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(pic credit: the Illuminator ©2017-2018 by crisbaj. Used with permission)

I am regularly challenged to a ‘higher walk in Jesus’ by Pastor John Piper, especially through his devotional/discipleship website https://www.desiringgod.org . I receive daily content to my Inbox, and it regularly pushes me ‘further up and further in’ to the things of God and His Kingdom. The Desiring God site regularly features blogs and bits from many solid pastors and teachers, un-packing what it means to be a Disciple of Jesus in today’s mad and fallen world.

I commend to you this recent worship-related feature by Pastor Bob Kauflin,

‘How Not To Worship Your Worship”

Link:  https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/how-not-to-worship-your-worship

(psst, while you are on www.desiringgod.org , sign up for the daily emails…)

TAKE-AWAY:

Two things about God that I’ve come to depend on; [1] He made us and knows us better than any sentient being in all of creation, so therefore [2] He communicates with us in the clearest and most well-designed ways… so we ‘get it’. That means He simply lays things out to us based on His ‘deeper knowledge’ of the way we work.

Take a look at Exodus 20:2-6 in The Message.

1-2 God spoke all these words:

“I am God, your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
out of a life of slavery.

3 No other gods, only me.

4-6 No carved gods of any size, shape, or form of anything whatever, whether of things that fly or walk or swim. Don’t bow down to them and don’t serve them because I am God, your God, and I’m a most jealous God, punishing the children for any sins their parents pass on to them to the third, and yes, even to the fourth generation of those who hate me. But I’m unswervingly loyal to the thousands who love me and keep my commandments…”

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It is no accident that He simply lays out

[1] I am God (big G), your God… then

   [2] No other gods (little g), only me.

The Fall and Original Sin programmed us to always try and substitute the ‘little g’ for the ‘big G’ … pretty much in all things… that’s the fallen, human condition needing Jesus to come and save us…

Why? In our Fallen state, any and every ‘small g’ god will (not can) easily grab us in the attempt to make itself our ‘big G’ God.

That’s the ‘process’ that is painfully described in Romans Chapter 1:

“ 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.” (NIV)

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So, can we apply this line of thinking to the area of ‘worship’? Isn’t ‘worship’ a sacred, un-touchable, came-down-from Heaven kinda thing? In and of itself, how could it ever be something that could be worshipped?

This is a hot-button idea, because using the word ‘worship’ in Christian circles evokes large and strong responses… centuries of use, historic reference… even though the two people communicating can each be referring to huge and totally different things when using that same word, ‘worship’…

As this Blog has explored, ‘worship’ has also become a multi-billion dollar industry, a fortress of artists and recordings and events, staffed by thousands of musicians, artists, agents, tekk and crew… and ‘pastors’, ‘leaders’, writers, on-camera personalities… and a literal army of support staff, secretaries, personal assistants, subsidiary businesses… not to mention all the gear and toys… it’s a monster!

So, can we worship worship?

Yes, we can worship our ‘worship’… the forms, styles, expressions, methods, sounds, music, formats, genres, actions, order, instrumentation, professionalism, lighting, venues, emotions, feelings, costumes, leaders, songs, lyrics, artists, personalities, recordings, history, videos, familiarity, language, translation, lyrics, presentation, liturgy, setting, location, incense, candles, cultural roots, fellow passengers…

Yeah, we worship our worship… and we like it…

 

written by crisbaj

© 2017-18 by crisbaj/AdoreTheLord.blog  All rights reserved.

All Scripture references from New International Version unless otherwise indicated.

If you re-post or use material from this blog, please be honest and give author citation + AdoreTheLord.blog  as the  source… thanks!!

 

 

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