Gospel Centered Worship

Posted on by Tanner Royalty

When many people think of worship their mind immediately goes to the singing or music portion of a church service before the preaching, some may think of hymnals while others think of electric guitars and lights. While these things can take part in our “worship” they are not in and of themselves all of our worship or all that we do or intend to do.

Bob Kauflin has said that,

Singing and preaching aren’t incompatible or opposed to each other in any way.  Both are meant to exalt the glory of Christ in our hearts, minds, and wills. Then the whole meeting is worship; the whole meeting should be filled with God’s Word. And the whole meeting should be characterized by the Spirit’s presence.

Therefore, worship shapes thinking. We need to allow the Word of God to call, inform, and shape how our churches worship and how we lead. The songs we sing stay with us and the structures convey messages about what we believe and how we worship and encounter God. The songs and ideas displayed in our services get stuck in our heads. They resonate in our hearts. They implant their messages deep within us and instruct us just as much as the sermons we hear.

In his book Christ-Centered Worship Bryan Chapell says that,

Structures tell stories.

We have seen this displayed throughout history through many types of structures Chapell explains,

Luther preached ‘the priesthood of believers,’ and his structures conveyed the same message. The placement of the pulpit silently explained that the preacher was not more holy than the people. He ministered among them because all were fulfilling holy callings as they served God in the occupations for which He had gifted them.

Chapell writes,

In every age, including our own, those who build churches have been forced to consider how their understanding of the gospel gets communicated by the structures in which it is presented.

So… we don’t create worship; we don’t manufacture services. Rather, we respond to a person. Effective worship is never a result of our efforts.

Below we will explore some avenues to Gospel Centered Worship. Let’s think together.

  • Liturgy

“Liturgy” refers to the structures of a church’s worship service. Many people might think of liturgy only in terms of the traditional structures found in Catholic or Anglican churches, but all churches that gather together to worship have a liturgy– even if it’s a very simple liturgy. In his book Chapell explains that,

The biblical word for all that’s included in our worship is ‘liturgy’ and it simply describes the public way a church honors God in its times of gathered praise, prayer, instruction, and commitment.

Therefore, whether we realize it or not, our worship patterns always communicate something. This gives us reason to examine what exactly is being communicated and we as worship leaders must be very intentional and very careful to communicate the Gospel correctly and clearly through our liturgies. We must remember when creating liturgies that,

Christian worship is always a response to truth, the truth as revealed in Jesus Christ.

Let me suggest that we seek to structure worship services in such a way that the Gospel is communicated through the very structure of our service and order. This isn’t a revolutionary idea, In fact, I would say that this has been the case throughout the history of the church. Chapell says,

Because they understood the importance of our worship, early church fathers designed an architecture for worship that is still reflected in churches today. As early as the second century, records indicate that the church divided its worship into major segments: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Upper Room… By moving from Proclamation to Communion in the order of worship, churches through the ages retell the story that those who truly hear God’s Word will share his love.

Chapell claims that our goal should not be to replicate historical liturgies but to,

Learn how the church has used worship to fulfill gospel purposes through the ages so that we can intelligently design worship services that will fulfill gospel purposes today.

Worship is a holistic practice. The promise of the new covenant is that Jesus is the true and better temple, the true and better mount to stand upon. The regulations of time and place have been fulfilled in Christ. The law has been fulfilled through the work of Christ. This means we are a continually worshipping people, in heart, soul, and mind. The way the church has adopted the use of the word worship is a difficult reality we are faced with. When our people say they enjoyed the worship, I understand they mean the singing, and Scripture reading, and time of confession. At the same time, when we walk with a robust view of what congregational worship is, everything falls rightly into its place. The singing of songs is not elevated to a level it is not meant for, and the Scripture readings are not demeaned as a necessary obligation. When we look at a liturgy from beginning to end as the people of God gathered to engage with Him and rehearse the Gospel, an unbroken chain is formed.

  • Balance

Every element of a worship gathering is an important tool in the hand of God. At the center of the church gathered is the one element absolutely necessary: the Word of God laid open in the midst of His people. The Gospel should not just “inform” our worship design, implementation, and leadership… it should consume it, and all that we do in worship, whether corporately or individually, should be focused and centered on the Word of God and the Gospel story.

Chapell conceives of the corporate worship service as,

Nothing more, nothing less, than a re-presentation of the gospel in the presence of God and His people for His glory and their good.

This definition has a strong vertical dimension of God’s story being re-presented in God’s presence for His own glory, but Chapell also believes the inward and outward elements should have bearing on the Sunday service. He argues that concern for God’s people to understand His glory and grace should lead us to design worship that ministers to the “necessities and capacities” of God’s people.

While church leaders have a responsibility to preserve the necessary elements of the Gospel story, these Gospel truths will not lead to worship or transformation into the image of Christ if people cannot understand them. Discerning the balance between the necessities and capacities of worshippers (the balance between sensitivity and compromise) is sometimes a difficult task, but one with which we must wrestle.

I personally advocate for a strong partnership between the vertical dimension of our worship (us and God) and a horizontal dimension (us together) in the worship service that reflects the Gospel story of God’s love to one another through sharing our praise, praying for one another, corporately confessing sin, encouraging one another in song, tithing, receiving instruction together, demonstrating concern for the lost, and communing together.

Our worship should not ignore the needs of the members of the body… yet at the same time worship choices cannot ignore the needs of those God has yet to gather into the body of Christ. A few weeks back we discussed whether our worship can be evangelistic. If you disagree with my stance on that topic then the rest of this paragraph isn’t for you… Christ-Centered Worship advocates a liturgical model that builds upon Scripture as well as church history, taking into account the upward, inward, and outward priorities of church. Done properly our worship can create and encounter, a union, and a message to be shared.

Our worship and theology should come together to engage in God’s mission. The relationship should be one of harmony and consistency. If God’s mission for us is to proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light as it says in 1 Peter 2:9, and to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe everything he commanded us as it says in Matthew 28:19-20, we must be those worship leaders who worship the Lord personally and corporately, who study the Word of God and hide it in our hearts and who are constantly reminded of his mission, making every effort to proclaim His gospel. The Gospel should infect every aspect of our lives and then we might stand a chance of leading with Gospel centrality. Right theology leads us to rightful doxology, and both propel the mission of God within our churches and out into the world. As John Piper rightly says,

Worship is the fuel and goal of missions.

Our worship must be rightfully centered on the glory of God, because only then are the desires and needs of man informed and met. As we exalt Christ and glorify God, we are professing things that are true to those in our gatherings who are separated from God by sin. The aim of the mission of God is that all the peoples of the earth would glorify God. God’s mission in the world is accomplished when He is the praise of every tribe, and tongue, and nation.

  • The Journey

In practice Gospel centered worship can be difficult to do properly. In this journey what I have come to realize is that the Gospel shouldn’t just be a few key words in a song, but it should inhabit and inform my entire structure, design, and leading of corporate worship. I believe Kauflin says it best in his book “Worship Matters” when he says that,

Singing God’s Word can include more than reciting specific verses in song. If the Word of Christ is going to ‘dwell in [us] richly’ (Colossians 3:16), we need songs that explain, clarify, and expound on what God’s word says. We need songs that have substantive, theologically rich, biblically faithful lyrics. A consistent diet of shallow, subjective worship songs tends to produce shallow, subjective Christians.

The songs we sing matter.  When we stand before our church to lead in worship the songs we choose must be Biblically faithful. We must strive to make our songs and structure theologically forming and informing. They must be Gospel-centered. In the end it isn’t solely the melodies of the songs or the musicality within the transitions that are of utmost importance, but it is the lyrics we choose to worship with and the message we convey through our overall structure. The content by which we choose to both inform and shape our worship. In Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth, we see the Gospel as the issue of “first importance”. 1 Corinthians 15:3,4 says,

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures.

As we lead worship, there is a great responsibility for us to place the Gospel at its rightful place in our church service – at the blazing center of everything.

Wherever in the church Biblical authority has been lost, Christ has been displaced, the gospel has been distorted, or faith has been perverted, it has always been for one reason: our interests have displaced God’s and we are doing His work in our way. The loss of God’s centrality in the life of today’s church is far too common. It is this loss that allows us to transform worship into entertainment, gospel preaching into marketing, believing into technique, being good into feeling good about ourselves, and faithfulness into being successful. As a result, God, Christ and the Bible have come to mean too little to us and rest too inconsequentially upon us.

Worship matters and it must be anchored entirely on God’s truth. Worship should be anchored on the entire truth about God, which He has revealed about himself within His Word. Our worship is a matter of infinite importance. If the truth of God and the Gospel is not at the center of our worship services then we are not truly worshiping the God of the bible but a “god” of our own imagination or creation. An incomplete foundation to our worship leads to an incomplete understanding of all that God is.

It is a matter of eternal consequence when people get worship wrong, as a result they do not worship God acceptably however well meaning they may be.

God does not exist to satisfy human ambitions, or our own private spiritual interests. We must focus on God in our worship, rather than the satisfaction of our personal needs. God is sovereign in worship; we are not. Our concern must be for God’s kingdom, not our own empires, popularity or success.

We should work to know the Gospel… to memorize its foundations and contours. We should allow our thoughts, our prayers, our affections, and our songs to be informed by the glories of the gospel. Constance Cherry has said that,

Our understanding of Christian worship starts with our understanding of God.

The second greatest source of theological teaching in the local church comes from the songs that it sings. While theology is taught, more often it is often caught… through song. In the end, we do not want to create worship services that simply make Christians want to return to our worship services again; instead you want to create worship services that make Christians long to be with Christ and live out the Gospel.

John MacArthur says,

Worship is not an addendum to life, it is at life’s core. You see, the people who worship God acceptably enter into eternal life, but the people who do not worship God acceptably enter into eternal death. Worship, then, becomes the core. Time and eternity are determined by the nature of a person’s worship.

As we pursue this journey into Christ-Centered or Gospel-Shaped worship together I will leave us with this thought,

Worship is an invitation and not our invention.

Can Our Music be Evangelistic?

Posted on by Tanner Royalty

I was reading an article recently that was attacking the idea that our music in church can be evangelistic in nature pretty harshly. On that article I found a comment that I enjoyed from an ECLA pastor. It read,

Jesus made it very clear in the great commission what the church is to be about. Go everywhere and make disciples, baptize and teach. Throughout his ministry Jesus was constantly battling with any religious custom or “tradition” that kept people away from God. He physically touched the ritually impure, broke the sacred Sabbath laws, threw over the Temple sanctioned system of money changing, ate with sinners and tax collectors, just to name a few. The church always exists first for those who haven’t found it yet. When the church loses this mission focus it risks becoming what our bishop has called “a country club with a religious flavor”.

The bishop also recently shared some troubling statistics about youth and young adults in the Lutheran Church (which is presumably similar to other mainline denominations). “If we are satisfied with losing 92% of our youth, then let’s not change anything,” the bishop told the synod council. Citing research that found that 84% of Lutherans between confirmation and age 24 do not attend church, and that half of the rest attend non-Lutheran churches, the bishop told the council, “the absence of young people between the ages of 18 and 35 is the single largest challenge facing the Lutheran church in this region.”

Hundreds and hundreds of mainline churches close in the U.S. every year. Many of them are right in the heart of growing communities. Most of the long established congregations in our fast growing county are in decline. Who will be the church leaders twenty and thirty years from now? What are we willing to compromise in order to attract unchurched people so they can experience the church’s relevance in their lives?

What a great response! The line that rattled me to my core was: The church always exists first for those who haven’t found it yet. Have we lost sight of that? I know there are times that I have. Sometimes we approach church with our expectations, our preference, our baggage, our wants, our needs, and our desires… and we forget our purpose.

We know that we live in a culture of change and with shifting ideas and relevance. We also know that music has always been at the center of such shifts, and often brought controversy within the church. It seems as if there is nothing that rallies a congregation to grab their pitchforks and torches like a change in the music they are accustomed to. This goes for both young and old generations! In fact, every generation tends to dislike the music of the next generation and the generation before them.

We have all heard it said, “The music we play in church ultimately isn’t for us.” In fact, our worship isn’t limited to a genre or style at all!

So, if we acknowledge that to be true then why are we holding so dearly onto our preferences at the expense of missing an opportunity for evangelism, kingdom-building, and multi-generational “churching?”

Ed Stetzer has said,

In our generation, formality and traditionalism is shifting out of general church practice. According to research from a few years ago, churches were moving to contemporary (verses traditional) at an 11-1 ratio.

I personally don’t find this shocking at all. With the rise of multi-site churches and mega-churches it seems as if many other churches have followed the trend of cultural relevance that seems to be getting unchurched people through the doors of churches that never would have entered previous to the musical and stylistic changes. I would bet that we will continue to see that trend grow and that eventually most churches are going to make the transition to feel more contemporary rather than traditional.

Along those lines our Pastor has used the example of a minister standing before his congregation and asking the simple question, “How many of you would do anything to get your child in church and keep them there as they age?” Every hand in the church shot up without hesitation. Then the minister turns the question around and asks, “then why do we hold our musical preferences so dear at the expense of them walking out the door?”

I believe that the contemporary church has done a great job of recognizing shifts and patterns in culture. They have stylistically engaged culture in relatable forms. They have reconnected with those disconnected from the “traditional” church culture. With this change unbelievers aren’t required to navigate or appreciate an unfamiliar musical style before they grasp the words that they are singing. Think about it! We have all experienced a moment where we are so taken back by trying to understand the melodies and presentation of a song that we have missed the content entirely. That is exactly what we don’t want to happen for a first time church visitor! We want them to catch the words and be comfortable with the presentation in hopes of moving any distractions away from them hearing the Gospel proclaimed.

Many would argue for a lack of theological depth in contemporary music in comparison to other styles or presentations. I for one don’t believe modern worship (necessarily) “dumbs down” the music, but makes it makes it more accessible to those unfamiliar with church, church music, and maybe with God. Many people that are new to church are only used to what they have heard in the secular world. Beginning to walk in faith is hard enough without having to learn a new style of music in order to worship God. As long as the theology is rich and the words are pointed directly at Christ then I don’t see an issue with us teaching them in a way they can understand.

Now, having said all of that many would believe that I am just trying to usher in a contemporary style and point fingers at those who have yet to move in that direction. That isn’t it at all! All of this being said is “context” and “culture” sensitive. My hope is that we aren’t changing just for the sake of change… but instead we are changing because of the needs of our people and the particular context we are currently in. A 5-piece rock band may not fit a rural congregation but a banjo or organ may! Hymns may work for a primarily older (in age) church, whereas they may not engage a college town congregation. Ultimately, styles matter less than worship and depth.

The writer of the original post stated,

Getting butts in the seats is not evangelism. It’s not discipleship.

I actually agree with that statement… but it is certainly a start! A song or style alone can’t be it. So, can our church music be evangelistic?

You’ll have to answer that for yourself. I am going to approach it from my context and say yes. The greatest tool for evangelism is not a song. It is a broken person in need of a Savior recognizing their need for Christ through an avenue that we as a church provide to them through the guidance of the Spirit. But… an avenue for that recognition can certainly be in lyrical content. Content that an individual doesn’t need a deep and extensive theological background to decipher.

So… what is your context? In that realization you may find your answer.

What is the Purpose of Singing in Christian Worship

Posted on by Tanner Royalty

Worship that is Tasteful.

Posted on by Tanner Royalty

The idea that “less is more” has spread like wildfire in the recent years. I like the saying itself, but I don’t necessarily enjoy the mediocrity that it sometimes ushers in to the art of music. Sometimes the idea of “less is more” can be used as a crutch to continue standing on mediocrity or to justify a lack of improvement due to whatever reasons one may have. I have even seen this excuse being used to make one feel better about their own laziness: either in the world of musical practice/ knowledge, or even in the recruitment of musicians.

I am going to go out on a limb and say that no person has ever walked out of a church service and said, “If they had one more guitar or drum solo I probably would have encountered the presence of God.” But I can guarantee you that someone has walked out of a church and said, “The music was very good and the musicians were very skilled… but instead of worshipping I got caught watching a performance.”

The reason I can say that is… I have been that person. I have said those exact words.

I think that sometimes we fall victim to a shortfall in our thinking concerning our music making in the church worship context. We can think that, “I am part of a worship band, I need to be playing all the time… that is what I am here for!” However, I think the opposite is true. We as artists or musicians want to contribute and play/ use our craft all of the time… for good reasons too! We have been given a particular set of skills and we want to use them to bring glory and honor to Christ. But somewhere along the way we have misinterpreted the idea of worship and music-making… many of us have come to believe that we are to be “busy” as musicians all of the time. That is where our “less is more” phrase comes into play.

Now hear me out… the phrase “less is more” doesn’t mean that we should be satisfied with mediocrity, or my most despised phrase, “It is good enough for church.” Instead it means that we should be content in serving and providing what is needed. In some instances that may mean rocking out with all that you have got to add texture and energy to song arrangement… in other instances that may mean sitting on your hands for ten minutes and focusing on the words of the song being sung.

In fact, instead of saying “less is more” I like the phrase, “tastefully add what is needed, and leave out the rest.”

I like the idea of being tasteful. You may ask… how does being tasteful apply to music?

The great jazz trumpeter Miles Davis has an interesting nickname for someone of his musical “caliber. “ Davis has been deemed the master of understatement. Miles Davis has been quoted stating that,

The more important notes are the ones you don’t play.

I live by the idea that I lead more through my worshipping and presence than I do from my instrument. That being said, I may actually lead better by not playing and just worshipping God than by playing the most complex part that can fit into the song.

How do we provide tastefully what is needed? Let’s think together.

  • Acknowledge your role.

What is your role in the band? Are you the bass player? Drummer? Keyboard player? Vocalist? Is your role to provide content and lyrics or to support the text of the song?

Music played in church worship serves a higher purpose than any other form of secular music… it teaches and shapes the thinking of Believers. That means that every part of every song should be intentional and beneficial to the song as a whole. No single part should distract or pull away from the whole “being” of the song. Everything happening should point to the purpose… Christ. That doesn’t mean we can’t be artistic and do “cool” artistic things. That doesn’t mean we can’t solo or have “catchy” tags/ parts. But… like I said before… every part should contribute or add to the “whole.” Because what we do informs peoples thinking of our Savior it should go without saying that…

The content of the song is important!

We have discussed in previous blogs, that can be found on this site, about how important the songs we choose and play are to the life of a church and the life of an individual believer. The same can be said about how we present the songs that we do choose to play.

Each of us needs to discover and embrace our role in the “band” and do it well in order to point to our God.

  • Take only what is yours.

As musicians we should always be asking ourselves, “Where, when, and what should I be playing?” And… “Is my playing or singing robbing someone else of the opportunity, or misdirecting the glory or praise?”

Just because we can play or sing something doesn’t mean that we should be. The question I always ask myself before getting on stage or while rehearsing is, “How is this going to be perceived by the average church attendee.” What I mean by that is where is the attention and glory going? Where is the spotlight being pointed?

If I play a tremendous solo or sing a great run and the attention and praise goes to me then ultimately I have failed at what I set out to do.

DISCLAIMER: We do have to be careful in this thinking though because we shouldn’t allow our own expressions of worship to be suffocated or restricted by the misunderstandings of others. We may be approaching the throne room with our musical abilities with the right heart and in the right spirit and some may question our motives or technique, but that shouldn’t stop our endeavors… but we should at some point be mindful at how our methods come across.

  • Benefit comes with discipline.

The word “discipline” usually comes with negative connotations or a “bad rap” when in fact it can be a very good thing.

Tasteful worship can also be described as “skilled” worship.

Psalm 33:3 says,

Sing a new song of praise to him; play skillfully on the harp, and sing with joy.

God desires our “skillful” worship. Skills without the authenticity and genuineness of God-centered worship is nothing but ear-pleasing… but when combined skills and purpose can shake up the system.

We should be consistently practicing and honing our skills… not so we can show them off at every opportunity. But instead so we can seize the opportunity when it arises and give all the glory to God who has provided the set.

1 Chronicles 15:19-22 tells of a “praise team” who plays under the provision and instruction of a man chosen for his skill at the craft. It says,

The musicians, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were chosen to sound the bronze cymbals. Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah and Benaiah were chosen to play the harps.  Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were chosen to play the lyres. Kenaniah, the head Levite, was chosen as the choir leader because of his skill.

Clearly, God wants our best, and we should bring Him our best, purest sacrifice of praise as we worship Him. We should discipline ourselves to practice and play with self-discipline. Just remember that just because we can play something doesn’t mean that we always should. Not playing can also be a sacrifice of praise.

John 3:30 contains a great principle for life and artistry. It says,

He must increase, but I must decrease.

This applies in a worship band context to say that I must be willing to decrease to help people focus on the purpose… God.

Let’s remember… a great song will be great no matter if it’s played with a single instrument, or hundreds of instruments, and authentic worship will take place despite how it is presented or performed. I think we need to re-evaluate and concentrate on what’s important… let’s not fall into the temptation of adding things just because we can. Let’s be musical for our God.

Let’s Check Out Our Motives

Posted on by Tanner Royalty

Why are we serving in the manner in which we are? Is it for recognition? Because we are skilled in that area, or we have a passion for that method of ministry? Do we expect the praise of others? Do we feel expected to do so, or have we already set the precedent by doing it and doing it well? Do we know that if we don’t do it no one else will?

There are many different reasons for performing a single task… some we are aware of and some we aren’t. Some of our reasoning for doing particular things is subconscious and natural. Motive is the key in everything we do as disciples of Christ. What we do is important, but why we do what we do is even more important. In Matthew 6:1, Jesus gave the principle that should guide all of our service. That passage says,

Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

How do we check our motives and ensure that we are doing and serving the way God wills for us to with the correct outlook, motives, mindset, and heart?

Let’s think together.

  • Look at God’s Expectations

Romans 12:1 says,

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

That passage lays out what God expects from us when it comes to service, life, and Christian living. We are to present our bodies and our service to God… not in an unworthy way, but rather, as a holy sacrifice.

Instead we are often guilty of falling into a legalistic trap or mindset when it comes to Christian service. There are two kinds of legalism that are destroying the church… the idea that service or “works” can earn your salvation, and the belief that in order to be accepted as a “good Christian” one must be active in service.

We know that Christianity is the only way to Heaven and the only hope of the world… but even knowing that we fall into legalistic traps or views that can be applied across the board to many religions. In fact, there are many people who serve different “gods” or entities in order to earn salvation or a way into the afterlife.

As believers we are told something entirely different concerning our salvation. Paul says in Ephesians 2:8-10 this,

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

We know that the grace of God is the only thing that assures salvation, and the grace of God happens apart from human effort or merit. Christians are not only saved by grace, but kept by grace. In Romans 8:28-39 we see that nothing can separate us from the power and love of God… no army, no mistake, not even our own laziness. Romans 8:28-39 says,

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ultimately the belief that in order to be accepted as a “good Christian” one must be active in service presents a belief in a theology that believes that God accepts Christians not for who they are, but for what they do. But we actually know, according to Scripture, that God accepts all Christians because of their identity in Christ as God’s sons… as heirs.

Romans 8:17 says exactly that,

And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Now, I do believe that it must be said that godly living would normally involve service of some kind. However, particular circumstances may not permit a Christian to minister in a particular way for a particular season, which, with incorrect theology, may result in feelings of inadequacy or insecurity about God’s acceptance of them at that time.

Our works do matter to God. But we must never think of them as a means to earn what God freely gives: grace, mercy, love, salvation, new life. Good works come as a response to the activity of grace in our lives. Yet, we must always remember that our salvation does not come by our works. This means, among other things, that you don’t have to get it all right to be in a relationship with God. You don’t have to be perfect, or even close. You don’t have to have perfect, unfaltering faith. Rather, you need only to receive God’s grace in faith and allow it to transform your life.

Both avenues of legalism that we have discussed, and more, are unbiblical motivations for serving God. The Christian can do nothing to earn or keep God’s salvation or favor, because one is accepted in Christ if he or she has simply believed in and accepted Him.

  • Selfless instead of Selfish

Sinful selfish motives are another motivation that we have to check when we enter into or are continually serving in Christ’s name. In fact, there are many selfish reasons one might serve: financial gain, power over others, pride/ to impress others, to prove to others that one is spiritual, etc…

There are many biblical examples of those with self-seeking motives.

Matthew 6:1-6 says,

Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Mark 12:38-40 says,

And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

Several times we also see Jesus rebuke James and John when they argued about their future position in the kingdom. This should serve as both a warning to us… and an encouragement that we aren’t the only ones who suffer from impure motives when serving God. Even those who walked beside Jesus had their motives tainted to some degree by selfishness at one point or another. We see one of those encounters in Mark 9:33-35 where it says,

And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

We see another in Luke 22:24-30,

A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves. You are those who have stayed with me in my trials, and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

Even our impurities aren’t that creative! Selfish and unworthy motives have been around since Jesus walked the earth or before!

One of our “Father” figures in ministry, Paul, was sensitive to ministry out of selfish motives. In 1 Timothy Paul warns Timothy and says that servants should see to it that their master receive ALL the honor. 1 Timothy 6:1 says,

Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled.

The ministry of the gospel was not given to advance any selfish agenda. Those who use it as such are ministering from unworthy and ungodly motives.

  • It’s not a Competition

1 Peter 4:10 says,

As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

We each have received a special gift according to the Word of God. No two of us are alike.  Everybody is unique. And every person has a unique gift to be used to advance the Kingdom of God. Everyone is unique.  Every gift is unique.

Sometimes in church service we buy into a “competition” mindset that places us against everyone else we view as being competitors in our particular
“realm” of giftedness… this can be contained within our Body of Believers or can be church wide amongst several bodies who all compete.

1 Corinthians 12:4 serves as a reminder that we all may have separate gifts… but they all come from the same “gift-giver.” That passage says,

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.

The idea behind God giving us gifts to serve Him is that we would work together in unity to advance the Kingdom. A war can’t be singlehandedly fought on the frontlines. Someone has to keep those troops equipped, another has to keep them healthy and fed, someone else has to form a strategy. You get the idea. We all play a part in this… but our role may look different than the person next to us.

If we take a step back and look at all of 1 Corinthians 12:1-27 it paints another picture of unified service in different forms. It says,

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

A body struggles when missing a part. We must be contempt with our function and gifting and do it well. If you don’t use your gift that is ultimately a loss to the body of Christ. Let’s be satisfied in our gifting and use it for His glory. It isn’t a competition.

  • Turn off the “Applause- Meter”

Lastly, are we serving for the praise or recognition of doing so?

Let me tell you… as a musician, or someone who stands and serves in front of others, this is so hard to keep in check. The motivation when starting may be pure… but it is a gradual slope that leads to a free-fall. We begin to judge our “serving” based off the reactions and praises of others and allow that praise to drive our decisions and our service.

Praises are like a drug. Little by little we become tolerant and immune and it takes more and more to satisfy our need. Suddenly, when we aren’t getting enough the enemy can slip in and tell us that we aren’t appreciated, or that our service is overlooked or not good enough.

Be honest… has this ever happened to you? It has me.

Too often we allow the lies of the enemy to make the church look like an elementary school playground… we get upset, frustrated, disappointed, etc… and instead of handling the root issue we pack up our toys and march off.

Much of the time the “greener pastures” that we pursue are laced with deception and pride. We turn the plains in which we reside into the valleys of self-pity and loathing.

A seminary professor in a class I was taking put it this way,

Below many “green pastures” lies a septic tank.

Don’t base your serving off of what others say about you… instead look to what the Father says and your reasoning for serving. Let’s do ourselves a favor and turn off or unhook the applause meter!

So… what are your motivations for serving? Is it time to get them back in check?

What does God say about You?

Posted on by Tanner Royalty

What do people say about you? The way you dress? The way you act? The people you associate with? What you enjoy doing?

These are all questions that many ask themselves each and every day. What type of impression do we make? Do people like or approve of us? It is completely natural to ask ourselves these things.

In fact you don’t even have to tell or train kids to care what their peers think. At some point in late elementary school the innocence of care-free living and relationships disappears and groups begin to form based off interests, attire, gender, race, etc… Where groups happen you will always find people conforming to “”fit in” to those groups. We are internally wired to care about what other people think or say about us. There are exceptions to this… but even those people who claim otherwise typically care to some extent.

In 2013 many of us got to experience a pretty incredible moment as Nik Wallenda, “The King of the High Wire,” walked a tightrope across the Little Colorado River Gorge (a section of the Grand Canyon) live on national television without a safety net. Nik is a seventh generation daredevil belonging to the legendary Great Wallendas (a tight roping family) and began walking the tightrope at age 4. Nik had spent his life training and preparing for this one moment.

What many viewers that night were unaware of was the fact that Nik’s great-grandfather died before viewers’ eyes on live television trying to walk a tightrope strung between two hotel towers in San Juan, Puerto Rico, harness-free, in 1978.

Anyone who watched felt the suspense the whole time as Nik battled high winds (18-30mph) while balancing a 45 pound bar on a mere 2-inch wire. The quarter-mile walk at 1,500 feet in the air took more than 20 minutes, and Wallenda actually had to kneel twice to wait out the stronger winds. But… he made it! Nik Wallenda was the first human to ever cross the Little Colorado River Gorge on a wire.

A tightrope walk across the Grand Canyon without any safety net or harness is pretty crazy right? Success means living another day as a daredevil, and failure means certain death… live on television for your friends and family to see.

But… in a less literal sense I would compare walking a tightrope to living according to what other people think. Trying to please people is like stepping out on a tightrope. Once we decide to bend to people’s desires or perceptions we are stepping out, and getting on, to a hairy situation that most of us will never be able to maintain. Think about it… everyone wants something different… no one thing can please every crowd. So with each step we are swaying left and right in order to meet the needs and gain the “applause” of the right group of people. But… we must be extraordinarily careful not to sway too far in either direction because that mistake can leave us hanging on for our lives. It is sad to say that much of the world’s happiness is dependent on impressions… what people say or think about us.

Many of us need to unhook the “applause-meter” and focus on who God has created us to be.

Our happiness in life should depend on how God sees us. Sadly, many of us have a wrong idea of God’s opinion of us. We base it on what we’ve been taught, our bad experiences in life, what the world tells us, and many other assorted assumptions. Some of us may have bought into the lies of the enemy and think that God is disappointed in us, or that we’ll never measure up to who He has called us to be. Some of us may even believe in an angry God who exists in a constant state of anger because we as humans, try as we might, can’t stop sinning.

But if we want to know the truth, we need to go to the source: God himself. Let’s dive in to the Word and figure out who we are according to what God has called us. Let’s think together.

  • We are His beloved children.

Luckily enough, upon our salvation, we are no longer strangers to God. The decision to accept Christ is a decision to join a family. We are adopted and no longer exist as orphans or children of the world, even though we may sometimes feel alone. We know for a fact that the heavenly Father loves us and sees us as one of His children.

2 Corinthians 6:17-18 says,

Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.

Not everyone has the experience of having a good earthly Father, but we all have the same opportunity to be adopted by a great Heavenly Father who will never leave us or forsake us, but will instead love us unceasingly without restraint.

1 John 3:1- 3 says,

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

Our identity is even found in the way we are taught to pray! In Matthew 6 we find the “model prayer” or Lord’s prayer and even in the way we address God it not only reinforces His identity… but it confirms ours!

Matthew 6:9 says,

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

If He is indeed our Father then that has to mean that we are His children! We serve a good Father who blesses His own. Matthew 7:11 says,

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

God doesn’t just give us good gifts to buy our affection… instead He shares our inheritance with us. Upon conversion we become heirs with Christ Jesus Himself… to share in His inheritance.

Romans 8:16-17 says,

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

  • We are forgiven.

On October 30, 2011 Marion Hedges was at her local Target buying Halloween candy for underprivileged kids when she was hit in the head by a shopping cart pushed over a fourth floor railing by two 12-year-old boys. Marion was technically dead at the scene and had to be revived by a doctor who happened to be nearby. The then 47-year-old had to be in a medically induced coma for a period of time, suffered serious brain trauma and injury, and lost the use of one eye after the cart fell on her. She needed months of rehabilitation.

In her time of recovery when Marion heard of the two young boys who committed the violent prank she responded by choosing grace and forgiveness. She was quoted saying, “I feel very sorry for them. My son is 13 also, and he is a very good boy.” Hedges chose the road of forgiveness instead of harboring bitterness, anger, and un-forgiveness in her heart. Since her accident, Hedges has expressed her concerns for both of the boys responsible.

Many Christians are being crushed under a heavy load of guilt, afraid they have disappointed God, and are past the point of grace and forgiveness. But… there is good news! If we know Jesus as our Savior, God sees us as forgiven.

God does not hold our past sins against us.

Acts 10:43 says,

All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.

John 8:36 says,

The Son has set me free. I am free indeed!

The Bible is clear on this point. God sees us as righteous because of the death of His Son on our behalf. As Forgiven Sons and Daughters of a good God we don’t have to worry about being holy enough, because Jesus was perfectly holy and died on the cross on our behalf. God sees us as forgiven. We just have to walk in that forgiveness.

Galatians 2:20 says,

I am crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

  • We are a people of hope.

 Ephesians 3:20 says,

He is able to do immeasurably more than all I ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within me.

Hebrews 10:23 says,

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

He who promised is faithful… what a powerful statement that so many of us fail to recognize and hold onto daily. Tragedy hits for everyone at some point… and it is easy to lose sight of our identity before our Maker when we feel as if life has handed us more than we can handle.

But… God sees us and has made us to be people of hope. No matter how bleak the situation, Jesus is with us through it all.

Romans 8:31 says,

God is for me! Who can be against me?

Jeremiah 29:11 says,

For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future

We’ve all had these situations… in fact the song below is one that I wrote while in one of those “hopeless” seasons that now ministers to the Body in which I serve.

Ultimately our hope is not based on what we can muster up. It’s based on the One we have hope in. When our hope is failing we must remember that our Father is strong. When we keep our attention focused on him, hope will come.

Lamentations 3:25 says,

The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him.

When we begin to see ourselves as God sees us, it will change our perspective. What other truths can you find in the Word that speaks to your image before God?

The Power of Silence

Posted on by Tanner Royalty

Silence. It’s rare. It can be uncomfortable.

One of the definitions for silence in Merriam-Webster is:

A situation, state, or period of time in which a person does not talk in order that they may hear.

In fact, the word “silent” and the word “listen” have the same letters interchanged. They go hand-in-hand. I like the statement,

When I am silent, then I can listen, when I can listen then I can learn.

Lamentations 3:26 says,

It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

There is nothing worse than being in the very presence of God and having that trampled out by noise. Hear me out… we have all been there, think about a time in church where you were “connected” and pouring your heart out in a song and when it ended the silence was stomped out by awkward applause. I have been there. I have been the culprit.

Sometimes silence is uncomfortable as a Worship Pastor. I have made many a victim to meaningless theological “fluff” off the cuff at the end of a song just to escape the effects of silence.

How does silence play a part in our worship and our communication with God? There is a place for singing and shouting and a place for silence. Why should we seek out silence and participate in it during our worship? Let’s think together below.

  • Silence speaks when we have no words to say.

Revelation 8:1 is a small passage that reveals one of the most powerful moments that will exist in all of creation. That passage says,

When the Lamb ripped off the seventh seal, Heaven fell quiet—complete silence for about half an hour.

All of Heaven fell quiet. Can you imagine that? In that moment of significance there was nothing to say…

Such a small verse that is often read over relays a huge truth: sometimes when we encounter the awesome power of God, all we can do is be silent. Silence is the appropriate response.

This concept of silence isn’t new to us. I believe that everyone has had a moment in their life that has left them speechless. Think about at the end of a powerful film… the movie theatre is silent as the credits roll. What about when you have witnessed an incredibly powerful moment, whether it was an act of compassion or recognition for a humanitarian hero, sometimes applause and cheering isn’t the appropriate or natural response. I even think about when I have encountered someone that I admire or look up to. All I can do is stand in silence and observe.

On the same note, I have been in worship services that have left me at a loss for words… but yet the hardest thing for me to do was just to be silent. Why is it that we always feel the urge to speak? To clap? To cheer and yell?

Victory doesn’t only come in the midst of applause and cheers. In fact, in Psalm 62 David writes,

I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken.

Sometimes when we are left speechless it is better for us to stay that way than scramble for something “theological” to say. 

Habakkuk 2:20 says,

But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.

Let’s not be so quick to speak “into” a situation that we miss out on experiencing the awesome presence of God.

  • Silence confronts.

Nothing is silent anymore.

Last summer I went on a tour of Mammoth Cave here in Kentucky and at one of the deepest points of the trek the guide turned out all the lights and said that when the cave was empty and dark someone would quickly lose sanity because of the lack of auditory stimulus.

It’s a noisy world we live in! Everything around us makes noise. Think about the evolution of personal music devices. You used to have to have a record player and quite a large setup to listen to music. Over the years the devices have gotten smaller and smaller and now there isn’t a place we can go that is out of reach of our personal listening pleasure.

We now have constant auditory stimuli from our iPods, phone conversations, busy streets, and everyday life. Genuine silence is nearly impossible to come by these days, but yet silence has a power that we should use more often. Silence confronts.

That last statement may have thrown you off…

Let me say it this way… it is easy to ignore what’s going on inside of you when there are so many things demanding your attention. But when left with only silence, we have a much harder time ignoring the things deep down in our souls that we have tucked away for so long. Silence can reveal things that make us uncomfortable and strip away the things we have used to shield us away from facing them. Silence confronts us with ourselves.

Silence also confronts us with God.

God sometimes yells, but more often He whispers. With all the noise around us, sometimes it can be hard to hear and recognize His voice.

Psalm 46:10 provides the antidote to our “hearing” problem. It says,

Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.

Let’s make time in our worship services to be confronted with the voice of God speaking into our souls.

  • Silence allows room for us to hear.

I Kings 19-9-13 says,

There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

It is no coincidence that in 1 Kings 19, when God speaks to Elijah, it is in a “gentle whisper” and not in the fire, the wind or the earthquake like we would expect our all-powerful God to do.

What I have seen displayed in my own life of ministry is that God rarely, if ever has forced His will on me. Instead, He shows me and waits for me to make the move. He speaks and waits for me to listen. He promises and allows me to find Him. Isn’t that how faith works? It would be easy to have follow God if He was always blatantly pointing things out to us and screaming directions into our ears. We would be puppets or marionettes on a string being pulled in whatever direction He willed.

Romans 10:17 says,

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

So… are we hearing?

If God sometimes speaks in whispers then we must create time and space in our lives to hear His whispers and follow His gentle nudging.

Have you ever had a relationship with someone who never hears you because they are always either talking or thinking about how they are going to respond when you are done speaking? I personally catch myself doing that to God. I pray and respond… sometimes I just don’t listen.

If our relationship with God is like that of any other relationship then we know that communication is key. Communication isn’t only talking. Sometimes we need to just shut up and listen.

When we encounter the Spirit of God I believe that we should be quiet and let Him speak, and get out of the way so He can move.

Exodus 14:14 says,

The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

Let’s commit ourselves to learning when to be silent.

Psalm 62:5 says,

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.

The Benefits of Multi-Generational Worship

Posted on by Tanner Royalty

What does the makeup of your church look like?

All young? All old? Is it healthy?

Deuteronomy 6:1-13 says,

Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear.

This passage shows us that multi-generational “worship” is of utmost importance.

Howard Vanderwell defines intergenerational worship as,

Worship in which people of every age are understood to be equally important. Each and all are the church of now.

In fact, the phrase “all generations” appears 91 times in the Bible. Vanderwell goes on to say,

God does not form our character all at once or all by himself. Nor does he expect us to unilaterally form our own character. God acts on us through others. Interaction among generations is necessary for forming faith and character. Each age learns from another.

Worship is SO much more than singing.

Worship in its purest sense is related to the teaching and learning of God’s Word. I don’t want to limit our understanding of worship to being only through song or an artistic sense… of course, that is one avenue or expression of our worship. But, here we are talking about ALL that is worship.

The Context

Having multiple generations together in a worship service or ministry is almost against the “norm” nowadays. Too often we cater to our own individual preferences and create services for everything: kids service, youth service, traditional service, contemporary service, country western service, etc… The modern church tends to approach ministry programs in a mostly uni-generational manner instead of a multi-generational manner. Meaning, we segment our worship services into age appropriate groupings with each respective group receiving teaching, ministry, musical worship and such in a very compartmentalized environment.

The problem I have with this mindset or method though is that isn’t what Heaven is going to be like! Revelation 5 paints us a picture of what Heaven will be like… it says,

They sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

Not only is Heaven going to be filled with worshipers from every tribe and nation like Revelation 5 says, but it will also be filled with worshipers from EVERY generation! We can worship alongside Peter and Paul, our great-grandmother, and what will be our great grandchild! Worshipers from EVERY time and place will be there. So, as we pray as Jesus taught us, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven,” we can fight for our times of worship to be multi-generational. Heaven is multi-generational!

So… other than looking a little like Heaven here on earth, what other benefits come along with multi-generational worship? Let’s explore that question below.

  • Promotes Understanding

How do you worship? What about the person next to you on Sunday?

The fact is that we all express ourselves in different ways and what moves me into worship may not do anything for you.

We each interact differently. We each have our own worship language.

The first step to bringing generations together in a worship ministry is to provide opportunity for everyone to worship in their language. At school we have talked a lot about the culture and languages of worship differing in each church, and I think the same can be said for different generations. I don’t respond in the same way to a song that my grandma does. So… instead of splitting people apart and segregating by age or other factors I think we should be providing a place for them, either on stage if that is their ministry, or in the congregation as a worshipper. The funny thing is that this is the first step often times to dissolving the tension amongst worship styles and preference.

One of the great benefits of worshiping together is that people are given a great opportunity to learn and grow in their preference of others. When people are taught and begin to understand that there is really no such thing as “adult worship” or “youth worship” or “contemporary” or “traditional” they begin to see the different approaches as valid and beneficial to the Kingdom.

Different languages for different voices.

By providing an opportunity to worship alongside Brothers and Sisters in Christ we are providing an opportunity for connection, relationship building, and at least understanding of who we are connected to through the blood of Christ. Multi-generational worship promotes understanding.

  • Promotes Unity

People tend to gather in groups made up of people that they share similarities with. You can see it by going to your nearest high school cafeteria or country club! People with wealth tend to hang out with other wealthy people. People who dress a particular way or have particular hobbies/ interests gather together because of their commonalities. In fact it isn’t shocking at all that people like to hang out with people like them!

I’m afraid you could walk into many of our churches and make similar observations. It is far too easy to stereotype most churches within the first 30 seconds of entering the building or even driving by… but the saddest part is that most of those stereotypes turn out being correct! “Ohhh… coffee shop in the foyer, this is the young people church where people wear skinny jeans and the music is too loud.” Or alternatively… “Potted plants, banners, and paper bulletins handed out by greeters, this must be the old people church with the organ and hymnbook.”

How easy and true is that?

But, the beauty of the Gospel is that it brings together people who would not naturally choose to be together. In Ephesians 2:14-18 Paul says,

For He himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

In the times that Paul was living and ministering there was never a divide quite as strong as the one between the Jews and the Gentiles. Jewish people spent their lives thinking of ways to be separated from the Gentiles! But… a wrench was thrown in the machine when Gentiles started getting saved! How were Jews and Gentiles supposed to be of “one body?” They hated each other… they had nothing alike! These are the types of things Paul was facing at this time and these same ideas and problems are still around today. How easy would it have been for Paul just to have a Jewish church service and a Gentile church service? Two churches for two differing bodies with two different “tastes.” But Paul knew that is not what we are called to do. Paul knew what many of us need to grasp today… Paul knew that a united people in one church would display the beauty of the gospel more brilliantly.

When we teach our congregation that we are all unique and diverse and that there are many valid approaches and styles of worship (including music), and that it’s okay to have preferences, we can experience some beautiful moments of unity. What happens is, people become accepting with an approach that isn’t necessarily their cup of tea because they understand unity, and they understand the needs of their fellow Brothers and Sisters in Christ. Using musical worship as an example, it’s okay when the children sing a song that we as adults may deem as silly or shallow at the top of their lungs because that is their worship language at this point in time. The adults should absolutely join in singing “Jesus Loves Me” with their children because they prefer and understand the importance of unity and want the children of the church to learn and grow in their excitement to worship God. Afterall, He is OUR God… not MY or YOUR god.

If our congregations can’t move past style then ultimately they are worshipping their style of worship instead of actually worshipping.

Through multi-generational worship we also teach our children to learn, join, and sing when their grandparents bust out their favorite arrangement of “In the Garden.”

Psalm 133 says,

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.

One of the simplest ways that we can live the truth of Psalm 133 is to worship together, old and young. This verse says that it is wonderful when God’s children live together in unity. When we segment our environments by age, or other factor, and shuttle them off to be taught “age-appropriate” curriculum we probably do a lot of good for them individually. But what we also do is probably unintentionally teach younger generations that it is acceptable to worship in a segregated manner. We create groups of worshippers… groups of little individual churches. We call these little churches: children’s church, youth group, and “big church.”

We are meant to be ONE body.

  • Promotes Discipleship

I believe that a huge part that our older and more mature believers can play in our churches and our worship is discipling younger believers and modeling worship in front of them. This is where multi-generational worship comes into play.

Psalm 45:1-7 says,

I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

This passage talks about older generations telling younger generations about the goodness of God. When we’re able to intentionally make this happen by promoting multi-generational worship, we reinforce family. God loves family. Jesus was brought into the world through a young family. The early Church was a family. The Old Testament reiterates the importance of family through stories and genealogical listings and through stories about the Israelites and the family of God.

Worshiping together helps us see and experience what that family is supposed to be all about. I’m definitely not saying that we should never utilize age specific ministries or age-appropriate worship sets, activities, or sermons, but that we should be willing to incorporate gatherings, elements, services, etc. that allow us to worship in a multi-generational manner. I believe many of us would be surprised and challenged by the things that we learn from each other when worshipping together.

Acts 2: 17-18 says,

And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.

The work of God isn’t limited by age or any other factor.

Multi-generational worship provides the opportunity for discipleship. Discipleship usually doesn’t happen in the context of peer-driven ministry. We need our older generations to share their life experiences, their faith-building stories, and their wisdom. We need our younger people to inspire with their zeal and youthful energy. Relationships that lead to discipleship form in multi- generational worship and ministries.

How are you doing at encouraging and providing multi-generational worship?

The Difference with Preparation.

Posted on by Tanner Royalty

The past few weeks we have been discussing the importance of spiritual preparation before worship. We have talked about why it is important, how we do it, and this week we are going to close out our conversation by establishing the difference that our preparation makes.

When we stop to think about it, worship is a rather challenging activity. We are seeking to encounter and interact with an invisible deity. We speak and listen to a God that we cannot visibly see audibly hear. Therefore, I would go out on a limb to say that it is impossible to overstate the importance of adequate preparation for authentic worship. In fact we see how highly preparation to encounter the presence of God was held in Scripture in Exodus 19:7-20. The account found in Exodus says,

Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. All the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.” When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord, the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.” So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people; and they washed their garments. And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman.” On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

In fact, we know that this isn’t the only account in Scripture where people have prepared to encounter God. In Joshua 3:5 God instructs Joshua to prepare. Joshua 3:5 says,

Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.

Want more out of worship? Prepare.

In Psalm 24 David cites the personal qualifications of those who may comfortably go into the presence of the Lord. His point is that no one may simply barge in on the royal Lord. It takes a prepared heart.

Psalm 24:1-6 says,

The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.

So… we know that preparation for worship is important, but what difference does it make? What results can we expect to see from our preparation?

  • Gain Heavenly Perspective.

I have found that it is FAR too easy to get caught up in the small things and begin to “create mountains out of molehills” within the church. In a single service there are so many things that we can critique: the level of lighting, the song selection, the volume level, the seating layout, the length of the sermon, etc…

We even see someone caught up in the logistics of worship instead of the point in John 4 when Jesus is seen speaking to the woman at the well.

Take a look at that encounter in John 4:7-26,

A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

In that passage the conversation turned to worship. The woman’s concern was where the worshiping was done (on Mt. Gerizim or in Jerusalem), but we see that Jesus was concerned about how and in what spirit it was done (in spirit and in truth). The phrase “in spirit and in truth” carries several levels of meaning, but through all its meanings runs the thread that teaches us the preparation of our spirit is more important than external circumstances or the location of our worship. Because of who God is, how we worship matters!

It is through this passage, and others, that I conclude that for the most part the external things/ logistics don’t matter. It is also evident that it is possible for every factor and logistic to be perfect/ without complaint and for us to still miss out on authentic worship. Our preparation will likely be the key that makes the difference.

In Ecclesiastes 5:2 Solomon states,

God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.

In actuality, this is a statement of perspective, not actual distance. God is all-knowing, Creator, perfect, above all, and infinite. God is God and we aren’t. God is in heaven and we are on earth.

It’s all about perspective.

One of the great benefits of preparation is gaining a proper perspective of God.

With this perspective we not only gain a view of the throne of God, but we also gain a view from the throne of God. Once we have entered into God’s presence, we look down on our world from his perspective. We find that what we thought was a mountain was a molehill after all. What seemed great and mighty in the world’s eyes turns out to be small and insignificant in God’s eyes.

When we prepare and encounter the very presence of God we begin to see life from his perspective. When we worship we gain a view of the throne of God, and hopefully from the throne of God.

  • Wash Ourselves Beforehand to get the Most out of our Time.

Ever feel like by the time you feel as if you are in the presence of God that particular portion of the service is over?

Why does it take so long for us to get to that point?

Preparation.

In Old Testament times, the tabernacle in which the Jewish people worshipped and prayed consisted of several parts: the outer court; the inner court, and the Holy of Holies. The general “public” was restricted to the outer court. The priests had access to the inner court where they would make sacrifices on behalf of the people. But only the high priest could go behind the veil that separated the inner court from the Holy of Holies.

The room known as the Holy of Holies was the most sacred area of the tabernacle of Moses and temple of Jerusalem. The Holy of Holies was constructed to very particular specifications as found in the chapter of Exodus 26. Feel free to take a look at that chapter on your own… the details are SO specific! God takes His spirit serious!

Tabernacle

The Holy of Holies was accessible only to the Israelite high priest. Once a year, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the high priest was permitted to enter the small, enclosure to burn incense and sprinkle the blood of a sacrificial animal on the mercy seat of the Ark. By doing so, he would be providing sacrifice and atonement for the sins of the people of Israel. The Holy of Holies was separated from the rest of the tabernacle/temple by the veil in order to prevent in accidental views of the presence of God.

Habakkuk 1:13a says,

You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong.

God’s eyes are literally too pure to look on evil, and He can tolerate no sin. The veil and the elaborate rituals undertaken by the priest were a reminder that man could not carelessly or irreverently enter God’s awesome presence, but instead he must prepare. Before the high priest entered the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, he had to wash himself, put on special clothing, bring burning incense to let the smoke cover his eyes from a direct view of God, and bring sacrificial blood with him to make atonement for sins. After all of that preparation the high priest still had to wear bells on his ankles and a rope around his waist in order to let those on the other side of the veil know that he was still alive and give them a way to remove his body if he wasn’t.

Hebrews 9:6-7 says,

These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people.

In order to qualify and survive the privilege of meeting with God, the priest had to undergo certain rituals of purification. Today, we qualify to be in God’s presence not on the basis of rituals, but on the basis of our righteousness in Christ. We are all called to intimate fellowship with God, however, going beyond the veil and communing with God at the deepest level requires that we be prepared.

The priests didn’t rely on another leader to prepare them to encounter the presence of God. They took it upon themselves. They washed, scrubbed, prayed, fasted, etc… in order that they might be given the privilege. What or who are you waiting on?

Unfortunately our time together as united worshippers is limited… so we must pre-wash in order to be ready to enter in!

Preparation makes a difference! I challenge you to try it!

Our preparations in no way make us any more acceptable in God’s eyes. We can’t earn love. Jesus bought our ticket… he provided our way.

Hebrews 6:19-20a establishes this,

We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf.

Because of this we should prepare and enter in. Hebrews 10:19-23 says,

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

How do we Prepare?

Posted on by Tanner Royalty

Last week we began a short series on our preparation for corporate worship. Why we prepare, how we prepare, and the difference that preparation makes. Last week we tackled the “why?”

This week we let the rubber meet the road.

I have already discussed how there is no special equation for church worship services. No magical chord that we can hit or song we can sing that will instantly bring the Spirit of God rushing in like a tidal wave. Spiritual preparation is what makes our worship distinct and impactful. Preparation should be a part of worship for both the leaders and the worshippers… no person is exempt for the necessity of preparation.

We prepare for many things in life… how much more preparation should we do before we approach the throne of God in worship?

Calling on God necessitates preparation. One would not barge into the President’s office unannounced and unprepared, neither should we with God.

This week I have done a lot of thinking about how people on an airplane and people on a pew or church seat can be compared and have a lot in common. All are on a journey, most are well “versed” and trained in public transportation manners, and a few just want to get out alive. For many, the mark of a good flight and the mark of a good worship service are the same… comfortable. Do you leaving a worship service content and comfortable or awestruck after encountering the presence of the Lord in a very real way?

Our worship is a journey, and our destination should be to the feet of Jesus.

As with any travel or journey we need to make the proper preparations so that we experience God rather than just “endure” worship. We want a memorable trip instead of just average or mundane. This week we will discuss together how we should be preparing for worship.

  • Get ready to meet God

In Ecclesiastes 5:1 Solomon writes,

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.

The phrase guard your steps means to proceed with reverence, tip toeing into the presence of God. We come with care and caution. We come with dignity and respect.

Exodus 3:2-6 gives us an example of such an approach. It says,

And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

We should approach God with the same care as Moses when he encountered God in a burning bush and removed his shoes and hid his face. It was holy ground, and he acknowledged that with his preparation before journeying onto it.

We teach our children not to run in church, so why do we “run” headlong into worship services and experiences.

Now obviously I am not talking about a physical act of running, but spiritually, emotionally, and mentally we are dashing in unprepared… we are “running.” We approach casually and unprepared like we would a lunch gathering or cookout get-together. When we aren’t anticipating God’s presence or voice we are unable to experience the presence of God that will stir our souls, change our lives, and fulfill our search for purpose.

  • Listen to God

I am a speaker. I like to talk… sometimes even if I have nothing meaningful to say.

What about you?

Think about your relationships… are you the talker or the listener? Now let’s think about our relationship with God the Father. Do we speak so often that we miss His voice? Do we listen and allow Him to speak to us or do we do all the talking?

In the passage out of Ecclesiastes that we looked at earlier Solomon offers further instructions for experiencing God in worship. That passage out of Ecclesiastes 5:1 says,

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.

But I personally like what The New Living Translation says in Ecclesiastes 5:1-2,

As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. It is evil to make mindless offerings to God. Don’t make rash promises, and don’t be hasty in bringing matters before God. After all, God is in heaven, and you are here on earth. So let your words be few.

Let’s think about it: When we come to worship, we have come to meet with God, who also desires to meet with us. When we come to meet with God I personally believe that we would be well advised to listen and let him do the talking. God wants to communicate with us.

Are we allowing time for God to speak? Are we allowing ourselves time to listen?

Too many of us have gotten into the habit of screaming into the church parking lot on two wheels for our Sunday worship last minute, strolling casually into the sanctuary, finding our preferred seat, socializing with our friends and Brothers and Sisters in Christ, and before we know it the preacher is preaching and we are wondering why we didn’t sing any songs we preferred.

Before we know it the service is over and we missed the point. We weren’t listening.

Now hear me out… there is nothing wrong with fellowshipping with your fellow church members! That is part of what the church is about, mutual edification. But, let me suggest that we take the time to fellowship with God first… to prepare and listen. There will be time to fellowship with man after we have fellowshipped with God.

Preparation for worship will change your church worship forever! Just once try some personal preparation for worship through prayer and listening to God. Walk into church ready for an encounter! You’ll never go back.

  • Mean what you say

We spend a lot of time singing in church. But when we sing, are we really singing from our heart to God? Do we mean what we sing and say, or are we only saying words?

Quite a few years ago someone noticed that everyone when they sang in church tended to have their heads buried in the hymnals – even when they knew the songs. So… what do we do as inventive, innovative, and creative people do? We came up with the idea of projecting the words on a screen. So now instead of people staring at the hymnals they stare at the screen even if they knew the songs. Same problem… new equation.

Singing in church should be more than just reading words and notes. It should be a time that we worship God from our heart. Sometimes we have to force ourselves to think about what we are singing, and discipline our minds to focus on God.

Our words carry meaning.

Consider for a moment the promises you have knowingly or unknowingly made to God when you were in worship.

“I’ll praise you in this storm…”

“When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died, my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.”

“And on that day when my strength is failing, the end draws near and my time has come. Still my soul will sing Your praise unending, ten thousand years and then forevermore.”

What promises with your time, your commitments, your life, your money, etc… have you made to God and not kept?

When we make a commitment to God, we must keep it because God believes it and doesn’t forget it. God honors His commitments. Making commitments to God is like jumping off a cliff… after you take the plunge you ARE committed, there is no turning back. We are committed to the things we sing and say. We can’t change our mind.

When you go to worship, it would be better not to vow at all, than to fail to keep your word with God.

Our words carry meaning… pay attention and mean what you say. New Testament scholar Gordon Fee once said,

“Show me a church’s songs and I’ll show you their theology.”

Mark Noll puts it,

“We are what we sing”

Worship is not and should not be something we have to “endure.” Instead it is a marvelous journey into the presence of God. It should not be a mundane trip, but a memorable flight.

Let me encourage you to come to worship prepared to worship. Pray before you come so you will be ready to pray when you arrive. Sleep before you come so you will stay alert when you arrive. Read the Word before you come so your heart will be soft when you worship. Come hungry. Come willing. Come expecting God to speak. Come anticipating a memorable experience with the Creator of the universe.