I'm a pretty big fan of the phenomenon known as Fernando Ortega. If there were a song written by a human that was perfect, this might be it. The music is beautiful, but it isn't quite as beautiful as the text. Together though, the text and music are awesome.
Come and see
Look on this mystery
The Lord of the universe
Nailed to a tree
Christ our God
Spilling His holy blood
Bowing in anguish
His sacred head
Sing to Jesus
Lord of our shame
Lord of our sinful hearts
He is our great Redeemer
Sing to Jesus
Honor His name
Sing of His faithfulness
Pouring His life out unto death
Come you weary
And He will give you rest
Come you who mourn
Lay on His breast
Christ who died
Risen in paradise
Giver of mercy
Giver of life
Sing to Jesus
His is the throne
Now and forever
He is the King of heaven
Sing to Jesus we are His own
Now and forever
Sing for the love our God has shown
Showing posts with label praise and worship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label praise and worship. Show all posts
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Monday, October 8, 2007
The Wedding
A Father's Love: Saturday evening, my wife and I attended a wedding. Ordinarily these events are less than exhilarating for me. I was fatigued, my spirit gaunt. But, friends are friends, and these particular friends were more than worthy of our presence. As the service (I say service because the word ceremony would be inappropriate) began the musicians played the well known hymn "How Deep The Father's Love For Us." The entire wedding party entered during the song with the bride entering last. It was lovely and if one was present and thinking his thoughts would have been spurred to ponder the deep love of the Father for His Son's Bride. Even if one was not thinking about this while the bride walked in, the minister spoke to it blatantly and beautifully. The words from the hymn were crafted into the message as he charged the bride and groom to love one another unconditionally.
How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory.
Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders.
Ashamed I hear my Mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers.
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished,
His dying breath has Brought me life
I know that it is finished.
I will not boast in anything;
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ;
His death and resurrection.
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer,
But this I know with all my heart,
His wounds have paid my ransom.
There is a Fountain: After the exchange of vows and rings, bride and groom
embark to complete their first action as a married couple. It is an act of worship. A centering. The musicians sing "There Is A Fountain Filled With Blood." The attention of the assembly is arrested by the awe-filling act of communion. The body broken. The blood spilled out. The sacrifice that initiated our reconciliation, our hope to worship the everlasting God. The Lamb has plunged His Bride beneath the cleansing flood. The ransomed Church of God is being saved to sin no more. Marriage is worship. Marriage tells the story of God's salvation.
God of mercy, grant us grace that we may tell your story faithfully.
Grace and Peace,
Joel
How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory.
Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders.
Ashamed I hear my Mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers.
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished,
His dying breath has Brought me life
I know that it is finished.
I will not boast in anything;
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ;
His death and resurrection.
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer,
But this I know with all my heart,
His wounds have paid my ransom.
There is a Fountain: After the exchange of vows and rings, bride and groom
embark to complete their first action as a married couple. It is an act of worship. A centering. The musicians sing "There Is A Fountain Filled With Blood." The attention of the assembly is arrested by the awe-filling act of communion. The body broken. The blood spilled out. The sacrifice that initiated our reconciliation, our hope to worship the everlasting God. The Lamb has plunged His Bride beneath the cleansing flood. The ransomed Church of God is being saved to sin no more. Marriage is worship. Marriage tells the story of God's salvation.
God of mercy, grant us grace that we may tell your story faithfully.
Grace and Peace,
Joel
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Will
"Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
What is God's will? How do we do His will? If God is all-powerful, won't His will be done regardless of our actions? In worship, it is God's will that His people worship Him faithfully, honoring His name as holy, being the Kingdom, worshiping in Spirit and in Truth, singing New Songs, singing Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs, worshiping the Lord with gladness, worshiping Him with loud cymbals and stringed instruments, with trumpets, with our voices, with our whole beings (with run-on sentences).
Most of all, it is God's will that we worship Him with our lives; "Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship." (Romans 12) This may be the clearest instruction of how to worship in all the Scriptures. Worship of the Almighty is more than a song. Again I say to you that our lives are demanded to be faithful worshipers as citizens of God's Kingdom.
How can we worship with a song if we do not first worship with our lives?
God's Will? John 6:38-40 "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me: that I should lose none of those He has given Me but should raise them up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." Christ is quite clear as to what His Father's will was for Him. If we are to be conformed to Jesus' image and in being conformed, exalt the Father as He did, then our worship should (and will) point others to the Way of salvation through Christ Jesus. This is a natural occurrence that we do not have to force when we worship faithfully. This is because faithful worship lifts high the Name of Jesus and the Truth of His life of love.
Until every knee bows, let us not be silent. And if the rocks cry out, let us sing even still! Amen and amen.
Grace and Peace,
Joel
What is God's will? How do we do His will? If God is all-powerful, won't His will be done regardless of our actions? In worship, it is God's will that His people worship Him faithfully, honoring His name as holy, being the Kingdom, worshiping in Spirit and in Truth, singing New Songs, singing Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs, worshiping the Lord with gladness, worshiping Him with loud cymbals and stringed instruments, with trumpets, with our voices, with our whole beings (with run-on sentences).
Most of all, it is God's will that we worship Him with our lives; "Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship." (Romans 12) This may be the clearest instruction of how to worship in all the Scriptures. Worship of the Almighty is more than a song. Again I say to you that our lives are demanded to be faithful worshipers as citizens of God's Kingdom.
How can we worship with a song if we do not first worship with our lives?
God's Will? John 6:38-40 "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me: that I should lose none of those He has given Me but should raise them up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." Christ is quite clear as to what His Father's will was for Him. If we are to be conformed to Jesus' image and in being conformed, exalt the Father as He did, then our worship should (and will) point others to the Way of salvation through Christ Jesus. This is a natural occurrence that we do not have to force when we worship faithfully. This is because faithful worship lifts high the Name of Jesus and the Truth of His life of love.
Until every knee bows, let us not be silent. And if the rocks cry out, let us sing even still! Amen and amen.
Grace and Peace,
Joel
Sunday, May 6, 2007
The Faithful Ones
This morning in worship, a friend and I sang The Lord's Prayer which is a musical setting of the Model Prayer found in Mathew 6. I've heard this prayer one thousand times at least (not exaggerating). The staff at our church has been doing a lot of thinking about said Model Prayer and it's implications for our supplications. What implications does it have for our worship? We'll come back to that.
I got to thinking this evening about what is necessary in our corporate worship (the Preceptor can be so thought provoking). Our church played hostess to a most wonderful group from Benton, AR. called Pure Energy. All teenagers, 112 of them, they sang for us and led our congregation in glorious praise. Our students chimed in as well. It was magnificent. When 130 teenagers are singing in one voice to the glory of God it is hard to ignore. It felt great. I'm sure you're thinking, "Wow, The Lord's Prayer in the morning service and a choir concert in the evening, those folks have got it going on!" Well, perhaps we do have it going on. We're sure feeling good about it too. What is necessary in our worship? Certainly all this glorious music is. Surely a wonderful choir anthem each Sunday morning is required. The drums most certainly should not be heard. A nice instrumental number for the weekly offering. A quarterly observance of the Lord's Supper (don't want it to become monotonous, and please do not call it Communion or Eucharist). We need a good long and loud sermon with some warm and fuzzy illustrations (hope preacher man makes us laugh this week). A scripture reading. A prayer (not a corporate one though, it feels too...umm...liturgical?) And our music leader better play the guitar, because that looks good these days. And, MOST IMPORTANTLY, it BETTER make ME FEEEEEL GOOOOOD!
Someone once said to me that they did not feel like we should have the Lord's Supper each week. I told this person that I did not feel like I took part in true worship unless I did take Communion. My friends, God is not concerned in the least with how we feel about our worship.
In the discussion of style in worship there are many sides to take. As a worship leader one must make many decisions about what to sing, read and pray each week. As a worshiper there is but one decision to make: Will my worship be faithful or unfaithful? God calls us to be faithful. He expects and accepts nothing less.
The first part of the Model Prayer says, "Your name be honored as holy." The Psalms repeatedly command us to bless the Name of the Lord, Yahweh. The Name, the Name, the Name. Job blessed the Name of the Lord in his anguish. God does not just take the blessing of His Name seriously. It is necessary for Faithful worship.
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. O Lord, help us to honor Your Name as holy. Help us not to take Your name upon ourselves vainly, rather, teach us to carry it with honor and love. Put within us a passion to see Your name glorified, high and lifted up and exalted above all blessing and praise (Nehemiah 9:5). You alone are worthy of Your glory.
May we be found as the faithful ones.
Grace and Peace,
Joel
I got to thinking this evening about what is necessary in our corporate worship (the Preceptor can be so thought provoking). Our church played hostess to a most wonderful group from Benton, AR. called Pure Energy. All teenagers, 112 of them, they sang for us and led our congregation in glorious praise. Our students chimed in as well. It was magnificent. When 130 teenagers are singing in one voice to the glory of God it is hard to ignore. It felt great. I'm sure you're thinking, "Wow, The Lord's Prayer in the morning service and a choir concert in the evening, those folks have got it going on!" Well, perhaps we do have it going on. We're sure feeling good about it too. What is necessary in our worship? Certainly all this glorious music is. Surely a wonderful choir anthem each Sunday morning is required. The drums most certainly should not be heard. A nice instrumental number for the weekly offering. A quarterly observance of the Lord's Supper (don't want it to become monotonous, and please do not call it Communion or Eucharist). We need a good long and loud sermon with some warm and fuzzy illustrations (hope preacher man makes us laugh this week). A scripture reading. A prayer (not a corporate one though, it feels too...umm...liturgical?) And our music leader better play the guitar, because that looks good these days. And, MOST IMPORTANTLY, it BETTER make ME FEEEEEL GOOOOOD!
Someone once said to me that they did not feel like we should have the Lord's Supper each week. I told this person that I did not feel like I took part in true worship unless I did take Communion. My friends, God is not concerned in the least with how we feel about our worship.
In the discussion of style in worship there are many sides to take. As a worship leader one must make many decisions about what to sing, read and pray each week. As a worshiper there is but one decision to make: Will my worship be faithful or unfaithful? God calls us to be faithful. He expects and accepts nothing less.
The first part of the Model Prayer says, "Your name be honored as holy." The Psalms repeatedly command us to bless the Name of the Lord, Yahweh. The Name, the Name, the Name. Job blessed the Name of the Lord in his anguish. God does not just take the blessing of His Name seriously. It is necessary for Faithful worship.
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. O Lord, help us to honor Your Name as holy. Help us not to take Your name upon ourselves vainly, rather, teach us to carry it with honor and love. Put within us a passion to see Your name glorified, high and lifted up and exalted above all blessing and praise (Nehemiah 9:5). You alone are worthy of Your glory.
May we be found as the faithful ones.
Grace and Peace,
Joel
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