Living Sacrifice

Last week I talked specifically about how we view music in the context of corporate worship. This week I will examine worship in broader terms. We must expand our concept of worship beyond the finite domain of a particular place, time or method. Biblical worship is so much more.

Romans 12:1 says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” It’s not a limited lease agreement or a rent-to-own contract. It’s a whole-sale sell out to our Creator. We hear this scripture used a lot on its own, but I think it becomes even more powerful when we read it in context with the scripture surrounding it. Directly preceding it is a powerful doxology:

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?

Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

In light of this incredible statement about the amazing power and character of God, Paul then says “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” It’s as if Paul is saying “Look at our God! He is worthy to be given our entire life. How can we hold anything back from him?” He urges us to give everything to God. Is there anything you’re holding on to? God is so much more than the trinkets we grasp in our hands. After this statement in Romans 12:1, Paul writes beautifully about how to live a life that is a sacrifice pleasing to God. I can’t begin to fully expound such rich text in this limited space, but I urge you to open up Romans and pour over chapters 12-15. Ask the Holy Spirit to mold your life into a living sacrifice that is pleasing to God.

Worship is not something that we walk in and out of at will. It is our life lived for something of high priority. We must constantly pray that the Holy Spirit will reveal anything that has taken the place of God. Worship is not a moment in our life. It is every moment in our life. May every moment we live be for Christ.

—Pastor Dennis

Music: Our Golden Calf?

Lately, I’ve been burdened by my need as a worship pastor to have an extremely deep understanding of gospel-centered theology. Early in my ministry my mind was focused on the practical aspects of being a worship minister. As long as I had a decent knowledge of the Bible, my lead pastor would take care of the hard questions and concepts. After all, my job was all about music, right? Sadly, in our current culture there is very little in church life that is messed up more than our concept of biblical worship. It is not acceptable for worship pastors to blindly lead their congregations into the abyss of idolatry and emotional relativism.

In many churches, worship leaders inadvertently train the church to believe that music ushers in the presence of God or that the presence of God is measured by the depth of emotional response brought on by the music. Because of our passion for the arts, we have raised the level of music to such high stature that it’s revered and enjoyed more than our God to whom it is being offered. This is a serious matter. This is idolatry. I love music. It is a beautiful gift from God, but when the creation not the Creator becomes the focus, we are in sin. Think about what happened in Exodus 32. God’s people took the beautiful gold that God created and turned it into a golden calf that they gave a higher place to than the Creator. It became their idol. Music has no magical or spiritual power by itself. Remember it is only a tool. Music is a tool used to direct our hearts and minds to the character of God, not a force which directs the power of God into our presence. As Christ-followers we must always remember that it is not because of anything except the power of the blood of Jesus Christ that we live in his presence. We all must pray that the Holy Spirit will direct our worship toward God and not his creation. Enjoy music. Offer it up to God in with reckless abandon in worship, but understand it for what it is. Test yourself within corporate worship. Is the music your focus or is God?

A couple of weeks ago Jon Goings and I had the opportunity to attend the Resurgence Continuous Worship Conference at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. This was an amazing conference. I’m still trying to get my brain around everything I learned during the two short days. It was the first worship conference that I’ve gone to which dealt specifically with the theology of worship instead of the “how to” of worship programming. The lack of emphasis on theological training within the worship leading training circuit is sad. I think it is representative of what is happening regarding worship within church culture.

My frustration is that I haven’t begun to cover all I would like in this short format. I’ve only briefly talked about idolatry in corporate worship. For a much more in depth discussion of true worship, I strongly recommend that you read the book Unceasing Worship by Harold Best. This book is a must read for any Christ-follower searching for a deeper relationship with Christ.

—Pastor Dennis

Stale Fish Saran Wrap

A couple of years ago Sue gave me tickets to a motocross freestyle event in Dallas. I’ve never felt more loved. She looked deeply into my soul and found a birthday gift only a wife who is tuned into the passions of her man’s heart could find. We headed down to Dallas for the spectacle that is freestyle motocross. My expectations were high. As the live metal band kicked into its ear shattering set the energy of the stadium was crazy. Then the two hour onslaught of Nac Nacs, Lazyboys, Stale Fish Saran Wraps, Cordovas, McMetzes, and No Footed Back Flips began. It was electric. It was way beyond my expectations.

God has really been dealing in my heart about how flippantly we spend time in His presence. How can we come into His presence, whether in our daily relationship with Him or when we come to church, completely void of any awe or reverence of God’s power and holiness? I know this seems like a big leap from motofreestyle, but hang with me. I was reading accounts of different people in the Bible who came into the presence of God. Isaiah immediately was overwhelmed by his filth and unholiness before a holy, powerful God. Moses was filled with fear and hid his face when God spoke to him in a burning bush. The man whose name would be changed to Paul was blinded by God’s presence. John fell as if dead. Why is it that I can watch a guy on a motorcycle do a “Kiss of Death” across a 90 foot gap and feel like I can die a completed man, but when I open up the living breathing Word of God I give it the same respect as the sports section of the newspaper. How can I scream like a lunatic in a stadium packed with rednecks and stand in the presence of God with my church family and act like I’m in high school detention?

I believe many of our issues stem from extremely low expectations. I want to challenge us all to think honestly about how we approach God. What do you expect when you open up the Bible? Are you looking for God to speak to you from His living, breathing Word? Are you searching for the answers to your life? Do you expect to be challenged – to be changed? 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” When you pray do you really think of it as speaking to Holy God and Creator of the universe? Do you believe it makes any difference if you pray or not? James 5:16 says, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” When you go to church what do you expect - to be entertained, see friends or do you wonder why you are even there? Read I Kings 8. How did Solomon feel about church?

We are allowed to get a glimpse of the glory of God. Think about what that means. How crazy is it that we have a relationship with immortal, omniscient, omnipresent, all powerful, all loving God and we cavalierly prance through the ritual because that’s what we do to be religious. How we approach God says so much about our relationship with Him. Empty ritual may help us feel better about ourselves because we are able to check it off the Christian “to-do” list, but it is an empty sacrifice to God – a stench in His nostrils. I’m convinced that if God would give us a small look at how we could live, we would be appalled by our current existence. Enough of empty rituals, it’s time to seek God and actually believe we will find him.

--Pastor Dennis

Fall Worship

It’s hard to think about summer being almost over when your shoes melt to the pavement as soon as you step out of the door, but we’ll be sucking down s’mores and jumping in leaves before you know. I love this time of the year. As a pastor August and September are the most exhilarating months of the church calendar. Everyone begins making their pilgrimage back to church after much needed vacation, and you can see the wild resolve of a caged animal in the eyes of leadership. Aside from when LifePoint launched, I have never been more excited about a fall in my ministry life. I can’t wait to see what God has for LifePoint Church this year!

That being said, I want to share some of the things coming in the worship ministry. First, in October we will have auditions for anyone interested in playing or singing in the band. We are constantly looking for humble followers of Christ who want to use their talents to lead LifePoint Worship Experiences. If you or someone you know fits this description, don’t miss this audition. My goal is to add one more fully functioning band this year. We are close, but we need your help. In a couple of weeks, I will have more information available.

Next, I’m overwhelmed by the spiritual growth many leading in the worship ministry are experiencing. God is doing an amazing work among us. Several on the team have talked to me about what Christ is laying on their hearts. I believe in this next year we will see an all new level of leadership, creativity and collaboration. I look forward to the original creative expression coming from our people.

Third, we will be shaking the format of the services up a bit. We won’t lock ourselves into the present order of service. I look forward to exploring some Biblical themes in worship that are many times ignored in church settings. We will also move Lord’s Supper and baptism from Celebrate LifePoint to our Sunday morning Worship Experience.

Finally, we are going to ramp up our training for every Christ follower at LifePoint to be a worshipper, servant, disciple and missioner. What does that mean for the worship ministry at LPC? We are going to take a very active, planned approach to teaching what true worship is. This is huge. Everything from Worship Experience and Community Group to children, youth and adult ministries will be affected.

I want to challenge you as a Christ follower to join what God is doing at LifePoint Church. Don’t hold anything back. Make serving and attending a priority. Don’t come on Sundays to observe. Engage! Jump in and get some dirt under your nails by serving. Ask God to show you how He wants to use you. Build relationships with friends and neighbors. Cry out to God to lay a burden for the lost on your heart. Don’t be satisfied with mediocrity in your relationship with Christ. I fully believe that God is going to use LifePoint Church to a degree we never dreamed possible. Come join us!

--Pastor Dennis