Worship (4) Worship in Community (part 2) Good News Community Church June 22, 2008 Timothy Chan
Transcript
Worship (4) Worship in Community (part 2) Good News Community
Church June 22, 2008 Timothy Chan
Class Outline
6/1 - God: The Author of Worship 6/8 - Act of Worship: Biblical
Models 6/15 - Worship in Community (part 1) 6/22 - Worship in
Community (part 2) 6/29 - Worship "outside the camp"
Review
Why do we worship together?
How to "evaluate" a church service
Identity of the church
Temple of God - God's dwelling place
God's Building - Christ's foundation and work
Body of Christ - unity & diversity
God's Priest - everyone is a minister
Elements of corporate worship service
We Remember - "anamnesis" of God's work
We Anticipate - renew eschatological hope
We Celebrate - corporate expressions of praise
We Serve - minister horizontally
Tales of "Worship Wars"
"Worship wars" = fights within a church over how to conduct
corporate worship, usually concerning conflicting personal style
preferences
From a comment by "anonymous" on a blog post about worship wars
:
"I lead worship in a church of about 800. For years we had two
identical blended style worship services on Sundays, which
occasionally drew fire from those who prefer things to stay very
traditional. ...... The comments and criticism got quite personal,
so steps were taken to have open conversation between the staff
involved (including me) and the people generating the criticism.
Our senior pastor and a gentleman serving as a mediator have done a
phenomenal job of leading through those conversations. Most people
acknowledge that they have opinions and strong preferences, but a
few use scripture, etc to make a case for contemporary worship
being wrong and sinful , which is very sad to me. Again, our pastor
very firmly but gently has let these individuals know that he
disagrees with their interpretation of scripture, and then the
choice falls to these people as to whether they can, in good
conscience, stay at a church where the lead pastor fundamentally
disagrees with their theology on this issue. We havent had anyone
leave over this, largely because our pastor manages to say all of
this and still love the people! Ive learned a lot from these
interactions. But I continue to struggle every week with the
planning of the blended services, as I know that there are people
attending who cannot stop counting and keeping track of how many
songs fall in which category . I am encouraged by staff and other
leaders to not allow the interactions weve had to affect how I
work, but it bothers me deeply to know that there are people who
basically have no chance of actually worshiping, as they walk into
the room expecting to be frustrated. "
Your Tales of Worship Wars
Share your experience of past worship wars (please keep church
names and people names anonymous)
What happened?
What was the point of conflict?
How did it resolve (if already resolved)?
Dimensions Of Worship Planning
Robert Webber lists three dimensions to planning corporate
worship that are distinct:
Content
Structure
Style
Congregation feedbacks about worship are too often overly
concerned with style, examples:
"Too many new songs"
"Musicians should wear more decent clothes"
"Let's make the communion go faster by passing out the bread
and juice together"
I wish churches pay more attention dealing with the content and
structure issues of worship
Content Of Corporate Worship
Content must be centered around the story of God's redemptive
acts
God's initiating of relationship with humanity
Birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and imminent
return of Jesus Christ
Founding of church and Spirit's work in us
Without these it is no longer Christian worship
Content is non-negotiable and should not be compromised by the
tides of the culture
"Judgment about a particular style of worship must be concerned
chiefly with the content of the worship." -- Robert Webber,
"Worship Old & New" (1994), p. 149
Structure Of Corporate Worship
The intentional ordering of corporate acts of worship
(preaching, communion, singing, creeds, benedictions, prophecies,
ministry, etc.)
Webber recommends this structure:
Gathering - the ascent into the presence of God
Word - God speaks through the Word and we respond
Thanksgiving - we draw near to the throne of God and join the
communion of saints
Dismissal - we're sent forth to love and serve the Lord
Structure can be informed by studying church tradition and any
lessons learned from history
Evaluation of structure: Meaningful? Practical? Relevant?
Fresh? Clear to congregation?
Style Of Corporate Worship
Style should be considered last
The ideal style should be an expression of the unique
characteristics of the worshiping community and be relevant to
cultural context
Some example styles:
Formal/Liturgical vs. "Traditional" vs. Charismatic vs.
"Contemporary" vs. Blended vs. Emergent
Oral vs. Audiovisual vs. Multisensory
Diverse use of worship arts
Style should be flexible/adaptive to a changing context while
keeping the integrity of worship
We should value history and make new history
Audio
We now listen to a talk entitled "Meeting God In The Worship
Event" by Alan Yu (July 1, 2007) from [5:41] to [25:03] at
afcspeaks.blogspot.com
Based on Robert Webber's "Worship Old & New" (1994), p.
20-21
You'll learn about:
Content & Structure of a model of corporate worship in
Exodus 24
Expectations and roles of congregation in corporate
worship
An Anglican Prayer
Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden: cleanse the thoughts of our
hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may
perfectly love You, and worthily magnify Your holy name; through
Christ our Lord. Amen.
Exodus 24:1-8
Ex 24:1 24:2 24:3
Exodus 24:1-8
24:4 24:5 24:6
Exodus 24:1-8
24:7 24:8
1. We Are Convened By God
In Exodus 24, it was God who called the people out of Egypt and
brought them to Mount Sinai to worship Him
We are able to worship God because He assembled us, and we need
to respond to His call
2. Each Of Us Has A Role
In Exodus 24:
Moses - leader of the Israelites
Aaron, Nadab, Abihu - priests, worship leaders
Seventy elders - leaders among the people
Young men - administer offerings
Israelites - congregation
A worship service that is pleasing to God involves the full
participation of the people of God
3. We Proclaim God's Word
Our God is a God of words
How important is God's Word in your life?
What's your attitude when you hear God's Word proclaimed?
Is God's Word the authority of your living or just a bunch of
suggestions?
4. We Offer Our Lives To God
Ex 24:11b (covenant meal)
Every worship service is an opportunity for us to continuously
renew our commitment to God with our whole lives
"Discipleship is a long obedience in the same direction." --
Eugene Peterson
5. Symbol Of Ratification
Blood of the covenant, in both the Old Testament and the New
Testament, signifies the sealing of a relationship between God and
God's people
We are reminded that we have a covenant with God
1 Pet 2:9
Our most basic duty is to declare God's praise
Questions For The Congregant
Do I come to each church service "already worshiping" ?
"We will fail miserably if we wait until a church service to
focus on God. Our praise to God should be continual (Heb 13:15).
The psalmist proclaims, 'I will extol the Lord at all times' (Ps
34:1). Corporate worship should be the gathering of believers who
are already involved in the practice of praise." -- Vernon M.
Whaley, "The Dynamics of Corporate Worship" (2001), p. 22
Questions For The Congregant
Do I come to each church service expecting to give rather than
to receive ?
The "service" in "church service" means we're to serve, not be
served
The "I hope I'm getting fed today" attitude is spiritual
laziness
We need to come and bring our whole being as offering to
God
Look for ways to exercise faith , hope , and love with fellow
believers (The three "Let us" in Heb 10:21-25)
"Let us" in Hebrews 10:21-25
Heb 10:21 10:22 (draw near ... in faith ) 10:23 (confession of
our hope ) 10:24 (stimulate one another to love ) 10:25
Questions For The Congregant
Do I come to each church service expecting to be transformed
and be a transformer ?
"Often, Christians say things such as 'Sunday worship helps me
get through the week' or 'Sundays are where I get my batteries
recharged.' While worship does benefit the believer, those who make
such statements have missed half the point of worship. It is
intended to transform both the Christian and the world." -- J.
Michael Walters, "Can't Wait For Sunday" (2006), p. 199