Worship Blog

Lemonade

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:38:00 GMT

What is it about lemonade that is so refreshing on a hot day? You take this sour, useless piece of fruit and mix it with sugar and water and TA-DA! You have lemonade, which for some mysterious reason is the most refreshing drink on a hot, sticky day.

But I guess that’s kind of like me. By myself I’m nothing but sour and useless. But put me with the sweetness of Jesus Christ and mysteriously I can be used to refresh someone going through the heat of life. Thank you Jesus! You’re the “aid” for this lemon.

KOTH Chapter 5

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:29:00 GMT

Chapter 5 addresses the self-existence of God. The fact that God exists by Himself and is without origin, and in that He is the origin of everything else. We can then classify everything we know of into two catagories. That which is God and that which comes from God.
God reveals this doctrine in one simple phrase "I AM THAT I AM."
Tozer puts it this way "To admit that there is One who lies beyond us, who exists outside of all our catagories, who will not be dismissed with a name, who will not appear before the bar of our reason, nor submit to our curious inquiries: this requires a great deal of humility, more than most of us possess, so we save face by thinking God down to our level, or at least down to where we can manage Him. Yet how He eludes us! For He is everywhere while He is nowhere, for "where" has to do with matter and space, and God is independent of both. He is unaffected by time or motion, is wholly self-dependent and owes nothing to the worlds His hands have made."
This reveals the great sin we commit when we equate ourself with God and say "I Am." To say we are independent and do not need God. Examine how this manifests itself in your life throughout the day.

KOTH Chapter 6

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:45:00 GMT

Chapter 6 is a humbling chapter. Building upon that doctrine that God is self-existent is the fact that He is then self-sufficient. If God is the origin of all things and nothing is above or beyond Him, then God is sufficient in Himself and in need of nothing and no one. "His interest in His creatures arises from His sovereign good pleasure, not from any need those creatures can supply nor from any completeness they can bring to Him who is complete in Himself." says Tozer. This is contrary to a lot of teaching now days that tell us that God "needs" us. He needs our worship, He needs our service. He needs our love. When it is the exact opposite. We are the ones who need Him, not the other way around. "So lofty is our opinion of ourselves that we find it quite easy, not to say enjoyable, to believe that we are necessary to God." "Probably the hardest thought of all for our natural egotism to entertain is that God does not need our help."(p.34)
Tozer goes on to point out that this is the fault in much of the motivation for Christian service and especially missions. To say that God "needs" us to reach a certain people and draft it in such a way as to guilt with a God who needs our help to rescue His kingdom plan. "The truth, Tozer says, while a needed rebuke to human self-confidence, will when viewed in its Biblical perspective lift from our minds the exhausting load of mortality and encourage us to take the easy yoke of Christ and spend ourselves in Spirit-inspired toil for the honor of God and the good of mankind. For the blessed news is that the God who needs no one has in sovereign condescension stooped to work by and in and through His obedient children." God does not "need" us to do His work, but we have the privilege of being the tools He uses. "For it is God which worketh in you!"

KOTH Chapter 4

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:08:00 GMT

In Chapter 4 A. W. Tozer brings us to The Holy Trinity. An aspect of God that is understandable, yet incomprehensible. But before we can let skeptics and doubters bring us down he states that "every man lives by faith, the non-believer as well as the saint; the one by faith in natural laws and the other by faith in God." It's somewhat comforting to know that every one of us exercises faith. It's the object of our faith that is of utmost importance. In our discussion on Thusday we talked at length about the amount of faith it takes to believe that the uninverse and our lives are one big cosmic accident. That their is no intelligent design, but only chance, random and positive mutations combined with natural selection that bring us to where we are today. Reference was made to Ben Stein's new movie "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed." Clips can be viewed here.
     The Holy Trinity is something that we must believe, becuase it is what God has revealed true about Himself in His Word. As Tozer says "the fact that it cannot be satisfactorily explained, instead of being against it, is in its favor. Such a truth had to be revealed; no one could have imagined it."
     With "grace our feet, and faith our eyes" (Caedmon's Call), let us say with Anslem "Let me seek Thee in longing, let me long for Thee in seeking; let me find Thee in love, and love Thee in finding."
     "Love and faith are at home in the mystery of the Godhead. Let reason kneel in reverence outside." (KOTH, p.20)

KOTH Chapter 2

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 12:42:00 GMT

In Chapter 2, Tozer prays " Let faith support us where reason fails, and we shall think because we believe, not in order that we may believe." He sets the tone for understanding that God is incomprehensible. That He is above any concept or even description of Him. That Human words and created things are but an attempt to describe Him, but He is above and beyond all this.
Tozer also warns us to be careful of thinking about God as being like the creation. " To think of creature and Creator as alike in essential being is to rob God of most of His attributes and reduce Him to the status of creature" and later he says " If we insist on trying to imagine Him, we end with an idol, made not with hands, but with thoughts; and an idol of the mind is just as offensive to God as an idol of the hand."
We discussed how often we reduce God to human terms or characteristics. It may be easier to manage Him that way, but we are simply creating our own God rather than accepting God the way He is and has shown Himself to us. If we say God's love overrides His justice or that He changes according to situations or actions, we are making a God of our own, not accepting the God that is.
But don't we want a God bigger than us, better than us? Shouldn't we accept with gratitude a God we can't comprehend, for if we could comprehend God, we then would be equal or greater than Him. I want a God that is bigger than me and far beyond my understanding. I want Him to be above conditions, situations or human behavior. HALLELUJAH! HE IS!

KOTH Chapter 3

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 13:03:00 GMT

What are we talking about when we talk about the "attributes" of God? "An attribute of God is whatever God in any way has revealed as being true about Himself." Those who are reading this book have made several comments on how deep and complex it is. It can sometimes feel like swimming in jello. But what better thing to swim in? "To the soul that is athirst for God, nothing could be more delightful" says Tozer.
    To put a number on the attributes of God could be foolish thing to do. Although we may be able to humanly classify and number the attributes God has revealed to us, to say that it is all is to once again come under the premise that we can comprehend all of God. I believe eternity is going to be filled with continued revelations of things we do not yet know about God.
    The only reason we know what we do is because God through His Word and the story of mankind and told or shown it to us. The only reason we know that God loves is because of the story of mankind. The only reason we understand the God is just, merciful, forgiving, gracious, etc. is because He has shown it true of Himself in the redemption of man. 1 Peter 1:12b says concerning the gospel that "even the angels long to look into these things." The angels cannot experience grace or forgiveness. God gave them one choice and justice according to thier choice. But man is shown mercy, redemption and forgiveness in Christ Jesus. The angels worship God as "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty" because that is what they know by experience. We worship for what we have experienced.
    But I believe there is even more to God that we do not yet know or can know, until in eternity He reveals it to us. What things will we "long to look into?"
    Until then, we continue the study and limited understanding of His "attributes." What God has revealed about Himself and what we must by faith, then by reason, accept and worship.

KOTH Chapter 1

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 12:27:00 GMT

Thursday night we discussed Chapter 1 of "The Knowledge of the Holy" by A.W. Tozer. The very first sentence grabs your attention: "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." and a little later "Were we able to extract from any man a complete answer to the question 'What comes into your mind when you think about God?' we might predict with certainty the spiritual future of the man."
Wow! It really makes you examine yourself and your view of God.

Tozer later writes about how the low view of God "in these middle years of the twentieth century" was going to cause a "moral calamity." And here 50 years later we see his prediction coming true.

In our discussion we talked about how any sin is the result of a lack of fear for God. If we truly viewed God as He is, and had a proper fear and awe of Him, how dare we sin.

We also discussed idolatry. As Tozer opens our eyes to see that idolatry does not have to be bowing before an object, but at it's core is simply believing that God is different from what He really is. To think that He too just to be loving or too loving to be just and punish.
Whatever false view it might be, when we believe God is different from what He really is, we have created our own god, a god after our own desires. Tozer says "The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him."

Tozer closes the chapter explaining how the "heaviest obligation" that any church has is to "purify and elevate her concept of God until it is once more worthy of Him - and her." As a worship/praise team, that is our greatest duty. To elevate our view of God. To point people to see Him as He is.

"Lord take away anything that would take away from You."

Scary Prayer

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:23:00 GMT

A few weeks ago I was preparing for the Sunday service and asking God to prepare my heart to lead and without thinking about it, I prayed "Lord, take away from me anything that might take away from You." As soon as it left my thought (I was praying silently), I realized what I had just said and what the consequences might be.
    Do I really want God to strip my life of all the things that get in the way of people seeing Him? Unfortunately my flesh screams "NO!" I like my comforts, my things, my habits. Am I really willing to let God do all of this?
    So I've begun to force myself to pray this little prayer anyway. As much as it may hurt, cost, or incovenience me I also realize it is absolutely necessary to the "success" of what I do. If people are going to see God and meet with Him, I cannot be in the way. If I'm His mirror, I want there to be nothing in-between.
    John the Baptist told his followers that "He must increase, I must decrease" and I guess I'm praying the same. I'm flinching while praying it, not knowing exactly what the answer to that prayer will entail, but like forcing yourself to take nasty tasting medicine, sometimes we have to let our mind and sprit overcome our flesh.
    Bottom's Up!

Worship Team Devotional books

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 13:03:00 GMT

Hey There,

On our Worship team practice nights we've been talking about reading a book together. We will be going through the book "The Knowledge of the Holy" by A. W. Tozer. We'll be reading a chapter every week and then discussing it for a few moments before practice.
    If you happen to miss a practice or not playing or singing that week, I will be posting some thoughts and questions here on this blog so you can still follow along.
    Of if you're not part of our worship team, but would still like to follow along, feel free to pick up the book at a christian bookstore or even Amazon and join with us.
    I will hand out the books to the worship team tonight (9/11). If you miss tonight, catch me on Sunday or whenever you can.

New Website

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:41:00 GMT

So this is our new Website. Most of the same kind of content but with a fresh look. There are some new things like this blog, the forums page and things like that. We'll continue to work on it, improve it and expand it. But it's functional for now. Let me know how we can improve it for you.