AAEVS - Preparing for Worship

“Because the Lord’s service is a reverential occasion, we will seek to prepare ourselves on Saturday evening for public worship on the Lord’s Day.” ~ Worship Paragraph 2f

"And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines." ~ 1 Samuel 7:3

"So kill the passover, and sanctify yourselves, and prepare your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses." ~ 2 Chronicles 35:6

 

"Why does the Lord tell us to remember the Sabbath day? The Larger Catechism (Q. 121) answers that this is “partly, because we are very ready to forget it.” Knowing our weakness, the Lord tells us, as part of his moral law, to make special efforts to keep the day for rest, worship, and works of necessity and mercy , separated unto him. (Holy means “separated unto God.”) It is sobering to realize that failure to keep the Sabbath day separated unto the Lord is on a par with idolatry, blasphemy, murder, adultery, stealing, and lying. That alone should be a powerful rebuke to us when we regard the Sabbath day as our day rather than the Lord’s, and when we seek our own pleasure rather than his (see Isa. 58: 13). If we think of the Lord’s Day for anything beyond what God has ordained it to be, we are guilty of a serious form of idolatry of self. As a major part of your preparing for Lord’s Day worship , plan ahead— that is, “remember”— to keep that whole day separate for God’s purposes for it." ~William Shishko, Helps for Worship (Kindle Locations 171-172). Committee on Christian Education. 

So why did I separate this sentence of the paragraph when all of it goes together? Because setting aside a time to prepare for the Lord's Day is unfamiliar to some of us. We sometimes just go into the church building, persevere through the service, and hope that we will get something edifying from it. But what does it mean to come before God on the Lord's Day? It means coming before the Sovereign Lord of the universe; this makes the Lord's Day not just special but venerable. Therefore as children of the King, should we not ready ourselves for His appearance? Just as musicians practice their instruments before their performance in public, we ought to "practice" our hearts before we come into the presence of our gracious and awesome God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

AAEVS - The Importance of Worship (Part 2)

The Nature of God

All humanity knows that the Creator has revealed Himself in creation: His intelligent design, His just morality, His logical thoughts, and His direct revelation. So what makes God who He is? Of all of His wonderful attributes, it is His holiness that distinguishes Him as God. Holiness is not an easy word to define, so let me give my own definition: A holy being is righteously, majestically, and beautifully separated from elements that are sinful, chaotic, and/or mundane.

All three of those characteristics are intertwined; in a way they refer to the same thing. Righteousness exalts those who live by it; it is pleasing when it is established among God's people. Majesty is upheld by just standards; it invokes awe and joy in those that contemplate it. Beauty is molded by righteous consideration and contemplation; it commands respect and awe in those that behold it. God is the only one who is perfectly all three: righteous, majestic, and beautiful.

AAEVS - The Importance of Worship (Part 1)

"Our vision is to be a congregation of saints who offer their bodies as living sacrifices unto God, ordering our services in accordance to His revealed word. We will practice family-integrated worship as we offer these spiritual sacrifices. This is our reasonable worship and means that we submit to His will (as found in His word). We desire to display this by setting apart the first day of the week to worship the Lord with fellow saints. We do not view the Lord’s Day worship as drudgery, but as an occasion to celebrate His victorious work on our behalf and rejoice in the rest He has provided for us. Because the Lord’s service is a reverential occasion, we will seek to prepare ourselves on Saturday evening for public worship on the Lord’s Day." ~ Worship Paragraph 2

"Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. Ye looked for much, and, lo it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house." Haggai 1:8-9

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." ~ Romans 12:1

We've looked at why the Kingdom is important; we've looked at what the Kingdom looks like here and now.  Now we'll look at how the Kingdom of God is established which is the worship of God in this world. What do we mean by "worship?" What is it? Some people say that worship is performing special rituals; others say worship is a good feeling when certain religious activities are practiced. But what is worship, particularly how does a Christian worship the true and living God? And why does it matter? First, let's look at a couple of ministers' definitions to get a sense of what worship is.

AAEVS - Having a Long-Term Commitment to be Faithful

"Our vision is multi-generational. We realize that the advancement of God’s kingdom is a long-term process, therefore we desire to be examples of faithfulness that future generations would desire to follow." ~ Community Paragraph 3g-h

"His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." ~ Matthew 25:23

"Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;" ~ Deuteronomy 7:9

Here we come to the last portion of the Elders' Vision on Community, which is focused on the long-term perspective of the Kingdom and how we contribute to it. Looking at where we are right now, it does not look like we as Christendom are close to consummating the Kingdom in our lifetime. It even looks like that we as a church are not going to be able to engage our community until the next generation arises up who are not comfort-centered and/or culturally-compromised. This can be discouraging and demoralizing to our enthusiasm. But God did not mean for us to complete the His work in the earth in ten to fifty years; He means for us to do what we can in advancing the Kingdom and leaving a godly legacy. Then when He calls us home into His heavenly presence, we will watch as Christ uses our legacy in history to transform the world. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

So what does a long-term advancement of God's Kingdom look like? It looks like believers being examples of faithfulness to the word of God. But what does it mean to be faithful?

AAEVS - Practicing Discipleship (Part 5)

Unity 

It has been an objection to the Truth of Christianity that many denominations and doctrinal opinions exist in professing Christian world. Christians, in the minds of many people, cannot seem to unite under a common message and tradition. Now this is exaggerated because Christians do have quite a lot in common, such as belief in the historical accounts of Jesus and the important doctrines and practices that come from those stories.

But this does bring up a sad fact: the Church for the past five hundred years has swallowed the "Protestant" doctrine of interpreting Scripture the way the individual feels should be interpreted and the notion that the "true/loving church" must consist of people of common attributes or denominational orthodoxy. The result has been schisms, departures, and even heresies. There are many other reasons of course but this is what flies through mostly unchallenged in many Christian circles. But we need not despair over the prominence of this phenomenon because God gave us in His word the means to reunite the Church throughout the world and within our area.

AAEVS - Practicing Discipleship (Part 4)

Spiritual Gifts

Now we turn to a more outreach perspective of Discipleship and look at how we interact with each other and the community at large. First, we will look at how each member of the church works out his or her gifts to God's glory.

As the Spirit develops us into a body and sanctify us, He works in us a certain skill or talent. Then He empowers us to perform it to His glory and our joy.

AAEVS - Practicing Discipleship (Part 3)

Education

As parents are being saved by God's grace, the Lord brings children under their provision and instruction. The purpose is so that the children may challenge the cultural and political status quo and advance the Kingdom where the previous generation would not. (Psalm 127)

We see in Ephesians 6:4 that fathers are to "bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." The Greek word for "nurture" is 'paideia' which basically means the cultural formation of children. The Kingdom has a culture with Christ and His word at its center. It has a set of ethics found in the Sermon on the Mount and other places in Scripture. It has accounts about how God works throughout history to redeem His people for His glory. It has a vision for the emancipation and restoration of creation from hopelessness and perversity of sin to joyful and beautiful holiness.