verse quoting. As my friend also replied, understanding this truth and really knowing what theology is matters. He pointed to a bad reality in the life of the universal church today stating, "There are so many in churches today that study theology and use God's word to make money. Some that have multimillion dollar houses that are great with theology, but fall far short of doing God's WILL.". He is right in stating that today many Pastor and people in the church misuse and for their own gain, destroy the Christian faith. But as I said yesterday a Pastor preaching the Bible is not theology. Yes a Pastor preaching can be theological, but many times and from many of the "popular, rockstar" Pastors, they are preaching facts and application that makes us feel good. A Pastor truly preaching theology from the pulpit is never really popular because, preaching theology calls for hard work from the listener and not an easy beleivism and easy listening. And to make matters worse, these Pastors and people that abuse the faith are not the norm, but they are the ones who stand out in the public eye. 

But lets get back to the main point of why theology matters. Why would a study of the nature of our God be critical, essential, and founadtional for a real Christian life. I want to unpack this question over the next 3 posts by talking about 3 different areas that answer this question. Today I want to think about the topic of love and why theology matters. Lets begin by asking a question. Do I love God? I would hope and pray my answer is yes. So then let me ask another question. Do I love my wife? I would hope and pray that the answer is yes also. But to truly love my wife and serve her in that love, just as Jesus loved His church (this is a theological statement), I must know my wife. And what must I know about my wife to love her the best I can. Here are some questions that I would have to answer so I could love my wife the best I possibly can. 

What is her shoe size? (So I can buy her new slippers for Christmas)
What is her favorite flower? (So i can bring her flowers on her birthday)
What is her favorite flavor ice cream? (So I can bring her a bowl while we watch a movie together)
What was her favorite subject in School? (So I can start a good conversation with her)
What is her favorite place to be on this planet? (So I can take her away for a few days to relax)\
What is her favorite Bible character, verse, or book? (So I can dig in with her spiritually)
What is her biggest sin struggle? (So I can help hold her accountable)
And the list can go on...

So if I want to love my wife the best I possible can, I had better know these things and much more about her. I must study her, talk with her, get to know her character, nature, and desires. And I must be in a realtionships with my wife to the point she speaks to me about herself and I listen. 

The same is exactly true about God. If we claim to love God, we must know God. Here are some questions I must ask God so I can know Him and love HIm better.

What is your main reason for doing things?
Why did you Create me?
Did you create me?
Are you in complete control?
Why did you save me?
Are you the only Savior in the world?
What does it mean to obey you?
What is your will for my life?
And the list goes on....

So if we want to truly love God the best possible way we can, we must know God. And how do we come to know God? We must study him, talk with him, hear from him, and truly have a deep intimate personally relationship with Him, where He speaks to us and we listen. And what does it mean to truly know and study God and learn His nature? It means theology or the study of God. And to say again, studying God is not being able to list a bunch of facts or quote the book of Genesis. Studying God is reading His word (which is letting Him speak to us), and doing the hard work of really getting to know God through the Bible. This is theology. This is the hard work of theological study. And if we do not put the hard work of studying God in (which again is theology), we will stay in the baby pool of the faith and NOT DO THE WILL OF THE FATHER, which is truly meaning we do not really know Him. God desires that all His children grow deeper in their love for Him. And to love God better and grow in it, it always comes from knowing Him better first. How can we know how to love God the way, the when, the how, and the why of what He wants, if we do not first know Him? 

Theology matters becasue we need to know the why, how, when, and where of loving God to the fullest. And theology puts us in the right place to do all of that. 

Theology Matters pt.1

A friend of mine last week on one of the post responded to my thoughts about theology and why it matters for the life of every Christian. He began his comment by stating, " I agree that knowing the word of God and right doctrine is what God wants and is key to giving him the glory he wants and deserves. The bible is full of warnings about false doctrine." When I read this I cheered and was happy we agreed. His comments created more thoughts in my head though and created a deeper desire to write even more about theology. So, Lord willing, this week I would like to write 4 posts more on theology and discuss why theology matters for the life of every single person who would desire to be called a child of God. 

The place to begin any thoughts on theology is to first, define what theology is. There are many misconceptions out there about what theology truly is at the core. And my friend in his response showed some of the misconceptions of theology. He stated, "However, it does not matter how much you know or weather you can quote book, chapter, and verse, if you do not live the word daily". First, let me say I agree with him in that those Biblical "facts" or Biblical memorization does not truly matter and being able to quote the entire book of Romans or being able to list every single king of Judah by dates, will not change your eternal state. I agree with him. But the problem is, his definition or thought about what theology is, is not correct. Webster's defines theology as, "the study of the nature of God". For me theology is defined as a study of God's revelation to us. And just the simple word theology only focuses our study on God and His nature. Theology is much broader than that. The theology or study of the Bible is called Bibliolology, this is where a person studies the Bible and the nature and character of the Bible. The study of or theology of salvation is called soteriology, and this is where a person would study the Cross and the plan God created to save people. The study of and theology of the church is called ecclesiology, and this is where a person would study the point of and order to the life of Jesus church. Theology then is a study of something in the Christian faith. A study of the Holy Spirit, or the future, or Jesus, is all theology. Being able to list facts or quote the Bible is not theology. Theology is reading the Bible for the understanding of and growing in, knowledge of a particular and critical aspect of the faith. A person can study by simply reading through the Bible and taking notes and unpacking it that way. A person could also study by just reading a particular topic at a time, like the Holy Spirit, as they read through the Bible. Or a person can even systematically work through all the passages on a particular topic, like salvation. 

So before we can truly understand why theology matters, we first must understand theology and what it actually is and is not. My friend was right when he added, "Just look at some of the priest in Jesus's day. They know the law but used it in a bad way, to only gain something for themselves. They did not live the way God wanted them to live, even though they were great with theology". But the reality is that these men were not studying theology. They were studying facts, making lists, and creating rules. Theology is swimming in the ocean of who God is, and letting that soak into the soul. I personally have been impacted in my study of theology when I read books on the nature of God that pull out the truths of the Bible. God's nature when I work through the theology of it then impacts my soul in such a way I begin to get a glimpse of the majesty, beauty, and expanse of God. Then I realize how small I truly am.

Oh and one more thought on what theology and the study of it is. One can study theology simply from the Bible alone. Just reading through the Psalms and jotting down notes about what is learned of God's character from that book is a theological study. If a person were to do this hard work, the theology of God would change their lives for ever. Yes, books can help and books can add to the study, but basic and simple theology and study is found only in the Bible, which is God's revealed Word to His children about who He is. 

So before anymore post this week, we need to realize that theology is the study of God's revealed nature to us, and not the list of facts or quotes or Bible trivia we can spout. Because those are not theology.

10 Best Gift

I was laying in bed last night, not being able to sleep. So rather than count sheep, I began to count in my mind the greatest gifts I have ever received. After I hit number 10, I realized this was a great way to fall asleep, becasue I was falling asleep worshiping God. Here is the 10 greatest gifts I have ever received.

1. God choosing me for regeneration
2. God saving me when I was then able to repent
3. God then securing and sealing me with His Spirit after I believed
4. God's perfect Word, so that I would know how to glorify Him
5. My wife as my compliment and partner for this life
6. 4 beautiful, healthy, Jesus loving children
7. A christian family that imparted Biblical truth
8. A church home that supports, encourages, and holds me accountable from a distance
9. A ministry in a new church where people are growing more in love with God
10. Friends and fellow ministers of the Gospel who give me strength and courage

Do I see any common themes? Do I see something missing? What ties them all together?

Death

Psalm 116:15
"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints".

Questions for Idolatry

If we are truly honest with ourselves, even as lovers of Jesus, we still struggle with idols of the heart and find ourselves many times worshiping something or someone other than Jesus. Every single sin we commit, is a simple act of unbelief in God. Which means that every time we sin, we sin becasue of an idol that has replaced Jesus in our heart. So we need all the help we can get to identify the idols in our hearts. Here is a list of questions I try to ask myself daily, so that I can identify idols that I am currently wrestling with and need to surrender to God.

1. What am I preoccupied with? 

2. What is the first thing on my mind in the morning or the last thing in my mind at night?

3. How would I answer this question, "if only _____, then I would be happy, fulfilled, and secure"? 

4. What do I want to preserve at all cost?

5. What do I want to avoid at all cost?

6. Where do I put my trust?

7. What do I fear?

8. When a certain desire is not met, do I feel frustration, anxiety resentment, bitterness, anger, or depression?

9. Is there something I desire so much that I am willing to disappoint or hurt others in order to have it? 

Walking these questions through your mind daily will help in identifying the idols of the heart. So what idols do you worship beside God?