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  • John Wesley’s Sermon 77 – Spiritual Worship

    John Wesley’s Sermon 77 – Spiritual Worship

    The following sermon is translated according to my prompts by Google Gemini AI. Note that the sermon was translated in blocks, and in this case I’m choosing to include those translation notes after each block. All bolding is a reference to these notes and is not for emphasis.

    I refer to this as “translation,” but it is really simply a modernization of language.

    You can find original sermon here.

    Spiritual Worship

    “This is the true God, and eternal life.” – 1 John 5:20

    1. In this Epistle, Saint John speaks not to any particular Church, but to all the Christians of that age; although more especially to those among whom he then resided. And through them, he speaks to the entire Christian Church in all succeeding ages.
    2. In this letter, or rather tract (for he was present with those to whom it was more immediately directed, probably being unable to preach to them any longer because of his extreme old age), he does not treat directly of faith, which Saint Paul had done; neither of inward and outward holiness, concerning which both Saint Paul, Saint James, and Saint Peter had spoken. Instead, he addresses the foundation of all—the happy and holy communion that believers have with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
    3. In the preface (1 John 1:1-4), he describes the authority by which he wrote and spoke, and clearly points out the design of his current writing. The conclusion of the Epistle perfectly matches the preface, more broadly explaining the same design and summarizing the marks of our communion with God by the phrase “we know,” repeated three times (1 John 5:18-20).
    4. The letter itself treats, First, separately, of communion with the Father (1 John 1:5-10); of communion with the Son (1 John 2 and 3); and of communion with the Spirit (1 John 4). Secondly, it treats conjointly of the testimony of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; on which faith in Christ, being born of God, love for God and His children, the keeping of His commandments, and victory over the world are founded (1 John 5:1-12).
    5. The summary begins (1 John 5:18): “We know that he who is born of God,”—who sees and loves God—“does not sin,” as long as this loving faith remains in him. “We know we are of God;” children of God, by the witness and the fruit of the Spirit; “and the whole world,”—all who do not have the Spirit—”lies in the evil one.” They exist, live, and dwell in him, just as the children of God do in the Holy One. “We know that the Son of God has come, and has given us” a spiritual “understanding, that we may know the true One,”—the faithful and true witness. “And we are in the true One,” as branches in the vine. “This is the true God, and eternal life.”

    In considering these important words, we may inquire:

    I. How is He the true God?

    II. How is He eternal life?

    I shall then,

    III. Add a few inferences.

    Notes on Translation Choices:

    • Sermon Title: “Spiritual Worship” is kept.
    • 1 John 5:20 Quote: Modernized.
    • I.1: “Christians of that age; although more especially to them among whom he then resided”: Kept, as it shows careful historical context.
    • I.2: “Tract”: Kept the word “tract,” as it refers to a short treatise, distinct from a full sermon.
    • “Foundation of all, — the happy and holy communion which the faithful have with God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost”: Kept, as it’s a core theological focus of John’s epistle and Wesley’s sermon.
    • I.3: “Preface” / “Conclusion of the Epistle” / “Recapitulating the marks of our communion with God, by, ‘we know,’ thrice repeated”: Wesley’s structural analysis of 1 John is clear and valuable, so the terms are kept.
    • I.4: Outline of 1 John: Wesley’s outline of the epistle’s structure (communion separately, then conjointly) is maintained as it’s part of his introduction.
    • I.5: “We know that he who is born of God… sinneth not”: This quote from 1 John 5:18 is crucial to Wesley’s doctrine of Christian perfection and is carefully maintained, with his clarification “(who sees and loves God), so long as this loving faith abideth in him.”
    • “We know we are of God… and the whole world… lieth in the wicked one”: Kept as direct biblical quotes/allusions. Wesley’s clarification for “lieth in the wicked one” (“They are, and live, and dwell in him…”) is also integrated as it’s his interpretive comment.
    • “Son of God is come, and hath given us… understanding, that we may know the true One”: Kept as direct biblical quotes/allusions.
    • “And we are in the true One,’ as branches in the vine”: Kept, adding the “as branches in the vine” clarification that Wesley provides.
    • “This is the true God, and eternal life”: Kept as the concluding biblical quote of the sermon’s introductory text.
    • Sermon’s Outline (I, II, III): Wesley’s own outline for the sermon’s structure is included at the end of the introduction.

    Spiritual Worship “This is the true God, and eternal life.” – 1 John 5:20

    I. How is He the True God?

    1. And, first, we may inquire, How is He the true God? He is “God over all, blessed forever.” “He was with God,” with God the Father, “from the beginning,” from eternity, “and was God. He and the Father are One;” and, consequently, “He thought it not robbery to be equal with God.” Accordingly, the inspired writers give Him all the titles of the most high God. They call Him over and over again by the incommunicable name, JEHOVAH—never given to any creature. They ascribe to Him all the attributes and all the works of God. So that we need not hesitate to pronounce Him, “God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God: In glory equal with the Father, in majesty co-eternal.”
    2. He is the true God, the only Cause, the sole Creator of all things. “By Him,” says the Apostle Paul, “were created all things that are in heaven, and that are on earth”—yes, earth and heaven themselves; but the inhabitants are named because they are more noble than the house—”visible and invisible.” The various types of which are listed: “Whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers.” So Saint John says: “All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.” And, accordingly, Saint Paul applies to Him those strong words of the Psalmist: “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.”
    3. And as the true God, He is also the Supporter of all the things that He has made. He bears, upholds, sustains, all created things by the word of His power, by the same powerful word which brought them out of nothing. As this was absolutely necessary for the beginning of their existence, it is equally so for their continued existence: Were His almighty influence withdrawn, they could not subsist a moment longer. Hold up a stone in the air; the moment you withdraw your hand, it naturally falls to the ground. In the same way, were He to withdraw His hand for a moment, the entire creation would fall back into nothing.
    4. As the true God, He is likewise the Preserver of all things. He not only keeps them in being but preserves them in that degree of well-being which is suitable to their various natures. He preserves them in their various relations, connections, and dependencies, so as to compose one system of beings, to form one entire universe, according to the counsel of His will. How strongly and beautifully is this expressed: Ta panta en autoi synesteke. [By whom all things consist; or, more literally, By and in Him are all things compacted into one system.] He is not only the support, but also the cement, of the whole universe.
    5. I would particularly remark (what perhaps has not been sufficiently observed) that He is the true Author of all the motion that is in the universe. To spirits, indeed, He has given a small degree of self-moving power, but not to matter. All matter, of whatever kind it may be, is absolutely and totally inert. It does not, cannot, in any case, move itself; and whenever any part of it seems to move, it is in reality moved by something else. See that log, which, commonly speaking, moves on the sea! It is in reality moved by the water. The water is moved by the wind; that is, a current of air. And the air itself owes all its motion to the ethereal fire, a particle of which is attached to every particle of it. Deprive it of that fire, and it moves no longer; it is fixed: It is as inert as sand. Remove fluidity (owing to the ethereal fire intermixed with it) from water, and it has no more motion than the log. Infuse fire into iron, by hammering it when red hot, and it has no more motion than fixed air, or frozen water. But when it is unfixed, when it is in its most active state, what gives motion to fire? The very pagans will tell you. It is,Totam Mens agitans molem, et magno se corpore miscens. [The general soul / Lives in the parts, and agitates the whole. – Virgil, Aeneid VI, 727, 730-31]
    6. To pursue this a little farther: We say, the moon moves around the earth; the earth and the other planets move around the sun; the sun moves around its own axis. But these are only common expressions: For, if we speak the truth, neither the sun, moon, nor stars move themselves. None of these move themselves; they are all moved every moment by the almighty hand that made them.”Yes,” says Sir Isaac Newton, “the sun, moon, and all the heavenly bodies, do move, do gravitate, toward each other.” Gravitate. What is that? “Why, they all attract each other, in proportion to the quantity of matter they contain.” “Nonsense all over,” says Mr. Hutchinson; “jargon, self-contradiction! Can anything act where it is not? No; they are continually impelled toward each other.” Impelled! By what? “By the subtle matter, the ether, or electric fire.” But remember! be it ever so subtle, it is matter still: Consequently, it is as inert in itself as either sand or marble. It cannot therefore move itself; but probably it is the first material mover, the main spring whereby the Creator and Preserver of all things is pleased to move the universe.
    7. The true God is also the Redeemer of all the children of men. It pleased the Father to lay upon Him the iniquities of us all, that by the one offering of Himself, once offered, when He tasted death for every person, He might make a full and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world.

    Notes on Translation Choices:

    • I.1: “God over all, blessed for ever” / “He was with God… and was God. He and the Father are One” / “He thought it not robbery to be equal with God”: These are direct biblical quotes or allusions (Romans 9:5; John 1:1; John 10:30; Philippians 2:6), fundamental to Christ’s divinity, and are kept.
    • “Incommunicable name, JEHOVAH”: Kept, highlighting its unique divine nature.
    • “God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God: In glory equal with the Father, in majesty co-eternal”: This is a direct quote from the Nicene Creed, used to affirm Christ’s full divinity. It’s preserved for its theological weight.
    • I.2: “Only Cause, the sole Creator of all things”: Emphasizes Christ’s role in creation.
    • Colossians 1:16 / John 1:3 / Psalm 102:25-26: Direct biblical quotes applied to Christ, kept.
    • I.3: “Supporter of all the things that he hath made” / “Beareth, upholdeth, sustaineth”: Emphasizes Christ’s ongoing role in providence (Hebrews 1:3).
    • “Brought them out of nothing”: Refers to creation ex nihilo.
    • I.4: “Preserver of all things”: Distinguishes this from “supporter.”
    • Ta panta en autoi synesteke: Retained the Greek, followed by Wesley’s translation and more literal rendering, as this is a key biblical phrase (Colossians 1:17) and Wesley provides his own exegesis.
    • “Cement, of the whole universe”: A vivid metaphor for Christ’s unifying role.
    • I.5: “True Author of all the motion”: This is where Wesley gets into his specific physics/metaphysics.
    • “Matter… absolutely and totally inert”: Key philosophical point from Wesley’s era.
    • Log/Water/Wind/Ethereal fire example: The illustration is kept clear.
    • Latin quote: Totam Mens agitans molem, et magno se corpore miscens.: Retained the Latin, followed by Wesley’s own provided translation. This is from Virgil, commonly cited in this period.
    • I.6: Astronomical motion discussion (Newton vs. Hutchinson): This is a fascinating historical snapshot of scientific debate within a theological framework.
      • “Vulgar expressions”: Means common or everyday language, not necessarily crude.
      • Sir Isaac Newton’s “gravitate” and “attract”: Represented as Wesley’s understanding of Newton.
      • Mr. Hutchinson’s “Nonsense all over… jargon, self-contradiction! Can anything act where it is not? No; they are continually impelled toward each other.”: Represents the opposing view that matter cannot act at a distance. Wesley’s “impelled! by what?” leads to Hutchinson’s concept of “subtle matter, the ether, or electric fire.”
      • Wesley’s conclusion: He accepts the “first material mover” as a mechanism God uses, but maintains that ultimate motion comes from God, not from matter itself. This entire scientific/philosophical digression is retained for its historical and intellectual value within the sermon.
    • I.7: “Redeemer of all the children of men”: Shift to Christ’s redemptive role.
    • “One oblation of himself once offered, when he tasted death for every man, he might make a full and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world”: This is a direct quote from the Anglican Article XXXI, emphasizing the completeness of Christ’s atonement. It’s crucial, so it’s maintained.

    8. Again: The True God is the Governor of all things: “His kingdom rules over all.” The government rests upon His shoulder throughout all ages. He is the Lord and Disposer of the whole creation, and every part of it. And in how astonishing a manner does He govern the world! How far are His ways above human thought! How little do we know of His methods of government! Only this we know: Ita praesides singulis sicut universis, et universis sicut singulis! “You preside over each creature as if it were the universe, and over the universe as over each individual creature.” Dwell a little upon this sentiment: What a glorious mystery does it contain! It is paraphrased in the words recited above:

    FATHER, how wide thy glories shine! Lord of the universe, and mine: Thy goodness watches over the whole, As all the world were but one soul; Yet keeps my every sacred hair, As I remained thy single care!

    1. Lastly, being the true God, He is the end of all things; according to that solemn declaration of the Apostle (Romans 11:36): “From Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things.” This means: from Him, as the Creator; through Him, as the Sustainer and Preserver; and to Him, as the ultimate purpose of all things.

    II. How is Jesus Christ Eternal Life?

    1. The thing directly intended in this expression is not that He will be eternal life, although this is a great and important truth and never to be forgotten. “He is the Author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.” He is the Purchaser of that “crown of life” which will be given to all who are “faithful unto death”; and He will be the very essence of all their joys for all the saints in glory.The flame of angelic love Is kindled at Jesus’ face; And all the enjoyment above Consists in the rapturous gaze!
    2. The thing directly intended is not that He is the resurrection, although this also is true, according to His own declaration, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Consistent with this are Saint Paul’s words: “As in Adam all died, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” So that we may well say, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who… has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Christ from the dead, to an inheritance imperishable, undefiled, and that will not fade away.”
    3. But setting aside what He will be in the future, we are here called to consider what He is now. He is now the life of everything that lives, in any kind or degree. He is the Source of the lowest species of life, that of vegetables, as being the Source of all the motion on which vegetation depends. He is the Fountain of the life of animals; the Power by which the heart beats and the circulating fluids flow. He is the Fountain of all the life which humanity possesses in common with other animals. And if we distinguish rational life from animal life, He is the Source of this also.
    4. But how infinitely short does all this fall of the life which is here directly intended, and of which the Apostle speaks so explicitly in the preceding verses (1 John 5:11-12): “This is the testimony, that God has given us eternal life; and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life”—the eternal life spoken of here—”and whoever does not have the Son of God does not have this life.” As if he had said, “This is the summary of the testimony which God has testified concerning His Son: that God has given us not only a title to, but the real beginning of, eternal life. And this life is purchased by, and treasured up in, His Son; who has all its sources and its fullness in Himself, to communicate to His body, the Church.”

    Notes on Translation Choices and Clarifications:

    • “End of all things”: Clarified with “ultimate purpose” in parentheses to ensure the meaning is understood as Wesley intended (“purpose,” not “termination”).
    • “Of him, and through him, and to him, are all things”: Breakdown and clarification of “of,” “through,” and “to” with “Creator,” “Sustainer/Preserver,” and “ultimate purpose” to explain Wesley’s exegesis.
    • II.1: “The thing directly intended is not, that he will be eternal life”: Wesley is drawing a distinction between Christ’s future role and His present reality. This is crucial.
    • “Author of eternal salvation” / “Purchaser of that ‘crown of life’”: Kept these significant theological descriptions.
    • Poetry: The Charles Wesley hymn stanza is retained in its original form, as agreed.
    • II.2: “I am the resurrection and the life”: Direct biblical quote, kept.
    • “As in Adam all died, even so in Christ shall all be made alive”: Direct biblical quote, kept.
    • “Hath begotten us again unto a lively hope… to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away”: Direct biblical quote (1 Peter 1:3-4), modernized “hath begotten” to “has begotten” and “fadeth not away” to “will not fade away.”
    • II.3: “Waiving what he will be hereafter”: Changed to “setting aside what He will be in the future” for more modern phrasing.
    • “Lowest species of life, that of vegetables”: Clarified by adding “that of vegetables” as a direct explanation.
    • “Circulating juices flow”: Modernized to “circulating fluids flow.”
    • II.4: “How infinitely short does all this fall of the life which is here directly intended”: Retained the emphasis on this distinction.
    • 1 John 5:11-12 quote: Kept, as it’s the core biblical support for the immediate point.
    • “Sum of the testimony which God hath testified”: Modernized to “summary of the testimony which God has testified.”
    • “Not only a title to, but the real beginning of, eternal life”: This is a vital Wesleyan emphasis on present experience, so it’s kept clear.
    • “Purchased by, and treasured up in, his Son; who has all the springs and the fullness of it in himself, to communicate to his body, the Church”: Retained the vivid imagery and theological precision of Christ as the source and dispenser of life to believers.

    II. How is He Eternal Life? (Continued)

    1. This eternal life then begins when it pleases the Father to reveal His Son in our hearts; when we first know Christ, being enabled “to call Him Lord by the Holy Spirit”; when we can testify, our conscience bearing us witness in the Holy Spirit, “the life which I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” And then it is that happiness begins—happiness real, solid, substantial. Then it is that heaven is opened in the soul, that the proper, heavenly state commences, while the love of God, as loving us, is poured out in the heart, instantly producing love for all humanity; general, pure benevolence, together with its genuine fruits: humility, meekness, patience, contentedness in every state; a complete, clear, full acceptance of the whole will of God; enabling us to “rejoice always, and in everything to give thanks.”
    2. As our knowledge and our love for Him increase, by the same degrees, and in the same proportion, the kingdom of an inward heaven must necessarily increase also; while we “grow up in all things into Him who is our Head.” And when we are en autō peplērōmenoi, “complete in Him,” as our translators render it; but more properly when we are filled with Him; when “Christ in us, the hope of glory,” is our God and our All; when He has taken full possession of our heart; when He reigns there without a rival, the Lord of every inner motion; when we dwell in Christ, and Christ in us, we are one with Christ, and Christ with us; then we are completely happy; then we live “all the life that is hidden with Christ in God”; then, and not until then, do we truly experience what that word means: “God is love; and whoever dwells in love, dwells in God, and God in him.”

    III. Inferences

    1. I have now only to add a few conclusions from the preceding observations. And we may learn from here, first, that as there is but one God in heaven above and on Earth below, so there is only one happiness for created spirits, either in heaven or on Earth. This one God made our heart for Himself; and it cannot rest until it rests in Him. It is true that while we are in the vigor of youth and health; while our blood dances in our veins; while the world smiles upon us, and we have all the conveniences, yes, and luxuries of life, we frequently have pleasing dreams and enjoy a kind of happiness. But it cannot continue; it flies away like a shadow; and even while it lasts, it is not solid or substantial; it does not satisfy the soul. We still long for something else, something we do not have. Give a person everything that this world can give, still, as Horace observed nearly two thousand years ago:Curtae nescio quid semper abest rei. Still, — Amidst our plenty something still, To me, to thee, to him is wanting! That something is neither more nor less than the knowledge and love of God; without which no spirit can be happy either in heaven or on Earth.
    2. Permit me to share my own experience, in confirmation of this: I distinctly remember that, even in my childhood, even when I was at school, I have often said, “They say the life of a schoolboy is the happiest in the world; but I am sure I am not happy; for I am not content, and so cannot be happy.” When I had lived a few years longer, being in the vigor of youth, a stranger to pain and sickness, and particularly to depression (which I do not remember to have felt for one quarter of an hour since I was born); having plenty of all things, in the midst of sensible and amiable friends who loved me, and I loved them; and being in the way of life which, of all others, suited my inclinations; still I was not happy. I wondered why I was not, and could not imagine what the reason was. The reason certainly was, I did not know God, the Source of present as well as eternal happiness. What is a clear proof that I was not then happy is that, upon the coolest reflection, I knew not one week which I would have thought it worthwhile to have lived over again, taking it with every inward and outward sensation, without any variation at all.
    3. But a pious person affirms, “When I was young, I was happy; though I was utterly without God in the world.” I do not believe you; though I doubt not but you believe yourself. But you are deceived, as I have been over and over. Such is the condition of human life!Flowerets and myrtles fragrant seem to rise: All is at distance fair; but near at hand, The gay deceit mocks the desiring eyes With thorns, and desert heath, and barren sand.Look forward at any distant prospect: How beautiful does it appear! Come up to it; and the beauty vanishes, and it is rough and disagreeable. Just so is life. But when the scene is past, it resumes its former appearance; and we seriously believe that we were then very happy, though, in reality, we were far otherwise. For as no one is now, so no one ever was, happy, without the loving knowledge of the true God.
    4. We may learn from here, secondly, that this happy knowledge of the true God is only another name for religion; I mean Christian religion; which, indeed, is the only one that deserves the name. Religion, as to its nature or essence, does not lie in this or that set of ideas, commonly called faith; nor in a routine of duties, however carefully reformed from error and superstition. It does not consist in any number of outward actions. No: it properly and directly consists in the knowledge and love of God, as manifested in the Son of His love, through the eternal Spirit. And this naturally leads to every heavenly disposition, and to every good word and work.
    5. We learn from here, thirdly, that none but a Christian is happy; none but a real, inward Christian. A glutton, a drunkard, a gambler may be merry; but he cannot be happy. The fashionable man, the fashionable woman, may eat and drink and rise up to play; but still they feel they are not happy. Men or women may adorn their own dear selves with all the colors of the rainbow. They may dance, and sing, and hurry to and fro, and flutter here and there. They may ride up and down in their splendid carriages and talk insipidly to each other. They may rush from one diversion to another: But happiness is not there. They are still “walking in a vain shadow, and disquieting themselves in vain.” One of their own poets has truly declared, concerning the entire life of these sons of pleasure,’Tis a dull farce, and empty show: Powder, and pocket-glass, and beau.I cannot but observe about that fine writer that he came near the mark, and yet fell short of it. In his “Solomon” (one of the noblest poems in the English language), he clearly shows where happiness is not; that it is not to be found in natural knowledge, in power, or in the pleasures of sense or imagination. But he does not show where it is to be found. He could not; for he did not know it himself. Yet he came near it when he said,Restore, Great Father, thy instructed son; And in my act may thy great will be done!

    Notes on Translation Choices:

    • II.5: “Call him Lord by the Holy Ghost”: Kept as a direct biblical quote (1 Corinthians 12:3).
    • “Life which I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me”: Kept as a direct biblical quote (Galatians 2:20).
    • “Happiness real, solid, substantial”: Kept this strong affirmation.
    • “Heaven is opened in the soul”: Kept, as it’s a powerful metaphor for spiritual experience.
    • “Love of God, as loving us, is shed abroad in the heart”: Kept as a direct biblical quote (Romans 5:5).
    • “Genuine fruits, lowliness, meekness, patience, contentedness in every state; an entire, clear, full acquiescence in the whole will of God; enabling us to ‘rejoice evermore, and in everything to give thanks’”: This comprehensive list of spiritual fruits/attitudes is crucial to Wesley’s definition of happiness in God.
    • II.6: en autoi peplerOmenoi: Retained the Greek, followed by Wesley’s translation and clarification (“complete in him; but more properly when we are filled with him”). This is from Colossians 2:10.
    • “Christ in us, the hope of glory”: Kept as a direct biblical quote (Colossians 1:27).
    • “Reigns therein without a rival, the Lord of every motion there”: Vivid imagery of Christ’s sovereignty within the believer.
    • “We dwell in Christ, and Christ in us, we are one with Christ, and Christ with us”: Kept as direct biblical allusion (John 15).
    • “All the life that is hid with Christ in God”: Kept as a direct biblical quote (Colossians 3:3).
    • “God is love; and whosoever dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him”: Kept as a direct biblical quote (1 John 4:16).
    • III.1: “One happiness for created spirits”: Emphasizes the singular source of true joy.
    • “Heart for himself; and it cannot rest till it resteth in him”: Kept as a classic Augustinian/Christian concept.
    • “Vigor of youth and health; while our blood dances in our veins; while the world smiles upon us”: Evocative descriptions of worldly prosperity.
    • “Conveniences, yea, and superfluities of life”: Highlights the abundance.
    • Horace Quote: Retained the Latin and Wesley’s translation. This refers to a fundamental human dissatisfaction.
    • “Knowledge and love of God”: Emphasized as the missing “something.”
    • III.2: Wesley’s Personal Anecdote: This is invaluable for illustrating his point directly from his own experience. It’s preserved with modernized phrasing for readability.
    • “Lowness of spirits”: Modernized to “depression.”
    • “Sensible and amiable friends”: Modernized to “sensible and amiable friends.”
    • “Coolest reflection”: Kept.
    • III.3: Counter-Argument and Poetic Quote: Wesley presents a common counter-argument and then uses a poetic quote to illustrate the deceptive nature of worldly happiness. The poetry is retained in its original form.
    • “Flowerets and myrtles fragrant seem to rise…”: The poetic imagery is kept.
    • III.4: Definition of True Religion: This is a core Wesleyan statement.
      • “Notions, vulgarly called faith”: Critical of mere intellectual assent.
      • “Round of duties”: Critical of mere ritual.
      • “Knowledge and love of God, as manifested in the Son of his love, through the eternal Spirit”: This is Wesley’s concise and profound definition of the essence of religion.
    • III.5: “None but a Christian is happy”: This is a bold, controversial statement by Wesley, which he proceeds to defend by critiquing superficial worldly happiness.
      • “Glutton, a drunkard, a gamester… beau, the belle”: Specific types of pleasure-seekers from his era, kept for historical flavor and clarity. “Beau, belle” clarified as “fashionable man, fashionable woman.”
      • “Walk in a vain shadow, and disquieting themselves in vain”: Kept as a direct biblical quote (Psalm 39:6).
      • Poetic Quote: Retained in original form. This is likely from Edward Young’s “Night Thoughts.”
      • “Fine writer” (Edward Young): Wesley’s critique of Young (Solomon, one of his poems) for showing where happiness isn’t but not where it is, is kept.
      • “Restore, Great Father, thy instructed son; And in my act may thy great will be done!”: Kept the poetic quote.
    1. We learn from here, fourthly, that every Christian is happy; and that he who is not happy is not a Christian. If, as was observed above, religion is happiness, everyone that possesses it must be happy. This appears from the very nature of the thing: For if religion and happiness are in fact the same, it is impossible that any person can possess the former without possessing the latter also. They cannot have religion without having happiness, seeing they are utterly inseparable.And it is equally certain, on the other hand, that he who is not happy is not a Christian; seeing if he was a real Christian, he could not but be happy. But I allow an exception here in favor of those who are under violent temptation; yes, and of those who are under deep nervous disorders, which are, indeed, a type of mental illness. The clouds and darkness which then overwhelm the soul suspend its happiness; especially if Satan is permitted to second those disorders by pouring in his fiery darts. But, excepting these cases, the observation will hold, and it should be well attended to: Whoever is not happy, yes, happy in God, is not a Christian.
    2. Are you not a living proof of this? Do you not still wander to and fro, seeking rest, but finding none?—pursuing happiness, but never catching it? And who can blame you for pursuing it? It is the very purpose of your being. The great Creator made nothing to be miserable, but every creature to be happy in its kind. And upon a general review of the works of His hands, He pronounced them all “very good”—which they would not have been, had not every intelligent creature, yes, everyone capable of pleasure and pain, been happy in fulfilling the purpose of its creation. If you are now unhappy, it is because you are in an unnatural state. And should you not long for deliverance from it? “The whole creation,” being now “subject to futility,” “groans and labors in pain together.” I blame you only, or pity you rather, for taking a wrong way to a right end; for seeking happiness where it never was, and never can be, found. You seek happiness in your fellow-creatures instead of your Creator. But these can no more make you happy than they can make you immortal. If you have ears to hear, every creature cries aloud, “Happiness is not in me.” All these are, in truth, “broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” Oh, turn to your rest! Turn to Him in whom are hidden all the treasures of happiness! Turn to Him “who gives generously to all people”; and He will give you “to drink of the water of life freely.”
    3. You cannot find your long-sought happiness in all the pleasures of the world. Are they not “deceitful on the scales?” Are they not lighter than vanity itself? How long will you “feed upon that which is not bread?”—which may amuse, but cannot satisfy? You cannot find it in the religion of the world; either in opinions or a mere routine of outward duties. Vain labor! Is not God a Spirit, and therefore to be “worshipped in spirit and in truth?” In this alone can you find the happiness you seek: in the union of your spirit with the Father of spirits; in the knowledge and love of Him who is the fountain of happiness, sufficient for all the souls He has made.
    4. But where is He to be found? Shall we go up into heaven, or down into hell, to seek Him? Shall we “take the wings of the morning” and search for Him “in the uttermost parts of the sea?” No, quod petis, hic est! What a strange word to fall from the pen of a Pagan! “What you seek is here!” He is “about your bed.” He is “about your path.” He “surrounds you behind and before.” He “lays His hand upon you.” Look! God is here! not far off. Now believe and feel Him near! May He now reveal Himself in your heart! Know Him, love Him, and you are happy!
    5. Are you already happy in Him? Then see that you “hold fast to what you have attained!” “Watch and pray,” that you may never be “moved from your steadfastness.” “Look to yourselves, that you do not lose what you have gained, but that you receive a full reward.” In so doing, expect a continual growth in grace, in the loving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Expect that the power of the Highest shall suddenly overshadow you, that all sin may be destroyed, and nothing may remain in your heart but holiness to the Lord. And this moment, and every moment, “present yourselves a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God,” and “glorify Him with your body and with your spirit, which are God’s!”

    Notes on Translation Choices:

    • III.6: “Religion is happiness”: This is a very strong and characteristic Wesleyan affirmation, kept explicitly.
    • “Utterly inseparable”: Emphasizes the strong link.
    • “Violent temptation” / “deep nervous disorders” / “species of insanity”: Wesley makes specific exceptions for severe mental and spiritual distress, which is important to retain.
    • “Fiery darts”: Kept as a direct biblical allusion (Ephesians 6:16).
    • “The observation will hold, and it should be well attended to”: Highlights the importance of his conclusion.
    • III.7: “Very end of your being”: Emphasizes the purpose of human existence.
    • “Great Creator made nothing to be miserable, but every creature to be happy in its kind”: Fundamental theological statement about God’s benevolent design.
    • “All very good”: Kept as a direct biblical quote (Genesis 1:31).
    • “Unnatural state”: Refers to humanity’s fallen condition.
    • “The whole creation, being now ‘subject to vanity,’ ‘groaneth and travaileth in pain together’”: Kept as a direct biblical quote/allusion (Romans 8:20, 22).
    • “Broken cisterns, that can hold no water”: Kept as a direct biblical quote (Jeremiah 2:13).
    • “O turn unto your rest!”: Direct exhortation.
    • “Who giveth liberally unto all men; and he will give you ‘to drink of the water of life freely’”: Kept as direct biblical quotes/allusions (James 1:5, Revelation 21:6, 22:17).
    • III.8: “Deceitful upon the weights”: This is an older idiom for something that is lighter than it seems; modernized to “deceitful on the scales” for clarity.
    • “Feed upon that which is not bread”: Kept as a direct biblical quote/allusion (Isaiah 55:2).
    • “Worshipped in spirit and in truth”: Kept as a direct biblical quote (John 4:24).
    • “Union of your spirit with the Father of spirits”: Key Wesleyan concept of spiritual communion.
    • III.9: Rhetorical Questions about seeking God: Kept to build anticipation.
    • “Take the wings of the morning” and search for him “in the uttermost parts of the sea”: Kept as direct biblical quotes/allusions (Psalm 139:9-10).
    • quod petis, hic est!: Retained the Latin, followed by Wesley’s translation “What you seek is here!” (from Virgil, Aeneid VI, 129).
    • “About your bed.” He is “about your path” He “besets you behind and before.” He “lays his hand upon you.” Lo! God is here!: Kept as direct biblical quotes/allusions (Psalm 139:3, 5).
    • “Know him, love him, And you are happy!”: A concise, powerful summary.
    • III.10: “Hold fast whereunto ye have attained!”: Kept as a direct biblical quote (Revelation 3:11).
    • “Watch and pray,” that you may never be “moved from your steadfastness”: Kept as direct biblical quotes (Matthew 26:41, 2 Peter 3:17).
    • “Look unto yourselves, that ye lose not what you have gained, but that ye receive a full reward”: Kept as a direct biblical quote (2 John 1:8).
    • “Continual growth in grace, in the loving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ”: Kept as a core Wesleyan expectation (2 Peter 3:18).
    • “Power of the Highest shall suddenly overshadow you, that all sin may be destroyed, and nothing may remain in your heart, but holiness unto the Lord”: This is a vital expression of Wesley’s expectation of entire sanctification in this life.
    • “Present yourselves a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God” / “glorify him with your body and with your spirit which are God’s!”: Kept as direct biblical quotes (Romans 12:1, 1 Corinthians 6:20).
  • Psalm 119:157 – Persecutors

    Psalm 119:157 – Persecutors

    Many are my persecutors and my enemies,
    yet I have not swerved from your testimonies.

    I have discussed previous statements such as this one in this series. It can be (and has been) read as a boast, as a determination, or simply an observation of the current status. So I’m going to depart from my own title. This is all you’ll hear about persecutors!

    Today as I was thinking about this, I started to think about the value of repetition. One of the complaints people make about Psalm 119 is that there is so much repetition. You could cover the independent topics in a few verses. So what’s the point of all the repetition?

    Our feelings about repetition vary greatly according to circumstances. For example, at a sports event of just about any variety, you’re going to hear slogans repeated dozens, perhaps hundreds of time. Here the repetition is part of the emotional connection of the fans as a group and also with “their” team. Nobody complains that we haven’t found a new, more creative cheer. Likely, the same thing will be repeated through the next similar event and nobody complains.

    In teaching, repetition can be quite useful. My mother taught me that in order to memorize a passage I should first read it through 12 times, and then begin to work on memorizing it line by line. The repetition serves to ingrain the passage in the mind. I use a similar method for Bible study in which I read a passage 12 times before digging into the details, making sure that my mind is aware of the greater context of any detail I choose to study.

    I have used this in preaching. I’ve told in this series before about a sermon I preached based on the passage “There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” I built my sermon around getting lost, and each time I would describe a new error in my route, a new turn that I thought was right, but wasn’t, I’d repeat that statement. This goes back to what one of my undergraduate instructors told me about sermons. He said you write a three point sermon, but the first point sets up what you want to say, the second point is what you want to say, and the third point restates what you want to say. Then there’s the introduction that leads up, and the conclusion, which again applies this point. He said it was unlikely you were going to get more than one point across to the congregation in such a way that they’d remember.

    We complain in church about repetitive choruses, but then there’s a rather old hymn that starts “Holy, holy, holy.” This repetition of “holy” three times is presented in Revelation 4:8, where the four beast around God’s throne have no rest day or night from saying, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God all powerful / the one who was, and is, and is to come.”

    Repetition is a common part of so many of our activities, and in this Psalm, repetition is part of the process of painting a larger picture of divine law. In some ways, I’m doing violence to that by writing meditations on each verse, one at a time. The Psalm is a tapestry, and cannot be fully scene by looking at individual threads.

    Think about repetition today. What repetitive activity is essential and helpful to you?

  • What Do You Get from Church?

    What Do You Get from Church?

    No, I don’t mean getting your money’s worth for what you put in the offering plate. I mean what changes for you because you attend church?

    Church architecture has bothered me for years, because churches tend to look set apart from other structures and provide a division between the “church people” and the “non-church people.”

    In my experience, I’ve found that many people attend church from habit, and don’t expect that much other than the solid, traditional feel of having been to church. I’ve also noted that many times people describe a sermon as “good” or “challenging” and yet if you ask what, precisely are you going to do about that, they really don’t know.

    What is your experience? Comment about the value of church below, positively, or negatively, but please include suggestions for making things better than they are.

  • Psalm 119:125 – Teach Me

    Psalm 119:125 – Teach Me

    I am your servant. Teach me
    and I will understand your testimonies.

    As I read this verse late last night, I had the feeling that I’d talked about just about every element of it. I’ve been pointing out repeatedly that every claim to have done something in some way reflects another when the psalmist acknowledges dependence on God. There are verses expressing thanks for the law and hope in God’s promises, and also those expressing the pain of waiting.

    This verse puts a great deal of the whole message of the psalm in a very few words. “Teach me and I’ll understand.” God is the source of law, testimony, and yes, history itself. And God is the best teacher.

    This led me to thinking seriously about the entire psalm. One of the things that can make scripture hard to read and understand is the variety of literature we find, not to mention history and background. We rarely have the patience for reading a passage as a whole. I recall once making a suggestion to someone planning worship that it would be nice to either use all four lectionary passages as part of the order of worship, or to imitate them by having the same variety.

    One of the most powerful worship services I have ever attended involved an extensive set of readings. I believe it was Year a, 3rd Sunday in Lent, with John 4:5-42, Romans 5:1-11, Exodus 17:1-7 and Psalm 95. The one I recall was the full scripture reading of John 4:5-42. I was already both impressed and blessed by the inclusion of all the readings in the service, but then the pastor began to preach, and he tied every one of those passages into his message, weaving a tapestry about God’s work of redemption from all of them together. He ended with the service of Holy Communion and as he spoke the words, he again wove material from all those readings. He combined the reading of scripture, the exposition of scripture, and the application of scripture in the form of worship into one single picture and message and then called the congregation to go forth and live it.

    This commitment to bringing these various elements together as a whole is very important in itself. Understanding some relationships, historical and liturgical, is very helpful in building a community that serves God and humanity. Tied into a message of hope and redemption, the service of Holy Communion can be an experience of spiritual renewal. Seeing an example of careful, thoughtful construction of a worship experience is a message in itself.

    That is what I feel when I read this Psalm. Yes, there are so many pieces. It’s easy to feel that it’s scattered. But if you have the patience to observe, to absorb it, and look for how everything fits into an expression of prayer, praise, worship, and instruction, you’ll find a very powerful piece of literature.

    If you have an opportunity to study this in Hebrew, you can add the craftsmanship of presenting it as an acrostic. This craftsmanship is also a form of praise and teaching. God can be worshiped in and with beauty, structure, imagination, imagery, and sound.

    One of the ways God teaches us today is by the preservation of this kind of literature by which we can learn. Poetry in the heart reflects God’s poetry of all creation.

    How will you join your heart and voice with this poetry today?

    (Featured image credit: zamrznutitonovi licensed via iStockPhoto.com

  • Psalm 119:88 – Grant Me Life

    In your lovingkindness grant me life
    that I may keep your testimony.

    This verse opens windows onto many other concepts. And, for what it’s worth, this verse is halfway through the Psalm’s 176 verses.

    First, it again sets the order of events. God is the initiator. God is the creator. Whatever you do with your life, that life is a gift of God. You could not create yourself. Often we get tense about the idea of salvation by grace through faith, because we think that somewhere, somehow there must be some works we can contribute. But how do you contribute to the one who gives you the ability to contribute?

    “In your lovingkindness” means that God loved us before we had the capability of loving God. God doesn’t need our contribution to God, but God asks our contribution. In the end, that contribution turns out to be truly to ourselves and to one another in the community. Blessing is poured out so that it can pour out again, just as God gives us life so that we can bring forth new life.

    In Genesis 12:2 God says to Abram: “I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” Our blessing of anyone else is the result of God blessing us. Blessing overflows and builds up others.

    When we talk about church, what are we there for? Paul, in 1 Corinthians 14, repeatedly uses the word “edify” (archaic) or “build up.” We are meeting together to be a blessing to one another. We can be a blessing, because God has blessed each one of us. Worship, acknowledging this, is not some kind of ego stroking that God requires. Rather, it is the simple and grateful acknowledgment of how things work.

    God has a purpose for you. What blessing is God pouring out on you that God wants you to let flow on to those you meet?

    (Featured image generated by Jetpack AI.)

  • Worship Is All About God

    Worship Is All About God

    Bad Ideas I Learned from Good Leaders #3

    “But that’s true!” some of you are thinking. And you’re right. The statement is true. Its usage can be a bad idea.

    I’ve rarely heard this statement from someone who was actually trying to make worship about God. To those of you who use it in that way, my sincere apologies. More frequently, I hear it as a church leader’s response to complaints about the worship service.

    Now let me make an excursus on complaints. If you are a church leader, you are inundated with complaints. You get tired of hearing complaints. You want people to come help or just shut up. This is not unnatural.

    But on the other hand, the people in the congregation have grown used to mediocre leadership by people who are overworked and tired, or who have simply turned their church activity into a dead routine, doing the same thing over and over.

    So people basically give up. The habitual church goers will keep on going, because that’s what they do. The church leadership will go on doing what they do because they have always done so. Both will piously utter the line: “Worship is all about God.” They do this to tell those on the other side that they ought to do it their way.

    I discussed this issue of church work in my first post in this series, Ask Them to Implement Their Own Suggestion. Some of what I suggested there applies here.

    Let me suggest another view. For us, worship is all about God. For God, worship is all about us.

    I came to this conclusion while doing an extended study of Leviticus. People tend to skip over Leviticus. If they’re reading the Bible in a year, they try to get through it as fast as possible and probably remember very little. But when I studied the book with the three volume Anchor Bible commentary (unfortunately out of print) written by the incredibly good scholar Jacob Milgrom, I started to learn differently. Dr. Milgrom made the comment, and I paraphrase from memory, that the tabernacle rituals taught in Leviticus were a training ground.

    It was not that God is going to be injured if we fail to follow a particular ritual. God can handle many different things in worship. Both Judaism, in creating the synagogue service(s), and Christianity in creating our own worship practices now worship God in ways that are very different from those prescribed there. But God wants to accomplish something in us through our worship, and it’s defined in Leviticus, “Be holy for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44,11:45,19:2,20:7,20:26,21:9).

    And for those Christians who might complain about my basing all this on Leviticus, it’s quoted in 1 Peter 1:14-16: “Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

    One of the things I learned from this study was that it is, in fact, very much about God, and not our desires. That applies to the church leadership, who want to keep everything under control so they don’t have any unpleasant surprises. This applies to the members, who often prefer to have things that entertain them and make them feel good, rather than things that challenge them.

    The question to ask yourself is this: Is the worship service I conduct (if you’re a leader), or attend (if you’re a member) preparing me to be holy before God? If you’re place in this week after week isn’t changing, probably not. If you are simply warming the pew, probably not. But equally, if you are simply a performer entertaining the pew sitters, probably not. I don’t think God is going to accept the excuse that the people wanted to be entertained.

    If you’re going to claim that worship is all about God, then take action as thought that’s the case. If it’s all about God, as God demonstrated in the words of Leviticus, the purpose is to make that holy people. That means worship has to point people to God, help people connect with God, be aware of God’s presence, understand God’s gifts and God’s grace, and let God get to work.

    If the main purpose is getting the same back sides into the same pews next week, then worship is not about God.

    Perhaps we ought to change that.

    (Featured image generated by Jetpack AI.)

  • A Morbid and Boring Christianity

    A Morbid and Boring Christianity

    The quote above comes from chapter 1 of S. J. Hill’s book, What’s God Really Like?, and I’d like to spend some time with this, looking at it from different angles. The first angle is one of worship.

    I was in a church committee meeting some years back where a room full of people were discussing young people and the worship service of the church. The question under consideration was why young people weren’t attending our worship services.

    After about 45 minutes of (fruitless, in my opinion) discussion, I asked the question: Might we instead discuss whether we can think of any reasons why the young people would attend our worship service?

    I, and every other person in that meeting, attend church out of ingrained habit. We have done it for years, it’s what we do, and come Sunday morning, come hell, high water, or several feet of snow, we’re going to find a church service and attend it.

    I don’t mean that that’s the only reason I go to church, but it is something I tend to do. If I don’t like one worship service, I’m going to attend another.

    But many people, oddly enough (!), require a reason to get up on Sunday morning and go to church. They want to accomplish something.

    At this point some of my friends start talking about “dumbing down” the worship service, or want something “relevant.” The tone indicates that “relevant” is some sort of weak effort to replace “real worship” which will involve actual pain and require grit and determination.

    “I barely stayed awake through that service,” says the parishioner, looking and sounding holy. Going through a boring worship service is a test of our commitment to God.

    Well, perhaps not.

    As I read passages like 1 Corinthians 14, I see the word “edify,” which is just a churchy sounding word for “build up” or something similar. The worship services at Corinth sound a bit chaotic, and, well, interesting. Paul encouraged them toward order, but in the end, if you apply all his rules, you still have something very different from what we do today.

    Our problem with 1 Corinthians 14 is that we try to apply the solution without having the same problem. We put a straight-jacket on a corpse. The corpse, in case you missed it, is our time of worship.

    Now a morbid, boring, and unattractive Christianity is not just about the worship service, but I think we might start there. You see, I think all those complaints about young people wanting relevant service are just whining. Whining because the young people don’t like what we did all our lives.

    But if you look at the state of Christianity in America today, I think you’ll see evidence that was we did all our lives—and I’m talking to my generation (I’m 61)—hasn’t worked all that well. Perhaps we need worship that is actually relevant.

    Relevant in several ways:

    1. In expressing our relationship with God. (Subtext here — we might need to have a relationship with God and not just a set of theological reflections.)
    2. In preparing us for actual service. (We tend to use the word “ministry” a lot. I think that allows us to separate ourselves from the word. How about “every member serving others” instead of “every member in ministry”?
    3. In help us to build our relationship to God.
    4. In helping us learn to relate to one another. (Hint: sitting in pews listening to a preacher, then heading out to beat the Baptists [or whoever] to lunch doesn’t build your relationships with other people.)
    5. In encouraging us in our lives as they are in this world.
    6. In helping us realize that “worship” doesn’t occur in a “service,” nor does it follow an “order of service,” but is a lifestyle. In fact, it is our lives (Romans 12:1-2).
    7. In helping us learn new and useful things.

    Is that what happens when you go to church?

    This just barely touches on this question. I’d like to discuss it some more. S. J. Hill is definitely right about one thing: The way we think about God is going to impact everything. If we think of God as interesting, involved, and yes, cool, we will thing that interesting and exciting things are part of worshiping God. If we think God is vindictive, we’re going to look for the right set of rituals to appease him.

    If we’ve really forgotten, as I think many of us have, to think about God seriously (serious and joyful are not contradictory!) at all, that’s also going to impact the way we worship.

    If God showed up on Sunday morning, would God enjoy what was going on?

  • Is Your Worship a Joy

    Is Your Worship a Joy

    As I’ve been setting up a series of posts on thinking about God, I’ve discussed a little bit what our theology can do, and what it cannot. For example, in a video yesterday, I talked about how our theological knowledge cannot save us.

    Yet at the same time it can mess us up. I was told that Stanley Hauerwas started a class on liturgy by saying: “Lousy liturgy makes lousy Christians.” I’m not sure he was right on it, and of course that’s second hand, but I do think our liturgy may well say something about how we think about God.

    I was reading one of my own articles from several years ago, titled Dance Floor Worship. Here’s a line:

    Our problem, I believe, is that we want to make sacred things, while God wants us to make things sacred.

    I’d like to suggest reading my entire essay. It’s from a number of years ago, and I hope my thinking has grown, but I think I was pointing to a few things that can be important for us.

    I’m going to embed my advertising video for S. J. Hill’s book. The reason I’m doing so is that I think I have illustrated here some of the problems in what we think about God and how that will impact our actions and our worship.

    If you believe God is about to hammer you because you’re not so wonderful, then you may well either be afraid to be in God’s presence. If, on the other hand, you are aware of God’s grace and God’s gifts, you may be aware that even though you are a minute speck in this universe, the God of the universe cares about you.

    How can you join the chorus? When you believe that the God whose power is displayed throughout the universe is also one who cares about you.

  • Toward a Strategy of Worship

    Toward a Strategy of Worship

    Credit: Openclipart.com
    Credit: Openclipart.com

    Over the last few weeks I’ve been thinking a great deal about strategy in connection with Christian living. It started when I was invited to preach the Sunday after Veterans Day, which was also the Sunday after the election. I used the first chapter of Colossians to talk about our identity and the means that we, as Christians, have to impact our culture. We have an identity in Christ, an authority in Christ, and a mission in Christ. The key is “in Christ.”

    There are some keys to thinking strategically about anything. First, you have to know what it is you are trying to accomplish. Second, you need to know what resources are available. Third, you have to know what limitations there are in how those resources are applied. Use of resources without reference to purpose is largely waste. Anything accomplished is random.

    I’ve noted over the years that one can tell whether a church is alive and active by asking a couple of members what the mission of the church is. This can apply both generally (the Christian mission of the Gospel Commission), and specifically (what is the mission of this church). Tactics is more specific and local. Individual tactics can be successful in a strategic failure. This usually results from improperly planned overall strategy. To see some excellent application of tactics in a mission that was a strategic failure, watch the movie A Bridge Too Far. In my sermon I quoted Gen. Robert H. Barrow, commandant of the Marine Corps from 1979-1983 who said, “Amateurs talk about tactics, but professionals study logistics.”

    Here’s some tactical thinking about worship:

    • We had good attendance today for our special service. We should do that more often.
    • Lots of people complimented me on my sermon after the service. I must have done something right.
    • Some people walked out. We need to fix it.
    • If you didn’t like the service, it’s probably your attitude.
    • Worship’s about God, not about you. Forget about your desires.
    • I realize that nobody remembers what I say in my sermons even until next week, but I’m still preparing for the same sort of sermon next week.

    I know the second to the last statement, “worship is about God” is repeatedly stated with great piety. I disagree however. Worship is certainly all about God, but it’s all about the worshipers as well, in that 100%-100% sense that orthodox theology brings. Usually “it’s all about God” is used as an excuse by people who are putting on a worship service (and I use putting on, in the sense of a performance intentionally), and doing so badly. It’s there excuse for leaving the worshipers behind. I don’t like “I have to be fed” or “I need music that I like” any better. All of these are narrowly focused and frequently selfish in orientation. In all cases they’re very much tactical. Did we get what we wanted out of this week’s service?

    Our starting point for worship must be to ask what worship is. Let me quote Alexander Schmemann in For the Life of the World:

    … But this [cultic] is not the original meaning of the Greek word leitourgia. It means an action by which a group of people become something corporately which they had not been as a mere collection of individuals–a whole greater than the sum of its parts. It means also a function or “ministry” of a man or of a group on behalf of and in the interest of the whole community. (p. 21, Nook edition)

    There is a function of the gathering of the saints in worship, but worship does not occur exclusively in this “worship service.” There is a purpose in our gathering, which is to constitute and reconstitute ourselves as a community ready to be Christ in the world (our identity in Christ), to understand the reality of what Christ has done through his death and resurrection and how we are incorporated in that (our authority in Christ), and the empowering and impetus to carry that result back out into the world. (I highly commend Alexander Schmemann’s work, whether or not you are a fan of Orthodox theology. For the Life of the World is a powerful little book. I may develop some of these ideas further on this blog, but for now I’m just assuming them due to space limitations.)

    So at the starting point of our search for a strategy of worship is to realize that it is not a teaching event, or a singing event, nor is it necessarily a ritual event. It may be partly all of those things, but as long as we don’t consider what our real goals are, why we gather for this event, we may carry out every worship service over “a bridge too far.”

    Here are some things to consider, I think:

    1. How do we gather the people together? Questions of music, format, buildings, PowerPoint presentations, pews, advertising, and so far can occur at this point, but all must be subordinated to the overall purpose. And we might want to ask a more important question: Have the people who gather in the church experienced becoming the church? Have the experienced the presence of God? Have they sensed the reality of that community? If they experience none of these things, I believe that in time no matter how entertaining you may make the time, it will still be a failure.
    2. What do we do to make people a community? Schmemann works through the meaning of the liturgy, and I find his interpretation powerful. Yet I don’t think what he outlines is the only approach that can be authentic and successful.
    3. What do we do to engage people as a community with God? This would require many words. I’ll just leave the question open.
    4. What do we do that helps us leave empowered to be Christ in the world?

    If we aren’t accomplishing these things I question whether we are truly engaged in full Christian worship. We may be taking stabs at it. We may be doing a great job getting across the bridge that’s in front of us, but are we becoming the body of Christ?

    I think our general failure is made evident by the way in which we depend on Caesar’s methods to accomplish cultural goals. We sense that our witness to Jesus Christ is not accomplishing what we believe we need to see. Perhaps we need to reconsider whether our witness to Jesus as the Anointed One is genuine and whether our activities on a Sunday morning are more about keeping the church calendar moving than about being Christ in the world.

    What do you think?

  • Sunday School: History and Feasts

    Sunday School: History and Feasts

    Source: OpenClipart.org Gerald_G
    Source: OpenClipart.org Gerald_G

    I’m going to be teaching my home Sunday School class for the next four weeks, and it happens that the topics are all from the Israelite feasts. Tomorrow I’ll be talking about Passover, the next week about the Feast of Weeks, then the Day of Atonement, and finally the Feast of Booths. I’m using the titles from our Sunday School curriculum. I will doubtless ignore the curriculum other than for setting the topics. I always do.

    Though each feast has certain special elements of meaning, there are a number of things that I’d like to emphasize from these feasts in general.

    1. God acts in history. This is foundational to application of the scriptures in any way, I think. Whether this action is what we would describe as a supernatural intervention or a subtle presence is something to be discussed, but if God doesn’t act, we don’t have a subject.
    2. A feast or commemoration not only celebrates a point in time when we, as humans, have recognized God in action. It also magnifies that event and helps it resonate through the future. It becomes a lens through which we see the past, and a filter through which we understand our time. The Passover is not only a moment of salvation. It also explains what led up to it and drives what comes after it.
    3. A feast or commemoration is part of bringing ourselves in line with a saving event. Some of the “saving” that is to be accomplished through the event comes by bringing us in line. The wilderness experience of Israel shows the possibility of mentally and spiritually living in Egypt while physically traveling toward the land of the promise.
    4. God’s people extend not just through space in the present but through all time. I benefit by recognizing my place in this community that is not bound by time or space.
    5. God’s next action doesn’t negate his last one. We can commemorate receiving of the Torah, a return from exile, and even God’s presence with us in Jesus Christ without losing the value of the passover. The meaning of a commemoration or feast can be many-faceted.
    6. While we see new and different meaning, in that we have a different perspective, it’s good to move back to the event. Passover may look different to someone who also celebrates Easter, but also look at Passover for what it was for Israel and what it is for the Jewish people now.
    7. Feasts and celebrations have a history and setting. Without the story, the ritual loses power.

    Exodus 12 is a very important chapter to read when thinking about celebrations, feasts, and commemorations in general. How do we remember these events and participate in them as a people, as the body of Christ in the world?

    Ellen G. White was an important figure in the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in which I grew up. While I’m no longer SDA, I can still appreciate many of the things she said. Here’s an applicable quote:

    We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history.