Friday, February 1, 2008
- Dennis Newkirk
I continue to be concerned with the subject of worship. It seems that the more I pray about this and observe what is going on in our worship services, the more that I realize how central it is to everything in the Christian life. This renewal of worship will impact every area of life.
Perhaps you know of the Westminster Confession of Faith. English and Scottish theologians who were part of the Reformation wrote this monumental document in the 1640s. It sets out some of the major biblical teachings that we hold dear even to this day.
Christians were taught this lengthy document through the use of the Larger Catechism and the Shorter Catechism. The shorter was written to help “lay persons” learn the key elements of biblical truth. Like many catechisms, it is set out in a question and answer form. The first question is, “What is the chief end of man?” The answer is “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” Now that is a great definition of worship! We are alive to respect, adore, and draw positive attention to God, while actively enjoying him. Note these two elements, glorifying God and enjoying God. That is the essence of worshipping him.
The Bible teaches us that our worship of God is to focus on two fronts. First, we must worship him corporately, as a church. Hebrews 10:23-25 commands us to faithfully take part in this gathering of believers. Second, Romans 12:1-2 states that our worship must go beyond the church doors to a daily surrender of our thoughts and actions to God. Both of these aspects of worship feed off of each other.
Why do many Christians find their church worship experience boring? It is, in part, because their ‘lifestyle’ worship is uninspiring. On the other hand, the reason why many of us don’t even consider worshipping God daily through deliberate acts of obedience is because we are not being challenged to do so in the corporate setting.
It is our intent to challenge you corporately through biblical, hard hitting, and challenging messages and music. The fulfillment of your life’s purpose is centered in worship.
I love being your pastor,
Dennis