I would like to pose a question. In the observance of the Lord’s Supper are we offering something to God or is God offering something to us? Do we give to God or do we receive from Him? Do you think this is an important nuance to make conclusions about?
What exegetical and theological arguments would you use to support your position? Please share your thoughts.
This past Sunday at our church’s internship meeting we discussed various worship related issues. One of the questions that came up was what to do when you feel like you can’t sing the lyrics of a hymn/song during the corporate worship service.
Jim Newheiser, who was leading the meeting, helpfully suggested that you first ask whether your issue with the song is one of preference or doctrine. There’s a difference between simply not liking a hymn or worship song because of its tune, for example, and not liking the song because you believe it doesn’t teach sound doctrine. Jim encouraged us to put aside preferences when necessary. However, if we believe the song isn’t teaching correct doctrine then we must not violate our conscience.
What do you do when the lyrics of a hymn or song are so vague or unclear (but not clearly false) that you can’t sing with conviction? There are a few songs (though not many) we sing at our worship services that contain lyrics I can’t sing with conviction because I’m not sure what the words are communicating.
For example, do you think the following line is a proper/true description of Jesus Christ?
“You are the love song we’ll sing forever”.
I’m not asking whether that line makes you think of other things that are true of Christ, but whether the statement that Jesus is a “love song” is true on its own.
I’ve tried hard not to be a stick in the mud over this line, but I simply can’t bring myself to sing it. It’s not clear to me what it means for Jesus to be a love song and I haven’t come across anything in Scripture that would shed some light. I haven’t scoured the entire Bible over this lyric though so please let me know if I’m missing something!
What songs/lyrics do you have a hard time singing and why (keep it civil)?
Mark Lauterbach’s article People, Not Culture in the May 2009 issue of NEXT is a helpful piece for those who are thinking through how to relate to the world around them. Lauterbach writes,
But I want to suggest that this question–“How should a Christian relate to culture?”–may be the wrong question. This may be the wrong place for us, as Christians in the middle of culture, to start. Here’s why: I am not sure how I am to relate to the culture, but I am sure I am to relate to people outside of Christ for the sake of their salvation
You can read the full article here.
Jonathan Dodson posted several suggestions at theresurgence.com for being more intentional about spending time with non-Christians. The suggestions are simple, common sense stuff, but all too often we overlook these types of opportunities.
(via JT)
The Gospel Coalition website is proving to be a great resource for Gospel centered text, audio, and video resources. You can browse resources by the name of the author/speaker, topic, or Scripture reference. In addition, you can browse for specific types of resources such as sermons, articles, interviews, etc.
If you’re looking for a place to start I suggest you listen to or watch D.A. Carson’s lecture entitled “What is the Gospel?”. You can find the audio and video here or in iTunes.
