What Bothers You About Toronto?

The Vincent brother's have already started filming for a documentary about the NCD process at Toronto. The 28 minute video will be used to promote NCD at a NNSW Conference Minister's Meeting in mid-February 2011 and eventually be shown world-wide on Hope Channel.

As we look back over 2010, this documentary is just one of the many unexpected blessings for Toronto church this year. At the church board meeting last week we were challenged to list changes at Toronto. Here is the list the board members came up with:

• Youth are empowered and organised


• Youth breakfast on Sabbath morning. Sometimes even a hot breakfast!


• New earliteen Sabbath School


• Children's Ministry has grown


• Children's Story time has kids filling the whole area in the front of the church most Sabbaths


• Kid's Clubs successful


• More cohesion in the church - people work together


• Luncheons very successful each Sabbath increasing fellowship


• New small groups


• FAST course enjoyed by even more people


• Sincerity


• Attendance is staying high - we aren't scaring people away


• Lots of visitors


• Women's Ministry has grown and so have the number of people helping


• Worship services and sermons are more inspiring

I'm sure you could come up with even more good things to go on that list. Send anything we have missed along to me and I will put it in the next edition.

You may have noticed that everything listed was positive. That is good, but there are negatives at the church as well. I'm sure you can see things that should be improved around the church. Please send those in to me as well.

What bothers you about Toronto? Let me know so it can go in next time, anonymously of course.

Just to help focus your mind here are the NCD quality characteristics:

• Empowering Leadership


• Gift-based Ministry


• Passionate Spirituality


• Effective Structures


• Inspiring Worship Service


• Holistic Small Groups


• Need-oriented Evangelism


• Loving Relationships

The board members were also asked to guess which would be our Minimum factor from this list in next year's survey. Currently it is Inspiring Worship Service (which is why I'm glad the last item was on the "Changes List above - we are making progress). What do you think will be the minimum factor? Let me know.

I have asked you three questions today:

1. What positive changes have occurred in Toronto in 2010?


2. What bugs you about Toronto? What can we do better?


3. Which of the health characteristic do you think will be our minimum in the next survey (due the end of January)

I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Fresh Springs of Happiness

In Education pages 15 and 16, Mrs White writes:

When Adam came from the Creator's hand, he bore, in his physical, mental, and spiritual nature, a likeness to his Maker. "God created man in His own image" (Genesis 1:27), and it was His purpose that the longer man lived the more fully he should reveal this image--the more fully reflect the glory of the Creator. All his faculties were capable of development; their capacity and vigor were continually to increase. Vast was the scope offered for their exercise, glorious the field opened to their research. The mysteries of the visible universe--the "wondrous works of Him which is perfect in knowledge" (Job 37:16)--invited man's study. Face-to-face, heart-to-heart communion with his Maker was his high privilege. Had he remained loyal to God, all this would have been his forever. Throughout eternal ages he would have continued to gain new treasures of knowledge, to discover fresh springs of happiness, and to obtain clearer and yet clearer conceptions of the wisdom, the power, and the love of God. More and more fully would he have fulfilled the object of his creation, more and more fully have reflected the Creator's glory.

But by disobedience this was forfeited. Through sin the divine likeness was marred, and well-nigh obliterated. Man's physical powers were weakened, his mental capacity was lessened, his spiritual vision dimmed. He had become subject to death. Yet the race was not left without hope. By infinite love and mercy the plan of salvation had been devised, and a life of probation was granted. To restore in man the image of his Maker, to bring him back to the perfection in which he was created, to promote the development of body, mind, and soul, that the divine purpose in his creation might be realized--this was to be the work of redemption. This is the object of education, the great object of life.

Today I wanted to "undim" our spiritual vision a little bit. Re-read the first paragraph again and wonder at God's purpose in your creation.

You are designed to reflect glory on our Creator. An amazing thought in itself, but even more amazing is that you were designed to do this "more and more fully". "Face-to-face, heart-to-heart communion with (our) Maker (was our) high privilege".

The work of redemption is to develop your "body, mind and soul" until this privilege is fully restored.

That's inspiring! But do you feel inadequate for this task? As Pr. Aaron told us last Sabbath, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for their's is the kingdom of heaven." He emphasised that Jesus was making this promise to those who acknowledge their need.

God wants to restore His image in you, He has a purpose for your life and He will not stop short of anything less than complete restoration of all your faculties and privileges.

To summarise Jesus' Beatitude promise in Mrs White's words:

"Discover fresh springs of happiness because when you realise that you are marred and your goodness is well-nigh obliterated, then I will work to restore you to full communion with Me, until you own My kingdom's wisdom, power and love, until your physical, mental and spiritual nature reflects Me."

Let's worship!

Pastor Appreciation Day

We missed it!... And I'm upset!

The fourth Sabbath of October (last Sabbath) was Pastor Appreciation Day and we all missed it, especially Pastor Aaron. The General Conference Ministerial Association suggests,

...This is a wonderful time to let pastors know, in various ways, how much their spiritual guidance, encouragement, and leadership mean to the congregation.

... Hebrews 13:7 says, Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you," and we are encouraged to remember our pastor both in prayer and with our appreciation.

The Ministerial Association has some ideas on how we should do this not just for one day, but throughout the year, here is their list:

1. Express gratitude for the pastor's sermons


2. Support the pastor in unexpected ways


3. Celebrate the pastor's birthday


4. Recognise the pastor's accomplishments


5. Organise a prayer team to pray for your pastor


6. Always speak well of your pastor.

This fits in with NCD because one of the three parts of Inspiring Worship Service is that the sermon brings us closer to God. Pastor Aaron has a big job every time he preaches and prepares his sermons. He needs our prayers, public and private, and our gratitude when we are drawn closer to God by his sermons.

Homework: (because we all missed the big day)

Support the pastor in unexpected ways. No... I am not going to tell you how, then it would be expected, but if each of us used our imagination and sometime soon began this support... well who knows how "inspiring" it would be.

Hallowed be Thy Name

The definition of an inspiring worship service is one where we meet God, so to be ready to meet God on a Sabbath morning we need to find out more about Him.

One of the best meetings at Big Camp 2010 was the morning meeting with Buffy Halvorsen where she went through the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-10) and expanded on the meaning.

Prayer is an important part of worship. In "Such a Heart" what we are to pray for before the worship service is outlined, but today we are going to look at the God that we are praying to.

In this second line of Jesus' model prayer (Matthew 6:9), He emphasises that God is holy.

What is holiness? How is God holy?

I'm not going to try to define "holy" except to say that it means that God is very different from us and so much above us.

Even His name is holy. Buffy listed some of the names of God, this was quite an experience. Here is a similar list of God's names. Just for fun read through it and be inspired over what God is to us. These names are not just advertising, God really IS what He says He is. If He promises to be "Our Peace", for instance, then He really can be peace for us.

By praying to our God using one of His many names, we are claiming the firm promise of what He can be to us. This is potent inspiration for worship.

Better than Hallelujah

One of the most memorable things I heard up at Big Camp last week was Amy Grant's song "Better than a Hallelujah". The chorus goes:

We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful, the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah

Better than a church bell ringing
Better than a choir singing out, singing out

One of the verses is:

The tears of shame for what's been done
The silence when the words won't come
Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes

The implication is that God enjoys our honest, heartfelt prayers more than canned praise or worship, even if they aren't particularly attractive prayers.

Tuesday's Sabbath School lesson on Hannah, when talking about her prayer says:

This pouring-out prayer is perhaps the most intimate kind of prayer. It involves being absolutely honest with God, expressing our deepest pain and fears... She was, in fact, clinging to God...

This intimacy with God is what makes the centre of Inspiring Worship. God values our honesty above all else.

Back in August I posted "Such a Heart" where I quoted Jesus in John 4:23

...the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

In that post, Luther claims that "spirit" means "whole-hearted" worship. But such a heart can only come as a gift from the Holy Spirit. The "truth" part of "true worship" involves us being honest. Mrs White in Steps To Christ Ch 11., says it like this:

Keep your wants, your joys, your sorrows, your cares, and your fears before God. You cannot burden him; you cannot weary him. He who numbers the hairs of your head is not indifferent to the wants of his children. "The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy." His heart of love is touched by our sorrows, and even by our utterance of them. Take to him everything that perplexes the mind. Nothing is too great for him to bear, for he holds up worlds, he rules over all the affairs of the universe. Nothing that in any way concerns our peace is too small for him to notice. There is no chapter in our experience too dark for him to read; there is no perplexity too difficult for him to unravel. No calamity can befall the least of his children, no anxiety harass the soul, no joy cheer, no sincere prayer escape the lips, of which our Heavenly Father is unobservant, or in which he takes no immediate interest. "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds." The relations between God and each soul are as distinct and full as though there were not another soul for whom he gave his beloved Son.

Inspiring worship is whole-hearted honesty with God. He enjoys it more than a "hallelujah".

The Giver

Last time we talked about giving God all that we are, today we concentrate on what God gives us.

Some Sabbath services just don't seem to be inspiring. We don't seem to get anything out of them, especially a feeling of God's presence.

Now, last Sabbath was inspiring! The climax of Project G on Friday night was wonderful and the programme on Sabbath morning, outside in the sun with great singing and preaching, was not just memorable, but definitely inspiring. Thanks to all the youth.

However, when we go from such a high experience back to the usual... it can seem a little flat. Chris Thomlinson in this Friday's men's devotional quotes from his book, "Crave":

We don't always feel God's presence, and we aren't always consumed with intense feelings of joy. But even in those times, we can remember that we will find the greatest kind of joy in God and that we do what's best for ourselves when we orient our lives around Jesus, knowing that even if we experience some measure of sorrow in this life, the life to come will bring the fullness of joy in his presence.

"Orient our lives around Jesus"... I really love the concept that we can be constantly looking to Jesus, navigating our life by Him and making Him the goal of our daily walk.

One of our present-day problems is that we chase sensations and feelings. Our entertainment has to be intense, our feelings modulated by caffeine (or stronger), our food has to be "sensational" in presentation and taste. After all this, no wonder Sabbath sermons can seem mundane.

The solution, as Chris Thomlinson suggests, is to crave not sensation, but God Himself. David says the same thing,

"Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of the your heart." Ps 37:4

.
Chris says, in Thursday's devotional,

Our cravings for more of God and the joy we find in him are both gifts, but we should always value the Giver far more than the gift.

Long term inspiration, even through uninspiring times, comes from constantly valuing and delighting in our great God.

True Liturgy

Luther, in his "Preface to the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans" says,

In chapter 12, St. Paul teaches the true liturgy and makes all Christians priests, so that they may offer, not money or cattle, as priests do in the Law, but their own bodies, by putting their desires to death.

As you know, Inspiring Worship Service is made up of three parts; Praise, Teaching and what the people bring (or as NCD calls it, Liturgy).

When we think of liturgy we usually think of order of service and prayers and responses but Luther (and NCD) don't think that way. That is why Luther's statement stood out. He makes it clear that we must bring something to offer in the worship service each week. Usually it is our money, voices (in Praise), and our minds as we engage in the Teaching. However, Luther says that a better offering is our own body and subdued desires.

We studied the verses, Luther referred to, in our lesson last week, Romans 12:1,2:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable to God, which is your reasonable (rational) service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of you mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

That was the NKJV, the New Living Translation makes it even clearer:

And so, dear brother and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him (your spiritual worship). Don't copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

For eleven chapters, Paul has shown us what God has done for us, His mercy, love and abundant grace. Now Paul asks something of us; not works of the law, he's already said they are stumbling stones (9:30) and surprisingly, not even stronger faith as that is God's gift (4:20, 12:3) but Paul says we need to offer true, spiritual reasonable Worship. Or, in other words, Inspired Worship.

Paul defines such worship as complete surrender of body and mind to God. A return of the whole person and our desires to the Creator. Then God can completely renovate our thinking so we reflect His will not the behaviour and customs of the world.

Luther suggests that the liturgy of an Inspiring Worship Service is something far bigger and much more than just meeting God for an hour each Sabbath, it means giving God all that we are and co-operating with Him as He transforms us from the inside out.

Read the whole of Luther's Preface to Romans

Contentment, Joy and Confidence

"You must arrange to live with deep contentment, joy, and confidence in your everyday experience of life with God."

This is how Dallas Willard describes our first duty, in an interview that John Ortberg reports on in his excellent short article, "What I Learned on My Sabbatical".

Some things I learned from the article are:

1. Learning spiritual lessons happen best when we are "unplugged" for Sabbath (or sabbaticals). This is another reason Sabbath is important.
   
2. Simplicity is valuable - "I'd like to live in his time zone." What time-zone does God live in?
   
3. Fellowship with others is valuable, but only if we slow down long enough to listen.
   
4. "There is a large difference between having deep contentment in my everyday experience with God versus being in a good mood."

But there are two more points that relate especially to Inspiring Worship Service:

The first is "My main job is to live with deep contentment, joy, and confidence in my everyday experience of life with God. Everything else is job number two." If I live confident that God will do what's best, I will find joy and God's presence in even the most simple of worship experiences.

What surprised me most and made me realise that this was about Inspiring Worship was the in the last paragraph: "I do not want to have to receive from my congregation what I can only get from God." How often do I go to church expecting the sermon or the music to inspire me when it only God who can inspire. Simply put, to be inspired on Sabbath means doing my main job for the previous week.

God is Active

An Inspiring Worship Service is one where we know we have met with God. One of the ways we can prepare for this is by looking at God at work in our lives during the week. In their book "Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God", Henry T. Blackaby & Claude V. King say:

Experiencing God means assuming that God is always active in and around your life.

Jesus included a method of knowing God's will that is not often found in books on guidance. John.5:17, 19-20 show us that He accepted that God the Father was always active, and that because the Father loved him he showed him what he was doing. Then Jesus joined in. This may sound quite simplistic, but one of the fundamental ways that Jesus knew what to do was by discerning God's activity, and then joining in with it. For us this means that one of the most fundamental ways to experience God is to watch and see where He is working and then join in.

What can you see God doing in the lives of people around you, your family, work mates, neighbours? God loves them much more than we do and He is working for their salvation.

Will God show us what we should do each day? John 5: 17, 19,20 says:

But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working." ... Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel."

Does this apply to us? In Desire of Ages

... the Son of God was surrendered to the Father's will, and dependent upon His power. So utterly was Christ emptied of self that He made no plans for Himself. He accepted God's plans for Him, and day by day the Father unfolded His plans. So should we depend upon God, that our lives may be the simple outworking of His will. p208

...Whatever our position, we are dependent upon God, who holds all destinies in His hands. He has appointed us our work, and has endowed us with faculties and means for that work. So long as we surrender the will to God, and trust in His strength and wisdom, we shall be guided in safe paths, to fulfill our appointed part in His great plan. But the one who depends upon his own wisdom and power is separating himself from God. Instead of working in unison with Christ, he is fulfilling the purpose of the enemy of God and man. p209

Start looking for God's activity...and prepare for Inspiring Worship.

No Differences

Continuing on in 6 Testimonies' chapter, "The Observance of the Sabbath", in the section "Preparation for the Sabbath"

There is another work that should receive attention on the preparation day (Friday). On this day all differences between brethren, whether in the family or in the church, should be put away. Let all bitterness and wrath and malice be expelled from the soul. In a humble spirit, "confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed." James 5:16. 6Testimonies p 356

This is a rephrasing of what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. (Matthew 5:23,24)

In Jesus' saying, the implication is that God doesn't reconcile with us if we don't reconcile with our "brother" first. In Mrs White's the implication is that we aren't healed unless we get rid of our bitterness, anger and spite by humble confession and prayer.

If God is unable to bring reconciliation and healing into a worship service, will we see Him at all? If we are so busy thinking evil of our "brethren" are we going to be able to really worship? How much of the "coldness" and formalism of some church services is really just a result of differences in the congregation?

Undoubtedly one of the most Inspiring Worship Services ever was recorded in Acts 2. The Holy Spirit not only came visibly and audibly but thousands of passersby were convicted, repented and were baptised! At least one reason this happened was that they were "all with one accord" or "together".

Imagine what would happen if everyone who attends Toronto church spent Friday making sure that we had nothing against anyone "in the family or in the church" so we could all seek God in unity on Sabbath morning. Maybe Jesus' prayer to His Father that "the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:" (John 17:22), would come true. Maybe there would be a new Pentecost and Toronto would be "made perfect in one" with the inevitable outcome that all Toronto would know that Jesus is the Son of God and that God loves His church as He loves His Son (John 17:23).

Now that would be inspiring!

Prepare to Worship!

Is there a special blessing available to Sabbath keepers that is not available to those who worship on Sunday? This is a question I asked last month and we will continue to find answers in 6 Testimonies and the chapter entitled "The Observance of the Sabbath". This week we'll look at some paragraphs from page 354, in the section "Preparation for the Sabbath" and comment on them.

In all that pertains to the success of God's work, the very first victories are to be won in the home life. Here the preparation for the Sabbath must begin. Throughout the week let parents remember that their home is to be a school in which their children shall be prepared for the courts above. Let their words be right words. No words which their children should not hear are to escape their lips. Let the spirit be kept free from irritation. Parents, during the week live as in the sight of a holy God, who has given you children to train for Him. Train for Him the little church in your home, that on the Sabbath all may be prepared to worship in the Lord's sanctuary. Each morning and evening present your children to God as His blood-bought heritage. Teach them that it is their highest duty and privilege to love and serve God.

Parents should be particular to make the worship of God an object lesson for their children. Passages of Scripture should be more often on their lips, especially those passages that prepare the heart for religious service. The precious words might well be often repeated: "My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him." Psalm 62:5.

"In all that pertains to the success of God's work, the very first victories are to be won in the home life." Success starts in what we do during the week, at home. This is asking quite a bit. Here we are particularly looking at Inspiring Worship and according to this principle, if we don't worship God and live in His presence during the week, we won't be able to find and worship Him on Sabbath morning.

"Let their words be right words. No words which their children should not hear are to escape their lips." While this is directed at parents, it is something we all need to do to be prepared for Inspiring Worship, we need to control what we say. Our words can prevent us, and those we live with, from having a fulfilling worship experience on Sabbath morning. The next paragraph describes "right words" as being "passages of Scripture.. often on our lips"

"Let the spirit be kept free from irritation." Not only words are important, but also the emotions and motives that inspire them. Especially be careful to avoid irritation.

"Parents, during the week live as in the sight of a holy God, who has given you children to train for Him." Part of preparing for worship is realising that God is not just real but "holy". And watching us! This can drive us away from Him in fear, or if we understand the verse in the next paragraph (Ps 62:5) correctly, it can draw us near, expecting His presence to bless us and reflexly, make us holy too. By living in the sight of God, we can avoid the irritation of life's little problems.

"Train for Him the little church in your home, that on the Sabbath all may be prepared to worship in the Lord's sanctuary." We are to worship during the week as a preparation for Sabbath worship. This training in worship is essential, it should include all the aspects of Inspiring Worship (praise, teaching, what the people bring) because the next two sentences are about intercessory prayer and teaching.

"Parents should be particular to make the worship of God an object lesson for their children." During the week, our worship should be an example of what true worship should be. We are to be 'particular' about this. In other words our worship during the week shouldn't be careless or unplanned but something we put our thought and effort into.

So one of the the blessings of Sabbath worship is that to be truly inspiring we must prepare for it by worshipping throughout the week.

Worship Before Victory

Inspiring Worship consists of three parts

1. What the people bring
   
2. Praise
   
3. Teaching
   

One place where all of these things come together in the Bible is 2 Chronicles 20. This is the story of the time that Judea was attacked by "a great multitude" of Moabites, Ammorites and their allies the people of Mount Seir.

Good King Jehoshaphat called for an assembly to "seek the LORD" (v3,4) where he prayed a really wonderful prayer that starts with praise for the Lord God and ends with the words (v 12) "For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You." That is the prayer and praise part of worship.

Then the prophet Jahaziel does some teaching and says things like "Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's"(v15) and "Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you...Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them for the Lord is with you."(v17)

More worship and praise came as Jehoshaphat and the people bowed low "worshipping the Lord" while the the Levites "stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with voices loud and high"(v18,19)

The next day they rose early and went out towards the invading army and king Jehoshaphat did some teaching "Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established, believe His prophets , and you shall prosper."(v20) Then he appointed singers to go ahead of the army singing "Praise the LORD, For His mercy endures forever." (v21)

The next verse is pretty clear "Now when they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah and they were defeated.

It is a good story, worth the ten minutes it takes to read.

I wondered if you noticed something?... The story is long on praise and teaching but short on what the people bring and yet the Lord was obviously with them. (which is the definition of Inspiring Worship). So what did the people bring?

There are three thing I saw in the story

1. They all came to "seek the Lord"
   
2. Their "eyes were upon God".
   
3. They positioned themselves to see God's salvation
   

To sum up: If you want to enjoy an inspiring worship service then you need to come:

1. Hungering for God
   
2. Trusting in God
   
3. Expecting to see God's salvation
   

Not only will you realise God's presence but you may solve a few of the problems you face as well.

And by the way, can you think of any other instances where worship to God preceded victory?

Try:

• 1 Samuel 17:45-51 - David and Goliath
  
• Daniel 2:16-31 - Daniel and the dream
  
• Daniel 3:13-26 - The fiery furnace
  
• John 17:4 and 19:28-30 - Christ's life and salvation through His death
  
• Acts 2:46-47 - Church praise then growth
  
• Pr Aaron told us about the worship scenes of Revelation the other week, have a look at them and see what follows each one.
  

Can you think of any more?

Such a Heart

Last time, I finished with a quote from Luther's Preface to Romans. Here's some more:

In chapter 7, St. Paul says, "The law is spiritual." What does that mean? If the law were physical, then it could be satisfied by works, but since it is spiritual, no one can satisfy it unless everything he does springs from the depths of the heart. But no one can give such a heart except the Spirit of God, who makes the person be like the law, so that he actually conceives a heartfelt longing for the law and henceforward does everything, not through fear or coercion, but from a free heart. Such a law is spiritual since it can only be loved and fulfilled by such a heart and such a spirit...

This is one of the most enlightening parts of Luther's Preface. "Spiritual" means, at least in Romans, "whole-hearted", from the "depths of the heart" or in modern terms "our motives". Luther says we can only get such a heart from the Holy Spirit, who can actually change our motives and give us a "free heart".

In John 4:23, Jesus says "...the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him."

God wants us to worship Him from the depth of our hearts, whole-heartedly and freely.

Mrs White in the chapter "The Observance of the Sabbath" in 6 Testimonies says:

We do not obtain a hundredth part of the blessing we should obtain from assembling together to worship God. Our perceptive faculties need sharpening. Fellowship with one another should make us glad. With such a hope as we have, why are not our hearts all aglow with the love of God?

We must carry to every religious gathering a quickened spiritual consciousness that God and His angels are there, co-operating with all true worshipers. As you enter the place of worship, ask the Lord to remove all evil from your heart. Bring to His house only that which He can bless. Kneel before God in His temple, and consecrate to Him His own, which He has purchased with the blood of Christ. Pray for the speaker or the leader of the meeting. Pray that great blessing may come through the one who is to hold forth the word of life. Strive earnestly to lay hold of a blessing for yourself. 6Testimonies 362, 363

How would you like a 99% increase in blessing (and inspiration) from the Sabbath service? Would you like a heart aglow with love of God? Would you enjoy being aware of God and His angels working and worshipping with you? Jesus said that God is looking for such people to worship Him.

To have this Inspiring Worship experience:

1. Ask God for new heart, new motives, so you can worship Him from the depths of your heart.
   
2. Ask God to sharpen your perceptions so you recognise His presence.
   
3. Pray earnestly for blessing
   

Then when you get to church:

1. Ask God to remove all evil from your heart (so your motives are purely to worship Him)
   
2. Give yourself totally to God
   
3. Pray earnestly for the speaker.
   
4. Watch God at work on others
   
5. Expect happy fellowship, renewed hope and a heart aglow with God's love,
   

That sounds like Inspiring Worship!

Most Joyful Day

Great blessings are enfolded in the observance of the Sabbath, and God desires that the Sabbath day shall be to us a day of joy...

This is the very first sentence in the chapter "The Observance of the Sabbath" in 6 Testimonies p 349, and reinforces a strong theme relating joy and worship.

I had to fly interstate this week, for reading I took Luther's "Preface to the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans". It was inspiring reading, but only after I'd started underlining it and making notes in the margins. It had something to say on the matter of "joy" and its origins in the Christian life.

Talking about family worship on Sabbath (p 357) Mrs White says:

Make the season one of interest and joy.

On page 359 after lots of good advice on Sabbath worship with children she finishes the section, Sabbath in the Home, with:

As the sun goes down, let the voice of prayer and the hymn of praise mark the close of the sacred hours and invite God's presence through the cares of the week of labor.

Thus parents can make the Sabbath, as it should be, the most joyful day of the week. They can lead their children to regard it as a delight, the day of days, the holy of the Lord, honorable.

I counsel you, my brethren and sisters: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." If you desire your children to observe the Sabbath according to the commandment, you must teach them by both precept and example...

Obviously we are to model a joyful religion all day on Sabbath, at home. But what about in church... Surely church should serious?

On page 364 in a quote I gave you a few weeks ago:

God desires His obedient children to claim His blessing and to come before Him with praise and thanksgiving... He has done for His chosen people that which should inspire every heart with thanksgiving, and it grieves Him that so little praise is offered. He desires to have a stronger expression from His people, showing that they know they have reason for joy and gladness.

God wants worship to be joyful. And I'll bring Luther in here. He really hammers the point home about the difference between "doing" the law and "fulfilling" the law. He emphasises that even perfect outward obedience (doing) the law without our heart being in it, is sin. So if our Sabbath keeping is for any other reason than that we delight in it and love the day and our Lord, we are sinning!

If we try to manufacture this joy, Luther would call that "a lie, hypocrisy and sin". But he does give us hope and I'll get to that later.

Our whole life should be joyful, even in trials. On pages 366,367 Mrs White says:

The bright and cheerful side of our religion will be represented by all who are daily consecrated to God. We should not dishonor God by the mournful relation of trials that appear grievous. All trials that are received as educators will produce joy. The whole religious life will be uplifting, elevating, ennobling, fragrant with good words and works. The enemy is well pleased to have souls depressed, downcast, mourning and groaning; he wants just such impressions made as to the effect of our faith. But God designs that the mind shall take no low level. He desires every soul to triumph in the keeping power of the Redeemer.

Near the end of the section she says on p 368:

... The reason why we are not more joyful is that we have lost our first love. Let us then be zealous and repent,..

Luther tells us where we can get this joy from:

Faith is a living, unshakeable confidence in God's grace; it is so certain, that someone would die a thousand times for it. This kind of trust in and knowledge of God's grace makes a person joyful, confident, and happy with regard to God and all creatures. This is what the Holy Spirit does by faith. Through faith, a person will do good to everyone without coercion, willingly and happily; he will serve everyone, suffer everything for the love and praise of God, who has shown him such grace. It is as impossible to separate works from faith as burning and shining from fire... Ask God to work faith in you; otherwise you will remain eternally without faith, no matter what you try to do or fabricate.

To be Inspiring, our worship services need to be joyful. That joy will only come from hearts made joyful from worshipping God at home and seeing God at work even in our trials. As Luther says "no one can give such a heart except the Spirit of God. Please ask God for just such a heart and see our church services and daily life become "more joyful".

Prepared Hearts

Last week I pointed out that one advantage of worshipping on Sabbath was that we met God at the appointed time. Today we'll see that God blesses and hears us even when we DON'T worship Him at the time He specified.

Yesterday's Doing Life Together Bible reading was 2 Chronicles 29-31. Here good King Hezekiah begins to clean up the temple and the nation of Judah after the disastrous reign of his father Ahaz. After only 16 days the priests had reopened the temple in Jerusalem and cleaned all the rubbish out. Hezekiah invited the people to come and hold a Passover feast even though it was a month late. The service was so inspiring that after the seven allotted days the people decided to keep another seven days.

It's a good story, worth reading but I want to draw out a few points relevant to Inspiring Worship Service from 2Chronicles 30. Remember that the three parts of Inspiring Worship are "Praise", "Worship" and "the work of the people"

Praise and Teaching played a big part

"...the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, singing to the LORD, accompanied by loud instruments... all the Levites... taught the good knowledge of the LORD" v21,22.

The Work of the People - Prepared hearts

People were invited not just from Judah, but also Israel which had just fallen to to the Assyrians and thousands had been deported. Hezekiah urged these defeated people "yield yourselves to the LORD; and enter His sanctuary"(v8). But the message was laughed at and mocked (v10). Sadly only "some... humbled themselves and came"(v11). The rest missed the blessing of genuine worship.

Many were not ritually clean and should not have taken part in the service, "But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, "May the good LORD provide atonement for everyone who prepares his heart to seek God"... And the LORD listened to Hezekiah and healed the people.(v18-20)

If you want an inspiring worship experience, first humbly submit yourself to God. This is the preparation of heart we all need in order to "seek God".

When you think about it, this makes sense. Only if we realise how great and awesome God is, and how little and "humble" we are, can we really worship God. Proud people are really only worshipping themselves, or they laugh and stay home and miss even that.

The result of this inspiring worship was "great gladness"(v21) and "great joy" (v26) and "the priests, the Levites, arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard; and their prayer came up to His holy dwelling place, to heaven." (v27).

Heaven hears genuine worship from humble hearts. And it's good fun.

That's inspiring.

Refreshing

Is there a special blessing available to Sabbath keepers that is not available to those who worship on Sunday? And what does this have to do with Inspiring Worship Services?

One part of the blessing is that Jesus is especially close and wants to give us something:

All heaven is keeping the Sabbath, but not in a listless, do-nothing way. On this day every energy of the soul should be awake, for are we not to meet with God and with Christ our Saviour? We may behold Him by faith. He is longing to refresh and bless every soul. {6Testimonies 362.1}

I thought that Sabbath was especially for this earth but it is kept in heaven too. I knew from Isaiah 66:22,23 that in the new earth we would go up to the New Jerusalem (heaven) for Sabbath worship but I didn't realise that this is already happening now. Maybe it is to honour the humanity of Jesus and the few other humans already there. It shows how interested God and His angels are in what happens here. It shows that heaven and earth are very close.

It doesn't seem to be an apathetic, pew-warming, service either. "Every energy of the soul" is actively engaged, paying attention, breathing in the blessings, breathing out praise.

"Awake"! Sabbath is no time for drowsiness, just look at Who we are meeting. And "by faith" we can see Him.

So the first advantage is that if we wake up and jump into Sabbath worship we are joining all heaven. That means we have an appointment with our Father and our Saviour and are refreshed in a way that can't happen any other time or with any other "congregation".

Is that inspiring?

Reason for Joy

Were you inspired by the "Praise Service" last week? I was and I think it was because we not only sang praises to God, but there were personal testimonies praising God as well.

Praise, spoken as well as sung, is an important part of an inspiring worship service. Last time I ended up by quoting Psalms 100:4.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name

We are to come together to give God praise and thanks. Mrs White backs this up:

We should not come together to remain silent; those only are remembered of the Lord who assemble to speak of His honor and glory and tell of His power; upon such the blessing of God will rest, and they will be refreshed. Early Writings p115

Do you want to be refreshed each Sabbath morning? Do you want God's blessings? Then come to church ready to tell how God has blessed you the past week.

This is what God wants:

God desires His obedient children to claim His blessings and to come before Him with praise and thanksgiving. God is the Fountain of life and power... He has done for His chosen people that which should inspire every heart with thanksgiving, and it grieves Him that so little praise is offered. He desires to have a stronger expression from His people, showing that they know they have reason for joy and gladness. 6 Testimonies 364

God is aggrieved that we don't thank Him more.

Did you notice what "should inspire every heart with thanksgiving"?

So this week, if you want a more inspiring experience during the worship service, claim God's blessings then notice the things He does for you in answer to that prayer. Finally come to church ready to tell others about Him and to praise Him.

That quote from 6 Testimonies comes from an article entitled "The Observance of the Sabbath". Just reading through it made me realise something that I will go into more next time. Until then I want you think about this question:

Is there a special blessing available to Sabbath keepers that is not available to those who worship on Sunday?

OK Attitudes?

So why do we go to church? Why are you in the worship service each week when in the survey many of you say there are parts of it you don't enjoy?

Some reasons for church attendance might be:

To see my friends
It's a habit
It is a religious duty
Tradition

These are OK reasons. Nothing wrong with any of them, but they are just the sideshow. If the main reason you attend church is social, habit or tradition, then it is no wonder you go home uninspired by the service. How can you be inspired if you are not expecting anything from the service?

Some more reasons for attending church, that do expect something from the service are:

To be inspired by my favourite music
To hear an inspiring sermon

These are also OK reasons but they are also setting you up for disappointment; you just don't get those things every week. And even more importantly, these attitudes prevent any inspiration that may come from something you don't "like".

We are going to spend quite a bit of time on this subject of the attitude you bring to church each week. Today, we will look at the attitude to worship displayed in Psalms 100:4.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name

Do you bring thanksgiving and praise with you to church each week? Or do you only have OK attitudes?

Heavenly Worship

"Imagine heavenly worship with all the angels of God praising the Father and His Son, Jesus! Our minds cannot fathom the depths and inspiration of being in the presence of God and praisng Him. Yet some day we shall. What will it be like? Just like church on Sabbath morning? If your response to that is "Oh, no," then your church may have a problems with Inspiring Worship."

That is Russell Burrill, in Creating Healthy Adventist Churches through Natural Church Development.

He goes on...

"Obviously our local church cannot equal the glories of heavenly worship, yet it should have some resemblance to what transpires in the heavenly courts. What makes heavenly worship heavenly?..."

That is an excellent question, and one we are going to consider now. But before we do, just stop for a moment and imagine the heavenly worship service. Why is it so good? What makes you want to be there?

Have you done that yet? Well you need to before we go on....

Have you done that? Good!

There are three parts to the Inspiring Worship Service and remember the definition of Inspiring: "an enthusiastic sense of the direct presence of God and making a meaningful connection with Him".

1. Praise


2. Teaching


3. Work of the people - what people bring into the service

We will be going into each of these areas in future, but the area we will focus on mostly is the third, what you and I bring into the service. There is something here for each of us to do.

Russell Burrill puts it this way...

"...What makes heavenly worship heavenly? God is there, the angels are there and the Holy Spirit has touched the people's hearts. If those are the components of heavenly worship, then certainly all three ingredients should be present on Sabbath morning when God's people meet to worship Him..."

"There is no doubt that God and His angels meet with us each Sabbath. Could the missing ingredient be that we have not given God the opportunity to touch our hearts during the week, and thus we little with which to praise Him on Sabbath? Inspiring worship occurs when God has stirred our hearts all through the week. when that happens, it erupts into exciting worship on Sabbath morning. Church services which appear to be "dull" may be a sign that members of the church have not spent time with God during the week."

Ouch! That hits a tender spot with me. Is my devotional and service life what it should be? Is my contact with God being so crowded out during the week that He can't get through to me on Sabbath morning?

We will go further into this important area in the coming weeks and months but until then we need start walking towards God for six days to arrive on Sabbath morning (see today's picture).

"Inspiring" Worship Service

The adjective, Inspiring, is what is measured in the NCD survey, not the worship service itself. The service may be very good in many ways, but it just isn't "inspiring" enough.

So what does "Inspiring" mean?

Inspiring means an enthusiastic sense of the direct presence of God and making a meaningful connection with Him.

So basically the worship service is good but people aren't able to say, "I really met God here today."

Now that's a pity because, for lots of people, the worship service is the only time in the whole week when they are open to contact with God.

It is also a pity because it may be the last time they are really open to contact with God.

Before beating up on ourselves too much, let's put it in the Natural Church Development perspective...

This result means that the major place we are getting in God's road, impeding the development of His kingdom in Toronto and preventing people coming to Him is right here, in the worship service.

He has been kind enough to point out our weakness and if we just get out of His road, He will fix this problem.

NCD reminds us that "the increase" comes from God. (I Cor 3:6,7) We just plant and water but the growth is from God (Col 2:19). When we work together with God, we will see healthy, sustainable growth in our church.

We did that last time with "Empowering Leadership" and just look at the results! Working with God is surprisingly good fun, I can't think of anything as rewarding as the last two years of NCD.

Next time I'll start to tease out the meaning of "inspiring worship service" and you will begin to see how you can get out of God's road (and get a front-row seat to the biggest game in the universe).

Remarkable Result

"Unusually good", "remarkable for any survey, especially for an SDA church", are just some of the comments from Ian Campbell the head of Natural Church Development for Australia as he looked at the results of our latest survey.

If you missed the presentation on Sabbath afternoon, May 8, here are the very abridged results. If you want more information, you can ask me, Pr Aaron or Alan Bowditch. I plan to cover the most important things in future emails.

Why was Ian so happy? The first reason is that our average went up from 31.9 to 48.7. That is 16.8 points, more than a standard deviation (15 points). He called this "unusually good".

Empowering Leadership, our previous minimum factor went up 21 points. We spent quite a bit of time on this so the increase was to be expected, but the size of the increase was "extraordinary".

What wasn't expected (by me anyway) were the increases in all the other health factors. Below is the list:

* Empowering Leadership +21
* Need-oriented Evangelism +30 (2 standard deviations)
* Holistic Small Groups +22
* Effective Structures +21
* Passionate Spirituality +18
* Gift-based Ministry +13
* Loving Relationships +9
* Inspiring Worship Service +1

Which is a "classic example of how focussing on the minimum factor has flowed over into all areas". Praise God!

This brings us to the new Minimum Factor: "Inspiring Worship Service". This is what we are going to concentrate on the rest of this year.

Photos from Inntravel.