Sunday, January 25, 2009

Principles for worship at HBC #3

2. We expect the awesome and gracious presence of God.

We do not just direct ourselves toward him. We earnestly seek his drawing near according to the promise of James 4:8. We believe that in worship God draws near to us in power, and makes himself known and felt for our good and for the salvation of unbelievers in the midst.

2 comments:

  1. To be "God-centered" in our worship is come hungry, thirsty for the living God. It is to be unsatisfied if only I learn/hear about God, but not actually meet him, hearing the voice of Christ. "Give me Christ, or else I die!"
    This is our goal, our conscious desire & intention. Too often, however, I allow myself to be distracted; too often my own remaining sin obscures any heavenly sight. O for a genuine, soul-stirring encounter with God!

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  2. There are some practical helps, I think. We can mix times of prayer into our song sets. We can use "you/your" language instead of "thee/thou" whenever possible. We can choose songs that are vertically oriented, even altering 3rd person text about God, to 2nd person address to God.

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