Blessed are the pure in heart
for they will
see God
Matthew 5:8
________________________
Soren Kierkegaard- "purity of heart is to will one thing."
________________________
What would it look like
if purity of heart
was true of me?
of you?
Blessed are the pure in heart
for they will
see God
Matthew 5:8
________________________
Soren Kierkegaard- "purity of heart is to will one thing."
________________________
What would it look like
if purity of heart
was true of me?
of you?
Posted on 02 May 2013 at 10:44 AM in Discipleship, Worship | Permalink | Comments (0)
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"Our actions affect God's manifest presence when our churches gather to worship... do we come to church conscious that every action and motive promotes or discourages God's manifest presence? Every note, every spoken word, every attitude from every usher, every motive of every vocalist - all of it seen and known by a holy God whose desire is to manifest His presence among His people and is welcomed or spurned by us."
- James MacDonald, Vertical Church
Posted on 22 April 2013 at 07:36 PM in Servant Leadership, Worship | Permalink | Comments (0)
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This post is from James MacDonald's blog and may be found here. This actually explains an internal wrestling I've had over the last year. I'll withhold my opinion for now- I'd like to have discussion- what are your thoughts?
Soteriology is a word that comes from the Greek word soterios, which means “to save.”Doxology comes from the Greek word for glory and names the single stanza hymn. While many have heard the Westminster Confession that “the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever,” fewer have understood that doxology is the highest purpose for church. Doxological is a good descriptor for the mission of God’s glory. Placing evangelistic mission above the mission of God’s glory is the single most destructive error in the church today and the one from which many other errors fall out. God’s own glory as the priority for your church and every church needs no reflection on our part, only obedience. Glory is not a threat to reaching lost people but is actually the most biblical and God-honoring way to get there:
The statements above are biblical fuel on the fire of evangelism, but the Scripture also puts parameters on how far that zeal can go. “For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word” (2 Corinthians 2:17). When soteriology becomes a higher priority than doxology, much is done “to reach people” that grieves the Holy Spirit and forfeits manifest presence. Like a man paddling across the Atlantic with a hole in his boat, God’s glory can be briefly neglected, but if not soon corrected, we will find ourselves in a place where the only choice is to sink. Neglect of glory is not a small oversight but the hinge on which God’s glorious favor swings in or out in any church. The error of failing to make the glory of God your highest priority is very difficult to address in a horizontal church because they believe their mission is “winning the lost, end of story!” If that horizontal mission results in numerically successful outcomes, the methods will be considered “above reproach” ipso facto, and that is the great disaster. Even where churches have doxology in their mission statements, it is too often assumed. Those resistant to what I write might reply, “Of course God is glorified in our efforts to reach people for Him, why would He not be?” Possible answers:
How did the church get this way? I don’t know the whole history, but I do remember the impact of a book that came out in 1980 titled The Complete Book of Church Growth by Elmer Towns, John Vaughan, and David Seifert. It lists the top 200 churches in North America by attendance. Interestingly, in 1980, the largest two churches had about 5,000 attendees. By the time they got down to the 200th church, they had gone under 2,000 in attendance. As of 2011, there were 1,200+ churches in America with attendance over 2,000; more than 100 churches that have attendance over 5,000; and more than 2533 with attendance over 10,000. But wait! It’s a trick, because during that same time the population has grown by more than 40 percent and the total number of people actually attending church has fallen by greater than 15 percent. Bottom line: in real numbers, millions of people who were worshipping Christ in a Protestant church in 1980 are not doing so today. So who are we kidding? Horizontal, soteriologically driven church is not growing the body of Christ as a whole. Even if you are seeing a “win” on your side of town, we are a “loss” collectively. Do you care? Regardless of size, every Bible-believing, gospel-saturated church, and those that want to get there, matter to God. Just because a few churches in big cities are flooding with people does not mean that those methods are helpful to the church as a whole. What if Satan allowed a few churches to burst at the seams, knowing that selfish shepherds everywhere would mimic those horizontal methods and plunge churches from coast to coast into a vortex of decline?
Sadly, many who read this believe that pursuit of the glory of God is an abandonment of evangelistic impact, when in fact the opposite is true. Check back Friday for some evidence. :)
Posted on 17 April 2013 at 11:10 AM in Community, Discipleship, Ecclesiology, Evangelism, Leadership, Mission, Pastoral, Theology, Worship | Permalink | Comments (0)
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"There are people who are quick to acknowledge Jesus as Savior, Healer, and Deliverer. With their mouths they acknowledge His Lordship. Yet they reduce His glory to the level of corruptible man by their actions and heart attitudes.
They say, 'God is my Friend, He understands my heart.' It is true that God does understand our hearts even more thoroughly than we can understand ourselves. But usually this comment is given in justification of actions that contradict His covenant. The fact is, they are in disobedience to God's Word. In the Scriptures, the only people I see God calling His friends are those who tremble at His Word and presence and are quick to obey, no matter what the cost."
"their image of His glory is formed by their limited perceptions rather than by His true image as revealed through His living Word."
John Bevere, The Fear of the Lord
Lord, forgive me for pride and my sin. Let it be so of me.
Posted on 09 April 2013 at 07:25 PM in Discipleship, Theology, Worship | Permalink | Comments (0)
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This last weekend Matt Simon tore it up preaching on God's holiness.
It's making me think.
There's a balance in worship and response in relationship to God that is affection and respect.
Do I respect God?
Check out this link to the text of Matt's message, Isaiah 6.
Leviticus 10:3- "by those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified."
John Bevere wrote: "Do you think the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is going to come to a place where He is not given due honor and reverence?"
I don't think that means that we need to enter the auditorium in silence, or be incredibly non-relational. However...
Sin matters. We spend so much time thinking about "if we can lose our salvation" or not-how about how sin separates us from God and it's not possible to walk closely with the Lord if there is constant unconfessed sin in your life.
Santa vs. Lord. We tend to thank God for "fighting for us always" and "God will come through always..." I love those songs by the way, and think they are completely valid. "Santa" probably isn't fair to that. But God's more than our helper, He is God. His world, not ours. He's not here just to accommodate us; but we are created for His pleasure.
Anticipation. Of course, worship is a 24/7 thing... but corporate worship as the body of Christ is not to be de-emphasized. I want to be in prayer, expecting, anticipating experiencing a degree of the manifest presence of God. I don't mean at all to take away from God's presence by that- I don't seek goosebumps or nostalgia, I seek the at-times-uncomfortability of the presence of God Himself. We should know what we are asking for with "God's presence..." yet ask anyway.
Posted on 08 April 2013 at 07:03 PM in Theology, Worship | Permalink | Comments (0)
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"God wants to do the inconceivable, the uncommon, the unexpected, the remarkable, the incomprehensible, so that He - God - is the only explanation for what occurs in our lives.
In order to sharpen our focus on what we were created to long for, let's move past the term transcendence, which is what we call it when it's far away, and into the manifest presence, which is what we call it when God comes near. In the term transcendence we acknowledge God as 'wholly other' and beyond us, but the gospel means that what we were created to long for is 'actually not far from each one of us.' The manifest presence of God is the only water that can replenish the parched land of the North American church."
James MacDonald- Vertical Church p 70
Posted on 22 March 2013 at 07:26 PM in Books, Prayer, Worship | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Control is an illusion.
Matt Simon has been writing daily Proverbs devotionals for our church; he's been doing a great job. Reading one chapter of Proverbs per day- it's truly a wise investment. To be wise is one of the greatest qualities possible.
A few days ago, I read this:
"In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps." Proverbs 16:9
At times, I feel as though the depths of my ego-centrism are as layers of an onion; peeled back to reveal new skin after new skin. More depths than meet the eye.
God continues in His Love to reveal to me how much selfishness is actually there.
In that; I remember that this is not "my world and God is living in it" but rather "God's world, and I am living in it."
This world revolves around Him, and I was created for His pleasure.
Confession: I'm scared to death of wasting my life.
Recent conclusion: If my life is lived as an Jesus-centered worshipper, my life is not wasted. Regardless of position, education, family status, income, you name it- I'll find my worth in declaring His.
Learn from my way-ward tendencies...
Is your life to bring honor to Jesus, with your world revolving around Him?
Any less will bring discontent, tension, and feeling like "something's missing."
Let your world revolve around Jesus. Let it be His world.
Posted on 19 March 2013 at 08:50 PM in Bible, Worship | Permalink | Comments (0)
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I'm excited about the release of our new website, reserveworship.com.
This is for our worship and production teams at Western Reserve.
The reason why we've launched this site is to communicate and connect better. We're all about engaging and connecting- we do this to honor our Savior, as well as to "set the table," so to speak, for other people to connect with Jesus.
The heart behind the music and production is being a servant. It may be easy to think musicians and techies are for themselves- that's not our heart. We're looking to serve.
Check back at www.reserveworship.com often for set lists, new songs, as well as thoughts from not only me, but our Music Director Brian McMahon, and our Lead Producer Rusty Nottingham. Might even have a guest writer from time to time.
This venue is to see the heartbeat of our mission- to Walk Toward People, Not Away. It's what we are all about.
Posted on 23 May 2012 at 03:19 PM in Servant Leadership, Worship | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Not everything described in Scripture is prescribed.
Not everything is intended to be replicated.
Not every account is to be thought of as normative.
That's okay.
Not everyone wins the championship, but every ballplayer hungers for it.
Why? It's kinda the point.
There are two things I hunger for in church-world. Which is actually not compartmentalized, so it's world-world.
One is a movement of changed lives. Salvations. Lots of them. Changed families, marriages. People set free, made whole.
The other would look like this...maybe:
"Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory ot the Lord filled the tabernacle." Exodus 40:34-35
This is an event, the erecting of the tabernacle. The next stage of the journey of the nation of Israel. Cloud guiding by day, fire by night.
Kind of like the response God gives Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7 in the dedication of the temple... which we all quote all the time (7:14) in pretty much every situation.
I think it's okay.
It's principle. It teaches us something about God. Even if these are specific events... i.e., don't expect a literal pillar of fire to settle over Western Reserve. Though I would like it if it did.
But God, though omnipresent, is sometimes "more here than there."
I want to be where He is "here."
Glory to a magnitude where you literally can't stand it.
I want. I want to see. I want to touch. I want to experience.
If you're on the whole anti-experience-emotion-goosepimples kick here, you need to get off it.
There's nothing wrong with a lil' hunger for the juxtaposition of desiring the terror of the presence of Holy God.
O God, that our church would experience You to a level we never have before. I know there's more of You.
By grace, through faith, found and made righteous in Jesus, O God... make us hungry.
Posted on 11 October 2011 at 07:54 AM in Prayer, Worship | Permalink | Comments (0)
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