We’ve put together a family worship guide to help the families in our church as they seek to implement times of family worship. In putting it together, we’ve sought to eliminate as many hurdles as possible. There’s a companion site that I think you might find helpful: . The daily guides will start on Sunday, August 30, but all of the support material like the biblical background, links to resources, questions & answers about family worship, etc. You can also download the full 20 page guide. On Sunday, the daily guides will post and will include additional discussion questions and prayer suggestions. The suggested song will be linked to a source where you can buy the track so your family can include singing in your family worship.
If you have any questions or suggestions for family worship, feel free to leave a comment. It’s our prayer that the Family Worship Guide will be used to glorify God in the lives of families.
Impacting the Kingdom Through Worship,
, .
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Pre-conference Intensives
There were three pre-conference intensives: Songwriting (led by Keith Getty, Mark Altrogge, and Steve Cook), Worship Leader/Planner (led by Bob Kauflin), and Vocalist (led by Todd Twining, Shelley Reinhart, and Vikki Cook). I attended Bob Kauflin’s session on the worship leader/planner. Bob addressed 4 ways we should view our roles as worship leaders:
- Sons (and daughters) — Galatians 3:26-29
- Sinners — 1 John 1:8-10
- Students — Proverbs 9:9
- Servant — Luke 22:25-26
Bob always offers wise council, speaking out against wrong practices while at the same time offering hope and encouragement to worship leaders. I never tire of sitting under his teaching.
Main Session 1
Tonight’s main session opened with congregational singing led by the Na Band. Worshiping in a room of 1600 worship leaders is in itself a spine tingling experience, but to know each one is offering worship to a holy God worthy of that worship is at once unifying and mystifying. What a great blessing to be able to do that!
spoke on “The God of Worship.” As soon as the audio of this message is available, I’ll provide a link for it. It was a truly amazing message the goal of which was to point us to a truly amazing God. Dr. Piper point out things the world doesn’t/can’t understand and that most Christians don’t understand.
“Did Christ die for us or did He die for God?” If Christ is to have died for us, He first must have died for God, to show God’s righteousness. This is not to say that Christ died to save God. Christ died in order to show God’s righteousness. He had passed over former sin (Romans 3:25) and sin demands atonement. So, Christ died first and foremost to show that God is a righteous God.
“Is God an egomaniac?” No! Because our ultimate happiness lies only in the riches of the glory of God in the face of Christ; therefore, the only way to make us eternally happy is to be faithful to His own glory and righteousness. God is not an egomaniac.
When God’s exaltation of God in Christ at the cross is your joy, your joy can never fail.
Impacting the Kingdom Through Worship,
, .
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I’ll try to post updates as the conference progresses. But for more immediate updates, you can or follow the on Twitter.
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Over the last several years, I have come to know and love the ministry of . The quality and theological depth of their music is a blessing to the body of Christ and Bob Kauflin has taught me as much about worship as anyone else in my ministry.
Despite an ever-expanding catalog, their 2004 CD has been Sovereign Grace’s only project geared toward children. We have been able to use Awesome God as a travel soundtrack and as a family worship tool on many occasions. But Sovereign Grace birthed a new children’s CD, entitled , in June of 2009.
Just like every project they’ve ever distributed, To Be Like Jesus includes theologically sound lyrics and energetic tracks. What differentiates this latest project from its earlier sibling, however, is that the lyrics are, in many cases, written from a child’s point of view. Whereas on Awesome God, the songs are not necessarily children’s songs (but children do sing on the tracks), To Be Like Jesus includes songs that deal with real-life issues children face. For example, the songs address fighting, self-control, and doing what’s right–all things children (and, of course, adults) struggle with as they grow up.
Music geared toward children is often immature and more playful than anything else. To Be Like Jesus is a great example of how music for children can be fun and substantive at the same time.
Impacting the Kingdom Through Worship,
, .
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– (emphasis mine)
This weekend Americans celebrated the 233rd birthday of our country. For Americans, that means we are privileged to enjoy freedoms citizens of other countries can only hope for. We’re free to pursue our dreams. We’re free to pursue a career. We’re free to live in any way we see fit. Although no one living today remembers the conditions under which our forefathers declared independence from tyranny, we know the story well. And we are grateful for their bravery because of the lives it has afforded us so many generations removed from those events.
Paul tells of a freedom greater than political freedom. He reminds us that once we were slaves to the law, and that slavery to the law led to nothing more than condemnation. But because of the blood of Jesus Christ, we enjoy great freedom in Christ. We enjoy freedom from the law and from eternal condemnation all because .
Impacting the Kingdom Through Worship,
, .
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Next week, I’ll be attending LifeWay’s Worship Leadership Conference at Ridgecrest. I always take my family with me to conferences at Ridgecrest because they have structured activities for all ages and it’s as great a getaway for them as it is for me. I may post some things from the conference but I won’t be focusing on live-blogging it.
Impacting the Kingdom Through Worship,
, .
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As were many others, I was watching the session via the SBC’s live webcast (of which I am grateful for their provision). I was also following comments on the convention via . Following Dr. Mohler’s speech in support of the motion, a substitute motion was offered that was in opposition to the original motion. I am relatively well-versed in Robert’s Rules of Order, and at the time I felt as though the substitute motion was out of order for two reasons: 1) the time for new motions had expired and 2) the substitute motion would have resulted in essentially killing the original motion.
I posted several “tweets” stating my opinion that the substitute motion was out of order and, more specifically, that . The substitute motion eventually failed, so I said.
after the evening’s session and kindly pointed me to the section in Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised that supported his ruling. It had previously been my belief (and experience in watching other certified parliamentarians) that amendments could not reverse the intent of the original motion. The substitute motion clearly did reverse the intent of the original motion, thus my belief that it was out of order.
Dr. McCarty was indeed correct in his ruling, and I offer my apology to him for having publicly stated he was in error. This was most definitely a case of “knowledge puffs up,” and I am truly sorry. Next time, before running my mouth and disagreeing with a man who has a Ph.D. in rhetoric and argumentation (or anyone else for that matter), I’ll check my ego at the door or at the keyboard, as the case may be.
Impacting the Kingdom Through Worship,
, .
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My seminary colleague and friend discussing worship as a tool for church growth. His conclusions are similar to those I offer in .
When we use worship as a tool to expand our reach in the community or to grow our churches, it ceases to be worship. It simply becomes another tool in our bag we pull out from time to time so that we can feel good about what we’re doing. Worship isn’t a “tool.” It isn’t a program we use to accomplish a goal we set for ourselves or for our church. In fact, worship is the only thing we do as Christians that is its own end. Everything else we do (e.g., mission trips, visitation programs, outreach programs, etc.) ultimately has a higher purpose. Because worship is ascribing to God the glory of which only He is worthy, it is its own end. It has no higher purpose. And when we attach other ends to it, we demote worship to just another program, just another activity, just another tool.
Impacting the Kingdom Through Worship,
, .
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God is spirit; idols cannot take his place. At the time Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman, many nations built idols to which they offered worship. Those idols were no more God than the ones who worshiped them. You and I may not have idols with which we purposely try to replace God, but there are things that come into our lives that can become idols if we allow them to: money, homes, possessions, people. We must be careful to enjoy the blessings God gives to us without allowing them to become idols that replace him. Our God is the one true God, and he alone is worthy of our worship.
Impacting the Kingdom Through Worship,
, .
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2It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,
3and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go the law,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.
5O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord.
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