Born to Worship

March 18, 2009
7:00 am

This morning I am considering the practice of baptism in our church and specifically as part of the gathering of believers for corporate worship. I feel a strong conviction to make baptism a more central part of our worship at Trinity. We are having a baptism service on Good Friday and in preparation, Gary did some teaching on it in our staff meeting yesterday. He has written an excellent booklet that outlines the who, what, why and how we approach the practice of baptism at Trinity. You can find it on our website here: Baptism at Trinity After an extremely disturbing hour skimming through church history on the topic, I came away deeply grateful that our church seeks to practice first and foremost according to the Bible. This avoids allowing the traditions of men to distort our understanding and seeks to keep the practice of our faith pure according to the will of God. I’d like to consider what baptism accomplishes for the Lord, for the body of Christ, his church, and for the believer who is being baptized. We will consider the practice of baptism within the context of worship. First, let us consider what baptism accomplishes for the Lord. The most obvious answer is that it honors him as an act of obedience to his Word, the clearest being the Great Commission where Jesus commands his disciples to continue the process Jesus began with them making more disciples.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20 ESV)

Of course we obey not just out of duty, but our motivation is out of love. That is what makes obedience an act of worship that is pleasing to God. Another thing we accomplish for the Lord is putting the spotlight on his work of salvation through the gospel of Jesus Christ. It shouts out, It is true! The gospel is the power unto salvation for all who believe! Baptism is evidence that God’s program is working. There is a wonderful story worth noting here. It is found on the musical group Selah’s Hiding Place project during the song “By and By.” Apparently the government of the country of Congo in Africa outlawed baptism for 2 years thinking that they could extinguish the rise of Christianity. This song begins with Selah members, Nicol Stonberg and Todd Smith’s grandfather, Laban Smith, describing the wonderful scene the day the ban was over. People kept coming from all over to be baptized. It is a wonderful testimony of God’s saving work he is always working and we are called to spotlight his salvation work.

“Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.” (Psalms 96:2 ESV)

Second, we consider what baptism accomplishes for the gathered body of believers who are the witnesses of it. In this context it is an act of corporate worship as was always intended to be. First of all, baptism declares the works of the Lord in a public setting. Our practice at Trinity is to include a faith story with each baptism. While this is not a biblical requirement, we do it this way specifically to praise the Lord and edify the body to celebrate the saving work of our God who has saved us and brought us into his family. The telling of how and when God saves us is encouraging for others to hear and results in something wonderful a worship response, celebrating, clapping, cheering for our great God who saves us. Psalm 145 beautifully demonstrates worship flowing out of personal testimony.

They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. (Psalms 145:6-7 ESV)

Notice the pattern of “they” and then “I.” The declaration of the awesome deeds of the Lord causes those who hear to add their voices to the declaration of his greatness and to sing loudly of his righteousness I really like that! God does too. That’s why I usually follow baptisms with a loud song of praise. Additionally, the symbol of baptism itself, apart from the public testimony, is a dramatic illustration of salvation. Borrowing Gary’s words from the booklet, he explains this clearly. The very act of baptism is a powerful display of what God has done in our lives: We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life (Romans 6:4, NIV). “It therefore becomes a testimony to friends and family of our conversion experience: a means of declaring the gospel visibly.” (Baptism, Gary Inrig, p.12) In this regard, I think we need to be careful not to force a person to declare their personal testimony publicly, although we should greatly encourage it. A third aspect to the public testimony of baptism is that observing a baptism increases our faith and resolve to wholeheartedly follow the Lord. I am reminded of the power of the public testimony of baptism each time I sit with my son and observe baptisms. His attention is completely captured by it and has been since he was three years old. It was at Mears Lake in Forest Home where we sat side by side on the shore and witnessed an unusual number of high school boys following the Lord in baptism. I really think that Billy’s 3 year old mind began to understand what it means to follow Christ that day. All who were there were edified by their testimonies as they humbled themselves before the Lord to follow him in baptism and declared their belief in Christ as Lord and Savior and their intent to devote their whole lives to follow him. Lastly, let us consider what baptism accomplishes for the one being baptized. Gary explains clearly in his booklet, that baptism does not accomplish their salvation; it bears witness to it. Water baptism is the outward and visible sign of the inward, invisible transformation of life. (Baptism, Gary Inrig, p.8) Steve Springsted usually teaches our baptism class for adults and encourages people to take it very seriously. I did when I was baptized at sixteen years old. The decision to be baptized was a personal and public statement that I was “all in”, committed for life. This seems to be the case for the early believers that is one of the reasons baptism usually immediately followed conversion and why it was public. Paul emphasized baptism not just as an “all in” statement, but also as an “all new” statement.

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:3,4,11 ESV)

It makes our faith a public commitment with many witnesses to not only celebrate with us, but I think to hold us accountable to living a life that is dead to sin and alive to God in Christ! Baptism not only identifies us with Christ, but also with the community of faith to which we now belong. Think for a moment about the humility that baptism requires. I would argue that this is another wonderful thing that it accomplishes for us. We humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord and he lifts us up. This command occurs twice in the New Testament and is strangely similar to the symbolism of baptism. This may be a bit of a stretch, but I think there is a point to be considered. Let’s look at the first practice of baptism in the New Testament. John the Baptist’s ministry was marked by this symbol and practice of baptism.

John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. (Mark 1:4-5 ESV)

It is a blow to our pride to admit our need for Christ, to confess our sins, and then to submit ourselves to being pushed under the water in front of others. I think that is part of the reason John didn’t want to baptize Christ. He wanted it to be the other way around.

John would have prevented him, saying, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? 15 But Jesus answered him, Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he consented. (Matthew 3:14-16 ESV)

This makes me consider the question, why was Jesus baptized? While there are many reasons, an obvious one being that he did the very thing that he would command his followers to do, I think there’s another implication that we shouldn’t miss. It began his public ministry in a posture of humility before God and others. And his Father was well-pleased. Christ lived his life teaching his disciples to serve and not be served. He ended his life with the ultimate demonstration of humility that would give his followers an example to follow.

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:8-9 ESV)

Baptism serves as a reminder of this posture of humility before the Lord and our new spiritual family. Finally, so obvious that I almost missed it, is that baptism is itself an act of worship. It is a direct statement to the Lord that he is worthy of giving our whole lives in service to him. It is identifying with our Savior and loving him by obeying his commands and following his example. This is the very heart of worship. I’d like to consider one extra thing that is, what baptism accomplishes for those who observe but do not yet believe. It is a powerful witness that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the truth. Especially when accompanied by personal testimonies, a baptism service includes a sermon like no other. While the real test comes with the day-to-day witness that follows, I think baptism was meant to be the commencement of our life as witnesses. It is interesting that accompanying Christ’s Great Commission must have been this parallel statement recorded in Acts as the very last thing Jesus said before ascending to heaven.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (Acts 1:8-9 ESV)

Taking from the end of the gospel accounts and the beginning of the book of Acts, we get the full picture of our mission. God commands us to baptize and make disciples and to be his witnesses. He promises another baptism of the Holy Spirit that would make us effective witnesses. (Recall that John the Baptist spoke of this Holy Spirit baptism.) In this way, we see that water baptism is our initiation as a witness it is our first witness. And that is what baptism ultimately accomplishes for the unbeliever who observes, another witness that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. The baptism service is one of the most treasured times our church family meets together. It is an unmatched experience worshiping together as the body of Christ. I pray that God would give us cause at Trinity to witness baptisms more and more.

Bill Born

March 4, 2009
9:09 pm

This is from a journal a few weeks ago during a day of solitude. As part of Trinity’s staff, I have been asked to take one DAWG (day away with God) day a month. February 4, 2009 11:08 AM I’m sitting in the tent trailer at Doheny State Beach, enjoying some time alone with God. I don’t feel good at doing alone time. My life is so full, always producing something, always solving some problem, always serving others, always working to keep my head above water at home and at work. I love all of this stuff and I sense God’s presence and pleasure in all of it. But now it is time to stop just for a few hours and it’s hard to put on the brakes. What am I stopping for? I guess I’m hoping to meet with God in a special way forsaking my agenda, searching for his. While I always seek to align my agenda with God’s, sometimes I may drift. I get distracted, impatient, over zealous, and I forget to listen, to really see, and to know God. That’s what this day is about, fine-tuning my receiver to make sure I’m hearing and seeing God clearly. I spent most of the morning out on the sand, reading the Scriptures, sitting quietly, talking to God a little, and trying to listen more. Of course my mind is used to running at high RPMs, so even when I’m quiet it’s hard to listen. I read from Exodus 20 this morning the account of God revealing himself on the top of the mountain. What a moment to try to imagine! It was such a fearful thing for the Israelites to meet with the Living God. Here’s what the people said to Moses as they waited at the bottom of the mountain.

Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die. Moses said to the people, Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin. The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was. (Exodus 20:18-21 ESV)

Perhaps that is one of the reasons for this DAWG (day away with God) day to be tested that the fear of the Lord may be before me, that I may not sin. I found myself thinking of my sister’s boyfriend, Todd, who will be leaving this weekend for 3 weeks of alone time as a requirement of his Spiritual Formation degree from Talbot Seminary. I can’t imagine 3 weeks! Perhaps that is like facing the mountain with the thick darkness and being invited like Moses to draw near. Fortunately, God has come near in a way he hadn’t yet in Moses’ time. Through his Son, Jesus, all who have faith in him now have complete access to God. But we must not forget that he is the same God as the one whose voice thundered on the mountain, making the people tremble. Worship leader, Matt Redman captured our relationship with the Lord by calling it, “The Friendship and the Fear.” It is both a comforting familiarity and an unsettling mystery all at once. Today I hope to discover both in increasing measure.

Bill Born

February 18, 2009
7:59 am

I had a wonderful time presenting at the Former Adventist Fellowship Weekend conference. Preparing for it was a blessing; especially interviewing friends who are former Adventists and spending time studying the topic in God’s Word. I’m going to work on making my presentation into an article that I can post at a later time. I did make an iMix to accompany my discoveries as I uncovered the topic, How Biblical Worship Confronts Fear, Doubt and Depression. Here are some notes to accompany each of the songs. As you journey through these songs with me, you really get the bulk of what I discovered and tried to communicate in my presentation. Biblical Worship iMix By Bill Born

1. Revelation Song by Gateway Church (Living For You) Let’s begin with the end, that is, the reality of who Christ is. He is the Lord God Almighty, the One who was, and is and is to come! That’s where all expressions of worship eventually lead us. This gives us the eternal perspective and there is no greater hope and no greater joy than that of arriving at that place. This is heavenly worship.

2. Everlasting God by Brenton Brown (Everlasting God) This song begins with a wonderful promise based on Isaiah 40:31. Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord. When my church family sings it, we eagerly sing, “Our hope, our strong deliverer” and then we explode into the chorus with a shout of “YES!” I feel like I could jump a mile high when we get to that place. Everything that is “man” in me is connecting with the Everlasting God, my God. At that moment I have faith that could move mountains and it has.

3. Jesus Messiah by Chris Tomlin (Hello Love) We get it right when our worship is centered on Jesus Christ and the gospel. This song spotlights the Hebrew name for Jesus, Yeshua Mashiah, the Lord of All. I love the reference to communion in verse two. It is too much for me when the choir sings “all our hope is in you,” while Chris sings the chorus. It is another heavenly moment.

4. In Christ Alone by Avalon & Geoff Moore (It Takes Two) This is the first recording that I heard of this modern hymn of the faith. It will certainly endure the ages, “contend[ing] for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 1:3 NIV) The first time I can recall our congregation cheering in our corporate worship service was in verse three after we sing, “Up from the grave he rose again!” There is so much truth packed into this worship song that I find comfort singing it in all circumstances.

5. Cross Around My Neck by Mustard Seed (Mustard Seed) My good friends John & Tonya Mace taught me how to bring wholehearted worship to God. This moved me toward allowing my intellectual understanding to inspire an authentic emotional response of praise – congruence between mind and heart worship. It was God’s perfect timing to be planning worship sets through sermons from Romans and Mark with them. In the process I became more unashamed of the gospel that saved me and fell more deeply in love with my Savior. They wrote and recorded this song with some of our church musicians.

6. At the Foot of the Cross (Ashes to Beauty) by Kathryn Scott (Satisfy) This song beautifully connects an Old Testament description of the Messiah’s ministry to it’s fulfillment in Jesus Christ. Then it invites us to a worship response. “I lay every burden down at the foot of the cross.” Jesus preached one of his first sermons from this text and boldly claimed to be the fulfillment. (Luke 4) I include Isaiah’s text here. Jesus came for those who lament. “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’S favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.” (Isaiah 61:1-3 NIV)

7. Jesus Paid it All by Fernando Ortega (Storm) Yet another wonderful hymn that anchors our soul in the eternal truth of Scriptures as they reveal to us the wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ. And this moves beyond the right doctrine to a wholehearted yet simple response. “Jesus paid it all; all to him I owe.” Fernando’s recordings of hymns are a treasure to God’s church.

8. I Cling to the Cross by Paul Baloche (Our God Saves) I love this song because of where it ends up. It incorporates a familiar chorus I learned as a child and makes it a wholehearted expression of faith, a surrender of my will to follow Jesus no matter what. The bridge is noteworthy as well as we stand at the open tomb and realize the significance of the resurrection. The world behind, the cross before me, no turning back! No looking back. No turning back. I cling to the cross!

9. When I Survey (The Wondrous Cross) by Kathryn Scott (Satisfy) We started singing this arrangement a few months ago. The familiar words set to a different melody make it fresh and engages my heart anew. I love the additional second verse that talks about boasting alone in the death of Christ my God. (Boasting is an important practice of worship!) The song grows in harmony and beauty as we move through the gospel to a wholehearted faith response in verse four. “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.” That is the worship offering we are urged to bring to God. (Romans 12:1)

10. When the Tears Fall by Tim Hughes (When Silence Falls) Lament is a form of worship that flows from a place of deep pain. Worship in the “dark night of the soul” moves us honestly toward our Father. It results in greater intimacy and deeper faith. While our circumstances may not change, our perspective does and that is where hope is born. This song is a resolution to praise God no matter what.

11. Psalm 13 (How Long O Lord) by Brian Doerksen (You Shine) I chose this psalm as the foundation of my study on how biblical worship confronts fear, doubt and depression. The psalmist, David, experienced all three and brought these feelings to God in worship and moved to a place of trust. When I discovered this song afterwards, I moved from an intellectual understanding of it to a heart-engaged moment of worship. I wept as I realized that the model here is to run to Daddy. We come to our Father with our complaint, cry out for help and then we collapse into his loving arms. It is there that we can rejoice in the goodness of our God – when we are being held by Him.

12. Before the Throne of God Above by Selah (Hiding Place) Selah has produced a wealth of beautiful worship music to God. They have wonderful arrangements of the great hymns of the faith and yet sing a new song as well. This hymn has become one of our favorites at Trinity Church. It is packed with life changing truth that inspires and strengthens our faith as we sing it.

13. Grace by Phil Wickham (Phil Wickham) This song is a lament. It begins with grey skies, raging seas, and crying in the night. It moves to a cry for help, “I need hope and I need you, ’cause I can’t do this alone!” It is a modern psalm, a poetic expression of honest worship, a plea for help to God. While it doesn’t resolve, it somehow it leaves me with incredible hope. Maybe it’s because my faith is now secure in this wonderful grace. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God”(Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV) Amen!

14. Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone) by Living Sacrifice (Life Choices) Scott & Sharon Strum are good friends and worship leaders at Trinity Church. They love to celebrate the great gospel of Jesus Christ with their music. This is their version of a new arrangement of this beloved hymn of the faith. Chris Tomlin and some friends added the wonderful new refrain, “My chains are gone!” The Strums recorded this song with some of our church musicians.

15. Empty and Beautiful by Matt Maher (Empty and Beautiful) This song, particularly the second verse, captures the journey of some to saving faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The choice to follow Christ sometimes causes deep rejection from friends and family. This is not new to Christianity, and it is the context of most of the suffering in the first century church. Here in this worship of lament we find ourselves at a place of deep trust. Once there we can endure suffering for the sake of the gospel. Matt’s chorus is a song of hope anchored in God’s finished work of salvation in his life. Matt attributes his journey to Christ’s work of chasing, “keeping the faith in me,” and helping him finish the race.

Bill Born

February 11, 2009
7:33 am

Today is my dad’s 67th birthday. It’s a real privilege to have a dad like I do. I was just recounting with my brother-in-law over a cup of coffee how Dad did it right. He’s still doing it right. I see my son, Billy, growing up so fast. He turned 7 last week. As I reflect on my relationship as a son to my father, I want to do it right too. What is doing it right? Well most of all, it is being a humble man. A humble man according to the Scriptures does justly, loves mercy and walks humbly with God. (from Micah 6:8) Dad was hard on me – always instructing, always demanding greater maturity in thought and action, and always pushing me to be my best. He was about the business of teaching me to do justly. But he wasn’t too intense. He was mercifully demanding. He was a load of fun too. He enjoyed being with me and was proud of me and I knew it. Is there any greater gift a father can give his child than a sense that he delights in him? The Bible has an amazing Proverb that says, “for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.” (Proverbs 3:12 ESVS) I think Dad’s success as a parent stemmed from the fact that he walked humbly with God. He was prayerful, openly dependent upon God for wisdom in all things, especially parenting. I observed this more when I moved on to college and had a view from the outside in as Dad navigated the difficult years of raising two teen daughters. It was tenuous at times, but he did it with a deep dependence and confidence in God. My sisters would agree with me that he did it well. This gave me a model with which to approach my 2-year-old daughter, Maria. I’m grateful for his example there as well. Dad is about to retire after 41 years in his career as a missionary with Mission Aviation Fellowship. He has done that well too and I am deeply proud of him and my mom as they wrap things up and celebrate God’s faithfulness through all those years, and get small glimpses of the fruit that has yielded as a result of their life work. Years ago when I was approaching marriage, I watched Dad go through a trial in his job. He did justly, loved mercy and walked humbly with God through it all, and remained at MAF to continue to love the Lord by loving His people. This trial eventually opened the door to beginning a Member Care department, moving he and my mom into the roles from which they will retire in a few months. I wrote this poem for him 13 years ago, weeping uncontrollably through the last half as I realized the deep truths of what I wrote there. So, happy birthday Dad! I love you! Here’s to a big year of change and some sweet times together as father and son. Cheers!

To Dad
Tonight I felt your pain
Tonight I shed some tears
As I caught a glimpse of the broken heart
Of a man who had served for years
A dedication to be genuine
A passion for lost souls
A life-long commitment to excellence
Being faithful to fulfill your roles
Yet approaching thirty years of service
You have encountered a slammed door
I sometimes wonder if your ears still ring
Have you answered the question, “What for?”
Or have you changed the question to one more useful
As only time will allow
To look to the future with a glimmer of hope
And ask the question, “What now?”
But the years behind you did not go wasted
Is it evidence you demand?
Then look at the life of the one who writes you
Your boy became a man
And now I walk the road to marriage
For that I am very glad
Yet I owe a lot of the man I am
To the man that I call, “Dad.”
The change from boy to man didn’t just happen
It was not coincidence
I look at your hand and your thumb is up
A symbol of confidence
So as I seek to make a difference in this world
To find God in the circumstances of life
As I proceed to raise a family
And as I love and honor my wife
I do so because I had a role model who did so
The greatest blessing God could give
That position can never be taken away, Dad
For as long as we both shall live.

Written to Dad, inspired by the film, “Mr. Holland’s Opus”, January 27, 1996.

Bill Born

January 14, 2009
7:33 am

Last week I had the privilege of participating in a pastoral staff retreat with my colleagues at Trinity Church. I want to highlight two significant things that happened. The first is that we spent the afternoon on Thursday discussing what we thought were the main areas that we should be praying for as a church, and then came up with some major action points for 2009. My heart was so encouraged to sense a unity among us that we were hearing the voice of God leading us. More than anything else God is leading us to pray first. And thus we have chosen “First Pray” to be the major motto and focus for 2009. I continue to rejoice at what God is doing and what he will do as we bring these requests to him in prayer throughout the year. Certainly God is working according to his timing and it is no mistake that our senior pastor, Gary Inrig, has chosen to teach through the book of James, a sermon series called, A Tough Faith for Tough Times. Check out Gary’s opening message from our website, Forged By Fire. Mark Brown also taught the previous week a message called, 1st Pray. I encourage you to check that out too as it is our call to prayer for the year. Here are the prayer requests for 2009: 1. Pray to TRUST GOD MORE (Tough FAITH in Tough Times) 2. Pray for OPEN DOORS, HEARTS, MOUTHS, and EARS related to our community 3. Pray to show EXTRAORDINARY/EXTRAVAGANT LOVE 4. Pray to model CREATIVE RESPONSES to tough times 5. Pray for a GRANDER VIEW of GOD The second highlight was on Friday morning. We heard a charge from Paul Cedar, a man who has spent his life in ministry as a pastor, led the Evangelical Free Church Denomination for a season, and is now focused on mobilizing the church toward evangelism through the Mission America Coalition. Hearing from Paul was refreshing, inspiring and challenging. It was a moment where we all had an immediate sense that this was a word to us from the Lord through a man who intimately loves the Lord and knows him. He gave us a charge on Servant Leadership, a message from 1 Peter 5:1-4. Afterwards we had a time for Q&A. I’ll include the Scripture passage and Paul’s main points here in closing.

“So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”(1Peter 5:1-4 ESV)

1. Peter displays authentic humility – that’s where it begins!
2. Be shepherds of God’s flock – no greater honor, no greater accountability to God
3. Understand your assignment/calling and willingly do it to the glory of God
4. Do not desire personal gain, but be eager to serve
5. Be examples to the flock – “Follow me as I follow Christ”

God help me to be this kind of leader for your glory alone!

Bill Born

January 7, 2009
7:52 am

Okay, it’s been a while since I’ve checked in to this blog and I’ve missed it. Christmas was busy, but wonderful, perhaps the most worshipful Christmas season I’ve had due to the fact of walking through John 1:1-18 during the 4 Sundays prior to Christmas. Gary’s messages were awesome and totally worth checking out here if you missed them. The truth that was so clearly and compellingly taught inspired my soul to respond in resounding worship. Following our Christmas Eve Services I enjoyed a great vacation at home, celebrating Christmas, spending time with family, and just treasuring every hour of each day. I pretty much let go of all responsibility (sorry Sheri) until I came to the church on Saturday to take down the Christmas decorations and prepare for our first worship service of the New Year. I spent about 5 hours just listening to worship music, working with my son, Billy, the whole while reflecting on the wonderful job that God has privileged me to have. It is wonderful because of the great church family that I serve and the wonderful people who serve along side me. I’m going to be brief today because I must spend the next few weeks preparing for a presentation that I’ve been asked to do on February 14 for the Former Adventist Fellowship Weekend. I was asked to speak on the topic below: One-hour class in our Christianity EDU track on using Scripture/praise/worship to counteract depression, fear, and doubt. I’m excited about this opportunity as I believe wholeheartedly that the activity of worshiping God not only counteracts depression, fear and doubt, but it conquers it rendering it powerless in our lives. I’m going to utilize my new Accordance Bible study software (a Christmas/birthday gift) and begin conversation with people about this topic. With that said, I’m going to dive in. I look forward to my ‘listening time’ this year and all that God will speak into my life and hopefully through it as I share it with you. Here’s to a blessed 2009 together – cheers!

Bill Born

It’s November and I’m responsible to lead our congregation to worship through the season of Thanksgiving and Christmas. I’m excited about this opportunity. On November 23rd I will partner with a few coworkers to teach our congregation about the worship that is expressed to God through the giving of thanks. I have selected the theme of ‘give thanks in all circumstances’ from 1 Thessalonians 5:18. I have the goal today of studying through the Scriptures for our service that morning. I want to be centered in God’s Word but don’t want to get too wordy or theoretical as to miss the reality of where most people live their lives. I fear that I am a bit dry as a teacher. What I lack in the energy of humor I must make up for with the intensity of passion and conviction. I feel like my sweet spot is more in the area of interactive teaching, not preaching, so the normal feelings of inadequacy pop up. The approach I prefer most to take is the one of organizing a thematic worship experience for people around the topic of thanksgiving. And so I ask God to give me insight and clarity of thought and speech as I study and prepare today. I will then organize my thoughts with Steve and Larry who will join me to provide the Biblical teaching that morning. So where do I begin? Here are some questions:

What does God have to say about thanksgiving?
God has a lot to say about thanksgiving in the Scriptures – too much to list here. We have multiple commands to be thankful and we have wonderful illustrations of people who lived lives that overflowed with thanksgiving. We also see thanksgiving practiced in the corporate worship setting. The Psalms are packed full of statements of thanksgiving to God in both settings of celebration and within the darkness of personal depression. But, there is an amazing statement, actually, a command, in the Scriptures that defies all earthly reason stating, “give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess. 5:18) I’d like to spend some time in the Scriptures in our worship service uncovering this extraordinary command – the why we should and the how we can really do it. And then I will invite our congregation to practice this inviting them back for our Thanksgiving Eve service to do just that.

Why does the human heart struggle to produce thanksgiving? (the issue of sin)
I’ve done some thinking about this with Steve Springsted and we have arrived at the same conclusion. Thanksgiving is a worship response to God that flows out of a position of contentment and trust regardless of current circumstances. When God and his works and his ways are the central focus of our lives, we are thankful. When our works, our ways and ourselves are the central focus, we are at best stressed, yet struggling to be thankful, and at worst proud, angry and thankless. A thankful heart is a heart that feels no entitlement to God’s blessings, but instead, absolute awe and wonder that God would choose to bless us in the first place. A content heart, while honestly yearning for more is nevertheless at peace, deeply settled in God’s will, be it great blessing or great suffering. A content heart is a thankful heart – and that thanksgiving is poured out as a worship response to God through song and through the conversations of our life. It eventually becomes our mindset, our M.O. (method of operation), and a praise habit.

How does God transform our hearts to become thankful in all circumstances?
If we take a deeper look into the Apostle Paul’s life, we can see what thankfulness in all circumstances looks like and can learn the secret to practicing it. My brother-in-law mentioned an important foundation for thanksgiving – the place where it starts. He stated it something like this, “We will never be sincerely thankful for the salvation that Christ has given us until we realize what we would be without it.” It is that salvation which defines the life of a Christian. I think that this is where thanksgiving began in Paul’s life. Those who like Paul regard themselves as the “chief of sinners,” unworthy and yet lavished with the salvation of Christ, will certainly be thankful people. Those who are working hard to earn their salvation, or who feel entitled to God’s blessings will not get it. Those who are consumed with self for that matter will never get it. It is only those who are consumed with God, with a perspective on life that is shaped by the Scriptures, that will become and remain thankful. In a survey of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonian believers, we see that an attitude of thanksgiving permeated everything Paul said. He felt deeply thankful, and took multiple opportunities to express that, often times outright gushing. Steve is going to take us through the passage to look at the context of Paul’s command to be thankful in all circumstances. In this we will see Paul’s practice of thanksgiving. Larry then will take the hand off from Steve and look specifically at a time in Paul’s life when he was thankful in very difficult circumstances. We will move to an incredible worship service with two men at midnight in a Philippian prison cell and we will note the outcome of their worship of thanksgiving – for themselves, for those who observed/heard his thanksgiving, and most of all for God. That brings me to my last question.

What does thanksgiving accomplish for God? for us?
I love to consider this question. It is certain that I cannot offer anything to God as if he was needy, but he is deserving, worthy of certain things that I can give him. Revelation states it best in a heavenly scene of worship. “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!” (Rev. 7:12, NIV) Thanksgiving is nearly always connected to other worship responses. Here it is found among a list of the attributes and responses that belong to God. In our passage from 1 Thessalonians, it is listed among the commands to rejoice, pray and be filled with the spirit. Namely, what we find is that the giving of thanksgiving as an act of worship accomplishes one main thing for God – namely, more worship. The worship in heaven is a call and response worship – angels and saints resounding praise back and forth in response to one another. And so on earth we find this to be true. The more I express thanksgiving to God, the more thankful I become until like Paul, I begin to gush. A great moment of Paul gushing is found in Romans 11 when after trying to comprehend and explain God’s plan of salvation for all people by grace through faith in Christ, he just can’t hold back. “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.” (Rom. 11:33-36, NIV) This also holds true in the jail scene found in Acts 16. God moves his hand, perhaps in response to their thanksgiving and prayers, and as a result, the jailer and his family are saved. It says that they were all “filled with joy.” I can imagine that thanksgiving was pouring out of that man’s life and his family from that day forward. More worship for God! We see this invitation to join the chorus of worship in the Psalms, “Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth! Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” (Psa. 100:1,4, NIV) Finally, what did it accomplish for Paul? It brought literal freedom from prison, greater testimony with influential Roman leaders, and success in his mission to preach the gospel and build the church. It gave Paul another moment for which to be thankful. Ultimately it accomplished more worship for God! May that be the fruit of our thanksgiving worship as well!

Bill Born