January 29, 2020. We’re on a mission to change that. Which then leads to this climactic expression of praise: “Whom have I in heaven but you? Corporate Worship and the Means of Grace When: Sundays at 9:30 AM and 5:30 PM Where: 725 Gastonia Technology Pkwy, 28034. Heaven will be more spectacular than we can dream — and the new earth, even better than heaven — but it might be surprising to hear that perhaps the best foretaste we can get on this side is with the gathered church, worshiping Jesus together. In this audiobook, Matt Merker shows that corporate worship is the gathering of God’s people by his grace, for his glory, for their good, and before a watching world. are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18). And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. Where would we be today, or in a thousand years, if God were not rich in mercy? 5:19 (“speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord”) is one of the clearest exhortations to corporate worship in the New Testament. A second benefit is the community dynamic — which means not only meeting our good desires for belonging and shared mission (fellowship), but also providing a catalyst for our assurance. In other words, if it’s not mentioned in the Bible as a means for godliness, then it’s not a spiritual discipline.Hiking, gardening and cooking are all wonderful, but they are not included in the Bible as a means for godliness.You can, however, become godly through hiking if you pray while you hike, because prayer is one of the disciplines we find in Scripture. We decide what passage to read, when to pray, what to pray, how long to linger in Bible reading and meditation, what songs to listen to or sing, what gospel truths to preach to ourselves, and what applications to consider. Often we come into corporate worship feeling a sense of spiritual fog. Corporate worship reminds us that our faith is fundamentally reception, not our own initiation. . While the corporate worship of Jesus by the church universal is an essential element in our great destiny, it is the corporate worship of Jesus by the church local that is a vital means of God’s grace in getting us there. When God sets the agenda and we follow it, we are admitting that he is sovereign, and we are not. In private worship, we’re in the driver’s seat. Often we come into corporate worship feeling a sense of spiritual fog. What then do we mean when we say that corporate worship is an essential means of God’s grace? It plays an indispensable role in rekindling our spiritual fire, and keeping it burning. To withdraw from corporate worship is to deny and withhold grace from yourself. When our hearts feel it least is when we need most to remind our souls, “For me it is good to be near God” (Psalm 73:28). David Mathis is executive editor for desiringGod.org and pastor at. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:25–26). Rather, our focus together is the crucified and risen Christ, and the incomparable excellencies of his person and work. God’s ordinary means of grace promote humility and worship with reverence and awe. Singing is an expression of the Holy Spirit, from the Heart, to the Lord. One distinction to make is between the essence of worship as joy in God and the context of corporate worship as the gathered assembly. Try the following: Sunday morning service (Corporate Public Worship) does something to us. Corporate worship is the highest means of grace, and the means of grace are the God-ordained channels through which God unleashes his sanctifying, empowering grace into the lives of believers. Corporate worship is for our general “upbuilding and encouragement and consolation” (1 Corinthians 14:3), but also in beholding Jesus together: “we all . 154). Worship, understood as exclusive devotion to the Lord, was something that Israelites were called to practice around the clock (Deut. There is more to be said about the “graces and blessings that God gives only in ‘meeting together’ with other believers” — which can inspire our faithful engagement and help us appreciate the irreplaceable role corporate worship plays in our Christian health and growth — but for now, the question is, where should we turn our hearts and minds collectively in the moment to experience this grace from God? (92). 6:13–15). Surely, many more could be given, but here are five such “graces and blessings” that we experience uniquely in the context of corporate worship. Though seemingly routine, the everyday “habits of grace” we cultivate give access to the God-designed channels through which his love and power flow. 10:31). Pastor David Wayne (the "Jollyblogger") shares some good and helpful thoughts about seeing "devotions" as spiritual disciplines, as opposed to means of grace.At no added cost, he speaks of the priority of the corporate worship over private devotions. We need to clear our head, recalibrate our spirit, and jump-start our slow heart. I’ve thought quite a bit lately, about the question of prayer as a means of grace…. We owe everything to his grace. There are times — may God make them many — when the Holy Spirit takes the Scripture read, the prayer spoken, the chorus sung, or the truth preached and presses it right to the point of our need, and not merely informs our Christian walk, but heals us in that moment. Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. We were made to worship Jesus together. Worshiping Jesus together may be the single most important thing we do. We were created to worship, and we are commanded to worship God only (Exodus 20:3-5; Revelation 22:9) in the ways that He has commanded in Scripture (Ecclesiastes 5:1-7). It is not consciously caused as a means to something else. 12:1-2; 1 Cor. They are experienced in private devotion, family and corporate worship, and whenever we are with other Christians. 16 May 2013 / Corporate Worship / Barry York Defining Corporate Worship. So come to corporate worship for the many blessings, and then let the calculations vanish and lose yourself in the Blessed. As Tim Keller says, sanctification can happen “on the spot” as we sit under gospel preaching and engage in corporate worship. Our own awe is accentuated, our own adoration increased, our own joy doubled when we worship Jesus together. Neither Athanasius or Luther truly stood alone, but were part of faithful communities that fostered and strengthened their otherwise unpopular beliefs. God didn’t fashion us to enjoy him finally as solitary individuals, but as happy members of a countlessly large family. Get yourself there with a reminder about how good it will be for you if you do, and as the gathering begins, go hard after the goodness of God and seek to forget yourself as you focus on his Son. When we deploy his means, we are saying, “You are God, and I am not, and you have revealed yourself in Scripture and I joyfully, willingly submit to your wisdom.” In particular, we want our worship services on Sunday to be pleasing to Him. Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus Through the Spiritual Disciplines. The answer is that our focus should not be self-consciously preoccupied with how we’re being strengthened or what grace we’re receiving. C. H. Spurgeon said that David “probably wrote this psalm when he had been expelled from his country by his ungrateful son, Absalom, but I do not find him expressing a single word of regret as to his absence from his throne.” - The Theme Day focused on the theme «Worship as a Means of Grace». Corporate worship also plays an indispensable part in our sanctification — our progressive growth in being conformed to the image of Jesus (Romans 8:29). Nothing beyond it can be sought as a higher goal. The purpose of this blog is to be a resource for the body of Christ at Grace Brethren, in preparing our hearts and minds for corporate worship on Sunday mornings. : Soli Deo Gloria, 1997), 168–74. We owe everything to his grace. At University Reformed Church we want all of life to be worship to God (Rom. I Corinthians 15:3-7, Philippians 2:6-11 represent creedal statements likely used in corporate worship. Paul and Luke talk about what is a “successful” worship service. As the Swedish proverb says, a shared joy is a double joy. We do not eat the feast of worship as a means to anything else. But the fog clears as he comes consciously into the presence of God: “When I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end” (Psalm 73:16–17). See, then, the pregnant application to corporate worship in this summary by Piper: All genuine emotion is an end in itself. Wesley emphasizes the specific liturgical framework of worshiping as a provision that sustains a life of continually growing holiness and discipleship. And related to this is the difference between how we think about corporate worship (and the various motivations for it and benefits from it) and how we experience it in the moment. Not that eternity will amount to an unending church service, but that we will be wonderfully immersed in a joy-multiplying multitude of fellow worshipers. It is corporate worship, with its preaching and sacraments and collective praises, confessions, petitions, and thanksgivings, which most acutely brings together the gifts of God’s voice, his ear, and his body. Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus Through the Spiritual Disciplines is a call to hear God’s voice, have his ear, and belong to his body. Wesley emphasizes the specific liturgical framework of worshiping as a provision that sustains a life of continually growing holiness and discipleship. And it may be the single most important means of grace, and our greatest weapon in the fight for joy, because like no other means, corporate worship combines all three principles of God’s ongoing grace: his word, prayer, and fellowship. Worship is an end in itself. 16:39. . . . Where would we be today, or in a thousand years, if God were not rich in mercy? [T]rue worship cannot be performed as a means to some other experience. On the latter: in the comments section, I register some hesitation. With the great horde. According to Don Whitney, “There’s an element of worship and Christianity that cannot be experienced in private worship or by watching worship. There is grace in spiritual habits, including corporate worship. S3E5 The Goal of Corporate Worship : The Means Of Grace. It was a means of grace! Question 1: When the Westminster Divines spoke of prayer as a means of grace, were they speaking of prayer as a means of God’s grace a) when one is prayed for (e.g. and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9–10). Corporate worship is a means of grace not when we’re caught up with what we’re doing, but when we experience the secret of worship — the joy of self-forgetfulness — as we become preoccupied together with Jesus and his manifold perfections. John 4:23 ESV / 10 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful 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. Even in times as troubling as Elijah’s, God gave him seven thousand who hadn’t abandoned the truth (1 Kings 19:18). 6:5; Gal. Just as personal Bible reading does not replace receiving the means of grace in the preached Word of God, personal prayer does not replace the blessing of corporate Sunday prayer. This does not mean we cannot or should not seek to have certain feelings. Among the multitude. So give it the pride of place it deserves as you plan and lead your churches’ weekly gatherings. . But thinking of worship as a means can be dangerous. Others preach and pray and select the songs and choose how long to linger in each element. This is why prayer is an important element in corporate worship. . Seeing and savoring God’s providence in our redemption fills us with wonder and trembling joy. Corporate Public Worship is a means of grace. Happiness in God [which is the heart of worship] is the end of all our seeking. We’re positioned to receive. David longed to enjoy again the public means of grace, to go up to the house of God once again. (Desiring God, 90). These heroes were the product of dire days, and inevitably their stories have been thinned in the collective memory of distant history. So, its important to distinguish between what benefits might motivate us to be regular in corporate worship, and what focus our minds and hearts should pursue in the moment. A special highlight of the Annual Conference was the ordination of Vladimir Zhelezov and Milen Stefanov as elders. Why is corporate worship important? Worship was not seen as primarily an intellectual assent to spiritual truths or simply a way to appreciate God's characteristics. God made us for community — and named her “the church” — and being part of this great local and global community plays an important role in assuring us not only that we are not deceiving ourselves in pretending our profession is credible, but also that we truly know whom we have believed (2 Timothy 1:12). . Fix writes to ask about prayer as a means of grace. Instead of staying away from corporate worship when we sense ourselves to be spiritually lethargic, precisely what we need more than ever is the awakening of worship. When the minister prays, he is speaking on behalf of the people as an ambassador of Christ. Better than Luther, though, is the experience of the inspired psalmist. Indeed, through the means of Word, sacraments, and prayer God is glorified and His children through faith gratefully receive the benefits of redemption in Christ (Westminster Larger Catechism, Q. When we join in corporate worship, God loves not only to change our minds, but to also irrevocably change our hearts “on the spot.”. Though the idea of sacramental worship was foreign to Charismatic worship of the 80's and 90's, there were many things in common with sacramental worship. The church of God not only needs to be concerned with correct theology of Scripture in accordance with orthodoxy, but also with the correct method and liturgical order God has established for corporate worship in accordance with orthopraxy. With this understanding, we turn to examine corporate worship as a means of grace. On the struggles over corporate singing, see Horton Davies, The Worship of the English Puritans (repr., Morgan, Penn. Corporate edification is an explicit, New Testament-mandated goal of corporate worship. With these dual realities in mind, the elders offer these thoughts on corporate worship, as well as some pastoral responses to common questions, meant to encourage you in your faithful participation in the means of grace. Still seem like a fuzzy idea? The spiritual haze was thick. Corporate worship brings together God’s word, prayer, and fellowship, and so makes for the greatest means of God’s ongoing grace in the Christian life. They explore the God view versus the Human view and the importance of preparing our hearts for worship. In addition, other creeds have been produced which may be used in worship as a means of expressing personal and corporate faith. There are some graces and blessings that God gives only in the ‘meeting together’ with other believers” (Spiritual Disciplines, 92). In other words, for Israel, corporate worship was a special, few-times-a-year occasion. Corporate worship is the single most important means of grace and our greatest weapon in the fight for joy, because like no other means, corporate worship com-bines all three principles of God’s ongoing grace: his word, prayer, and fellowship. In corporate worship, we’re made to receive the leading of others. Fifth, in corporate worship we participate in the sacraments – the Lord’s Supper and baptism – which the Lord has set aside to feed and strengthen us for faith and faithfulness. You were made for more than private devotions. Eph. It is a wonderful thing in our personal devotions to make such choices, but it is also good for us to practice engaging with God when someone other than ourselves is making the calls. From a recent class on worship, we hammered out a brief, Biblical, working definition of what a local congregation should be pursuing as it worships the Lord as His holy temple here on the earth. Christian growth is not just something that we take away as sermon application and then work into our lives that week. David Mathis is executive editor for desiringGod.org and pastor at. Mathis says this in his Crosswalk.com article, How to Put Yourself in the Path of God’s Grace: “ … There are some graces and blessings that God gives only in ‘meeting together’ with other believers” (Spiritual Disciplines, 92). Which illumines all the various spiritual disciplines. And worship in the local church points us to worship in the universal church: Jesus has a people from many nations, and one day will include every nation (Revelation 7:9). While we may admire figures like Athanasius and Luther who stood contra mundum, alone against the world, we must remember God has said it is not good for us to be alone (Genesis 2:18). Considered along side the Lord’s Supper as a means of grace is the corporate worship of Christians. As charismatics, we… Each of these ordinary means of grace provides a fundamental foundation for corporate worship. But the breakthrough came in the context of worship. Let all things be done for building up. But in the moment of authentic emotion, the calculation vanishes. Corporate worship is a means of grace not when we’re caught up with what we’re doing, but when we experience the secret of worship — the joy of self-forgetfulness — as we become preoccupied together with Jesus and his manifold perfections. 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