Due to an equipment malfunction yesterday, we were unable to record Pastor Charles’ sermon for upload here today. Instead, I’ve decided to let you share in a book that I’m currently reading. It’s written by Matt Redman, who is well known in Christian music circles for writing the song “The Heart of Worship.” Worship has become an interesting term for me in the past couple of years as we’ve started a new contemporary worship service at Glenwood. Having grown up attending “traditional” worship all my life, being exposed to a contemporary service has caused me to really consider what worship is all about. What does it mean to worship? Am I a “good” worshipper? When and how do I worship?
Chapter one of The Unquenchable Worshipper is entitled “The Unquenchable Worshipper.” Here’s a quote from the beginning of the chapter:
“But the unquenchable worshipper is different. From a heart so amazed by God and His wonders burns a love that will not be extinguished. It survives any situation and lives through any circumstance. It will not allow itself to be quenched, for that would heap insult on the love it lives in response to.”
Redman points out two biblical examples of unquenchable worshippers, Habakkuk in Habakkuk 3:17-18 and probably the best-known example, Paul and Silas in jail in Acts 16. He then uses fire as a metaphor to discuss how worship can be quenched. Fire needs three things to continue – heat, oxygen, and fuel. As a result, the three main ways to extinguish a fire is to cool the material with water, cut off the oxygen or cut off the supply of fuel. So it is with worship.
The trials and pressures of our lives can be like water to our worship fire. Redman points out that we face a simple choice almost daily. We can fix our eyes on the circumstances or cling to God and choose to worship Him, even when we are hurting. As he puts it, “Though overwhelmed by many troubles, they are even more overwhelmed by the beauty of God.”
Quenching and grieving the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30) is how we can cut off the metaphorical oxygen from our worship fire. The point here is that we have to keep in step with God in our everyday lives if we are going to be an unquenchable, burning worshipper.
As noted, the third way of stopping a fire is to cut off the fuel supply. What is the fuel for our worship? The revelation of God. If we open our hearts, God’s revelation comes through creation, history, the cross, His Word. We provide fuel for our worship when we read God’s Word, pray to Him, go to church to share fellowship with other believers, and even get out into nature and see God’s power and beauty there. And this is certainly not an exhaustive list.
Redman finishes the chapter with a note about lament in worship and Psalms of lament. He points out that these are not criticisms of who God is, but praise even in the dark times based on an underlying faith and trust in Him. “Whatever trials lie ahead in this life, unquenchable worshippers are found with a song of undying worship on their lips.”
Next chapter: “The Undone Worshipper”
March 31st, 2008
Posted by
Brian Beasley |
What I'm Reading, Worship |
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Sunday Morning Sermon for March 16, 2008 - delivered by Rev. Charles Howell
Feel free to right-click and select Save Target As… to download to your computer, or simply hit the small button to the left of the title to play!
March 16th, 2008
Posted by
Brian Beasley |
Glenwood Presbyterian Church, Rev. Charles Howell, Sunday Sermons |
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The Glenwood Gladiators, Glenwood Presbyterian’s church softball team, has a practice game tonight at 8:30 p.m. Our game is at the Old Peck ball field in Glenwood (where Lexington dead-ends near Freeman Mill Road), so those of you in the neighborhood can stop by and see the action. Hopefully we won’t get rained out.
March 14th, 2008
Posted by
Brian Beasley |
Glenwood Neighborhood, Glenwood Presbyterian Church |
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Sunday Morning Sermon for March 9, 2008 - delivered by Rev. Charles Howell
Feel free to right-click and select Save Target As… to download to your computer, or simply hit the small button to the left of the title to play!
March 14th, 2008
Posted by
Brian Beasley |
Glenwood Presbyterian Church, Rev. Charles Howell |
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This is part two in a series of posts following the search for a new pastor at Glenwood Presbyterian Church. You can find the table of contents here.
Well, the first step of this journey is done – we have hired an interim pastor. Reverend Charles Howell will officially become our interim pastor this coming Palm Sunday. Pastor Charles actually grew up in the Glenwood neighborhood, a couple of blocks from our church, and I will provide a little more background information on him when I get an opportunity. Suffice it to say that he is a dynamic preacher and he really has a heart for our church and this community.
For obvious reasons, I didn’t post about the search while it was ongoing – I had serious doubts about whether I could make it anonymous enough without making it so anonymous that no one would understand what I was talking about anyway. I figured it was better that I wait until this step was complete before I went back and filled in the gaps, which is why I haven’t posted on this topic since December 11th of last year.
When our team first met with Presbytery representatives, they gave us three or four names to start us out on our search for an interim. Interestingly enough, Pastor Charles was the first name they gave us. Our team decided that we wanted to hear the candidates preach before interviewing them, and so we either asked the ones that could to come preach at Glenwood or members of our team went to hear them at their church, if they were currently serving as an interim somewhere.
Once we had heard all of the potential candidates, when we met to decide who we were interested in, we were all unanimous on our first choice. So we set up a meeting with Pastor Charles. One of the difficult things in planning for the hiring of an interim was to determine exactly what we wanted our interim pastor to DO. In the Presbyterian church, pastors are not viewed as the sole person in charge of the church. Rather, the pastor used to be called the “teaching elder” and the members of the Session were called the “ruling elders.” The idea is that all of the members are ministers. So it was interesting to think about what the pastor’s role should be even in small details like what committee meetings he would be expected to attend, or what church events, and so forth.
When we met with Pastor Charles, we gave him a list of our expected responsibilities and had a very nice talk with him about the position. We worked out the salary details and again, everyone was unanimous that he was the person that God had selected for this position. We signed the official contract last Sunday and his first official day as interim will be next Sunday.
The most exciting thing about this whole process is the very obvious way that God has been at work in this process and our circumstances to bring about this result. Here’s just a couple of things that I’ve noticed, I’m sure that there are a lot of things that I’m not even aware of:
- The timing was right: Pastor Charles just recently retired from his last church and our pastor just recently resigned.
- Pastor Charles grew up in the neighborhood and comes to us at a time when I believe God is moving powerfully in the Glenwood neighborhood and our church needs to be a part of that.
- Pastor Charles really wanted this position because of these connections. So his desire matched our need – God had something to do with that.
- Pastor Charles had actually visited our church on several occasions after he had retired, so he knew some of us before we had an opening, and knew a little of our circumstances and past.
- Pastor Charles seems to have the attributes that we were looking for when we started this search.
- Finally, I remember having a conversation with my wife on the Sunday morning that Charles was going to preach at our church for the first time. While getting ready for church, we talked about our desire to have a great preacher for an interim. I specifically remember saying to her, “I don’t think there are any Presbyterian ministers that preach like Baptists.” Then we came to church and heard Charles preach and I stood corrected.
More about Pastor Charles in my next post on the search for a pastor….for now, I pray for a good relationship between the church and our new interim pastor. We have a major milestone behind us, but a lot of work to do in the near future.
March 11th, 2008
Posted by
Brian Beasley |
Glenwood Presbyterian Church, Pastor Search |
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SHINE Lesson for March 9 2008 - delivered by Brian Beasley
Feel free to right-click and select Save Target As… to download to your computer, or simply hit the small button to the left of the title to play!
March 10th, 2008
Posted by
Brian Beasley |
SHINE |
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SHINE Lesson for March 2, 2008 - delivered by Brian Beasley
Feel free to right-click and select Save Target As… to download to your computer, or simply hit the small button to the left of the title to play!
March 3rd, 2008
Posted by
Brian Beasley |
SHINE |
no comments
Due to an equipment malfunction yesterday, we were unable to record Pastor Charles’ sermon for upload here today. Instead, I’ve decided to let you share in a book that I’m currently reading. It’s written by Matt Redman, who is well known in Christian music circles for writing the song “The Heart of Worship.” Worship has become an interesting term for me in the past couple of years as we’ve started a new contemporary worship service at Glenwood. Having grown up attending “traditional” worship all my life, being exposed to a contemporary service has caused me to really consider what worship is all about. What does it mean to worship? Am I a “good” worshipper? When and how do I worship?
