Theses on Worship--Part 8

Continuing my series on Jim Jordan's book on worship, go here for the first post, and go here for the most recent.

Thesis #11
Worship Should Be Dramatic

Jordan is not advocating a skit during the sermon performed by the Drama Team. Instead, Jordan says we should see the "entire liturgy as a dramatic progression from call to absolution to consecration to communion to mission." In addition to this, there are other dramatic aspects of the service: procession of robed clergy and choir, procession of deacons carrying the Scriptures to and from the pulpit, the procession of deacons with the offering and communion, the lifting up of the offering and the communion elements to Him, the procession of people to receive communion, and the recession of clergy and choir.

I am in total agreement with Jordan on this one. We have visited some churches that had a drama team and we've also seen video clips used during a sermon. I don't care for either one in a worship service. I really like Jordan's description of the entire liturgy serving as the dramatic aspect of worship.

Thesis #12
Worship Should Have an Element of Play

Jordan says, "To be sure, God's laughter and ours come in a context of pain and conflict, but laughter is a good medicine. I don't think that the 'Puritan sobriety' that is often found in Reformed worship is entirely wrong, but it becomes a problem when we never get past it...By humor I don't mean jokes or funny stories told at the beginning of the sermon as if the sermon were an after-dinner address..."

Jordan admits, "I'm not sure where the balance lies in this area. I know that some traditions are much too morbid in worship, and I am also convinced that much of modern worship is too light. I believe that the corrective comes (again!) from the psalms. If we make the psalms central to our praise, we shall be steered gradually into a proper balance between mourning and playfulness."

No Wasted Words

I'm a little numb. This school year has been the "Year of Hospitals" for our family. Our son was in the hospital for three and a half weeks in the fall. My mother was in the hospital for three weeks in December. Then, she was very recently hospitalized again for a week and a half. A brief spell in the ER where she stopped breathing was quite sobering. She is now being treated for pneumonia and an as yet undetermined lung ailment.

My mother is not a Christian and I pray continually for her salvation. Every day that I have her in this world is a gift. She let me pray for her every night as I "tucked her in" before I left the hospital. I always reflected how inadequate were my prayers.

I recently read in Numbers about God giving Moses and Aaron the exact specifications regarding the arrangement of the tribal camps.

On the east, toward the sunrise, the divisions of the camp of Judah are to encamp under their standard.
Numbers 2:3a

I believe there are no wasted words in the Bible and that the Old Testament points toward our Savior far more often than we observe. Could God have been preparing the Israelites for the sunrise that would illuminate the empty tomb? May my own speech have no wasted words, and point towards my Savior.

Farewell to Alleluia

This is our family's first year at a new church, and we are still learning about the Anglican tradition. Today we got to sing many wonderful hymns with "Alleluias." This excerpt of a newsletter article by Mary McIntire, our church music director, explains:

"Historically the saying and singing of "alleluias" has been suspended during the 40 days of Lent because of the penitential character of the season. It is suggested that the joyful nature of alleluia is more appropriately reserved for Easter celebrations when it can be given full and jubilant voice. The omission of alleluias during Lent goes back at least to the 5th century in the Western Church. The custom of actually bidding it farewell was developed in the Middle Ages. The hymn "Alleluia, Song of Gladness" contains a translation of an 11th century Latin text that compares an alleluia-less Lent to the exile of the Israelites in Babylon. The text then anticipates the joy of Easter when glad alleluias will return in all their heavenly splendor."

I like the idea of singing Alleluia hymns on the last Sunday of Epiphany. We need the memory of Alleluias past and the anticipation of Alleluias to come to carry us through the dark times not only of Lent, but of our own lives.

(Stained glass window from choir loft of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Wyandotte, Michigan.)

Just for fun...Are You Cool?

Here's another fun test. It's quick and easy.


Are You Cool?


(I first read about it on Doug Wilson's blog.)

(photo of James Dean, one of the kings of cool)

Theses on Worship--Part 7

I have woefully neglected continuing this series. Partly my procrastination gene, partly lack of time, partly...well, you name it, it probably fits.

I began this series with my introduction to Jim Jordan's book, Theses on Worship. Go here for the most recent post of the series.

Thesis #10 Worship is Praise
Jordan strongly advocates chanting or singing the psalms. He says, at the very least, a church should read them responsively. He writes, "...the psalms provide praise in the midst of pain. Modern Christian songs are appallingly superficial in this regard, filled with "happy praise" divorced from a real-life context of pain and death."

The psalms and hymns chosen should compliment the different sections of the worship service. Kim, at Mother-Lode, wrote a good series on worship. Here is her first post, and here is the last in the series.

Another favorite blog of mine, Jack's Pipe, had a recent entry about chanting.

"Blessed Jesus at Thy Word"

We sang this hymn preceeding today's Gospel reading (Luke 6:17-26). The words were written in 1663 by German pastor Tobias Clausnitzer (1619-1684). The music was written by German church organist Johann Rudolf Ahle (1625-1673) in 1664.

Clausnitzer preached in Leipzig's famous St. Thomas Church (pictured at left) early in his pastorate. Originally built as part of a 12th-century monastery, Thomaskirche is now a Lutheran church. Martin Luther preached here in 1539 (more than 100 years before Clausnitzer), formally bringing the Reformation to Leipzig. Later, Johann Sebastian Bach was the choirmaster here for 27 years, beginning in 1723 and continuing until his death in 1750. Most of Bach's cantatas were written for the church's famous boys' choir, founded in the 13th century. Twelve of Bach's children were baptized at Thomaskirche, as was composer Richard Wagner in 1813. Both Mozart and Mendelssohn performed here, as well.

Click on the hymn title below to hear the melody.

"Blessed Jesus at Thy Word"

Blessèd Jesus, at Thy Word
We are gathered all to hear Thee;
Let our hearts and souls be stirred
Now to seek and love and fear Thee,
By Thy teachings sweet and holy,
Drawn from earth to love Thee solely.

All our knowledge, sense and sight
Lie in deepest darkness shrouded,
Til Thy Spirit breaks our night
With the beams of truth unclouded.
Thou alone to God canst win us;
Thou must work all good within us.

Glorious Lord, Thyself impart!
Light of light, from God proceeding,
Open Thou our ears and heart;
Help us by Thy Spirit’s pleading;
Hear the cry Thy people raises;
Hear and bless our prayers and praises.

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Praise to Thee and adoration!
Grant that we Thy Word may trust
And obtain true consolation
While we here below must wander.

The True Recipient

And the people complained against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?"
Exodus 15:24 (NKJV)

In this, the first of many complaints made by the Israelites, we see dissatisfaction not only with Moses, but ultimately with God Himself.

It's so easy to criticize the Israelites. We clearly see that the Lord is with them when they leave Egypt. It's not so easy to see the same Presence in our own lives, day in and day out.

When I inwardly complain that we can't afford to fix this thing or that around our house, I am, in reality, complaining about God's providence in my life. I need to remember His blessings and mercy instead.

Lord, help me to be more appreciative of Your provision, blessings, and mercy.

(Note about the picture above: Moses threw a "tree" into the water to make it sweet in Exodus 15:25, but I didn't find any pictures showing that. He actually doesn't hit the rock with his staff until later.)

Good Hymns

I found myself nodding my head several times while reading this post about church music, found on the blog, Jack's Pipe.

I have him listed on the right as one of the blogs I try to check frequently.

"O Bless the Lord, My Soul!"

This was our processional hymn this morning. Although James Montgomery (1771-1854) was a newspaper editor in England, he also wrote 400 hymns, including this one. This stained glass window is from the Irvine parish church in the Scottish village where Montgomery was born. Click on the title below to hear the melody.




"O Bless the Lord, My Soul!"

O bless the Lord, my soul!
His grace to thee proclaim!
And all that is within me join
To bless His holy Name!

O bless the Lord, my soul!
His mercies bear in mind!
Forget not all His benefits!
The Lord to thee is kind.

He will not always chide;
He will with patience wait;
His wrath is ever slow to rise,
And ready to abate.

He pardons all thy sins;
Prolongs thy feeble breath;
He healeth thine infirmities,
And ransoms thee from death.

He clothes thee with His love;
Upholds thee with His truth;
And like the eagle He renews
The vigor of thy youth.

Then bless His holy Name,
Whose grace hath made thee whole,
Whose lovingkindness crowns thy days!
O bless the Lord, my soul!

Keeping Oneself Unspotted

We have a new dog. She's very sweet, but the other day she inadvertantly tracked something messy from the garage onto our carpet. We pick up this gunk from the winter roads. It's gravel and dirt mixed in with the snow. The snow sticks to the tires and mud flaps, is transported into our garage, falls off as it melts, and leaves lots of dark gunk on the garage floor.

These spots on our carpet got me to thinking of a verse I just read:

Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
James 1: 27 (NKJV)

Keeping oneself unspotted from the world is difficult. There is so much dirt! When I return home, I always wipe my feet. When I see filth on a magazine cover at the grocery store, I turn my head. When I hear something offensive on the radio, I turn it off.

Keeping oneself unspotted from the world also requires preparing ourselves ahead of time. If I work in the garden, I wear old shoes and garden gloves before I go out. Likewise, when I go out into the world, I need to be protected, and I can only do this by being in the Word consistently. Notice that James doesn't tell us to stay away from the world. He says, VISIT orphans and widows. We go into the world with godly purposes, making sure to keep ourselves protected with the Word.

Now, I've got to go try something different to get those spots out of the carpet!

Just for Fun...My Nerd Score

Do you have five minutes to waste? Try this test. I don't have enough computer or scientific knowledge to qualify for a top Nerd score, but I had fun taking the test anyway.

Teaching

This is one of my favorite verses about home schooling:

Let my teaching fall like rain
and my words descend like dew,
like showers on new grass,
like abundant rain on tender plants.
Deuteronomy 32:2 (NIV)


Sometimes, Lord, my words want to beat down like sleet. Help my words to descend like dew on my seedlings. Help my words to be as abundant rain on my tender plants.

Contentedness

"Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'"
Hebrews 13:5 (NKJV)

Two syllables. Starts with "c" and ends with "t." Similar in form, but a world apart in action. Covet or be content. Which are we going to allow to rule our lives?

If our conduct is to be without covetousness, that includes not only our actions, but our facial expressions, our words, and our tone of voice. In addition, we are to be CONTENT with what we have. We can't erect a phony facade. We must be content. Content like a kitten curled up on a quilt in the sun. Content like a baby settling in for a nap in mama's arms.

How can we do these seemingly impossible things? He promises that He will always be with us. God will never leave us, give up on us, renounce us, or abandon us. NEVER.

(Congratulations and blessings to my cousin, pictured above, who is in Guatemala, adopting her new baby daughter. This post is NOT an editorial on what's wrong in her life! I just liked the picture of contentedness; both on the part of the daughter and the mother!)

When Bad Things Happen to Good People

Just a few last comments on Job, begun on a previous post.

One could argue that Job is the poster boy for the sentiment of Rabbi Kushner's book: When Bad Things Happen to Good People. I never read this book and it's probably just as well, for the true paradox is quite the opposite. Why do GOOD things happen to BAD (sinful) people?

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..
Romans 3:23 (NKJV)

I have never experienced the depth of loss that Job felt. And yet I've found that it's easy to wallow in self-pity, thinking more highly of myself than I ought. It's difficult to accept troubles and trials with humble gratitude towards God, especially when it appears that others around us are not in similar situations. But, our Lord tells us not to compare ourselves to others. We are to keep our eyes fixed upon the Savior and follow Him.

Then Peter turning around saw the disciple whom Jesus loved...[and] said to Jesus, "But Lord what about this man?"

Jesus said to him, "If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me."
John 21: 20-22 (NKJV)

Another Milestone

This isn't our son's, but the x-ray we saw at the doctor today was somewhat similar. There was notable bone growth visible! Praise God! We can see the steel plate (our son's is quite a bit longer than this) and the screws, but we also saw much more bone growth. Just as God knits us together in the womb, we have been able to see the same knitting together of our son's bone over the past few months as we view the x-rays.

Today the surgeon gave the go-ahead to put full weight on the broken leg. Such progress! When we got home, my tall twelve-year-old son took two steps without the walker and gave me a hug and a big smile.

It was far better than his first steps when he was a baby!