Divided?

Hmmm~ Juz going to share some feelings and an impluse i got this morning when I woke up...

Churches today, are we just worshipping in a different way...Or are some of us divided? As in SEPERATED , not "set ourselves apart as in the commandment" which is good...But think ourselves different from brothers and sisters from other churches...As we should know, different churches do NOT mark our identity and sense of BELONGING because as a reminder, we ALL,regardless of what church we are from belong to the same family = Family in Christ you know? Different churches just say we have different ways of worshiping our God...

Hmmm~ Should we not be happy that members of our church are active in joining and fellowshiping with other members in our Big family? Why should we restrict them? It's not that they will get ANYTHING bad by attending other good events or activities hosted by other churches...So why discourage them? I wonder...There is something seriously wrong in this concept if so...We should be happy that we are so UNITED...Not try to divide ourselves into groups...Well,wad i wanna say is that there is NO team spirit between churches...THERE SHOULD NOT BE...So what if I am a Methodist and you are a say...Erm...Lutheran or something? We DO go to the same heaven where everyone is the same...Don't we? We worship the same God don't we?So what's the big deal if you join X church and I join Y church? Why can't we share something that is good ? Why can' t we learn together? Why can people go to your event but not mine? Do we not have the same purpose? Do we not share the same love?


Another thing, yes...It is good to get "high" for our God...But are we really getting high for our God? Or is it because of Outside factors? Are we really absorbed in worshipping or are we just lost in the music and MEN-BUILT ATMOSPHERE...When we return home, do we feel refreshed and regenerated?Are our lives changed? Or do we just feel the lost after-math of the atmosphere?Or if we minus the fantastic lightings, the beautiful accompaniment or music, the great vocals,the decorations and frills and ruffles...Will we still be the same? Can we still worship as we should? Why must we BE like the society outside? Why must we spend so much money on whatnot to BE LIKE THEM just to bring back the lost sheep? Churches used to SET the trend in music last time...But it seems like we are going backwards and trying to follow the society nowadays...If so, wad's d difference between us Christians and other people who are not? WHAT's THE DIFFERENCE? WHAT DO PEOPLE SEE IN YOU? If people cannot sense that you are a Christian or seem surprised to know that you are one...there's something seriously wrong with us.

God's presence is with us NO MATTER HOW THE SITUATION IS so long as two or more are gathered IN HIS NAME...So wad's d big deal in worship service? We are worshipping a great God...Not attracting people to "join in" without knowing the real purpose...

I found this information from the net...This is what a pastor said : An old school piano with forty or fifty people; a few years later it’s a rockin’ band with three guitars, a drum kit and a whole lot more people. That’s part of my story as a pastor. The million dollar question in response to that story is, at what point did we have “good worship?” If you are like me, you hear a lot people shopping for a church home say something to the effect that one church they visited had “good worship” while another church they visited did not have “good worship.” When statements like this are made, it seems as though a lot people are talking about music styles.

As a pastor I believe we eventually had good worship in 2005, at a point when one third of our active members were involved in a multi day mission project at various places around the world. In Psalm 95 and 96, the Psalmist cries out that we “sing to the Lord, bless His name, make a joyful noise, bow down, kneel before the God our maker, sing a new song…” but then also in this context we are called to “Declare his glory among the nations,” we are to, “say among the nations, the Lord reigns!”

This matter of “good worship” is being advertised, talked about, and marketed like the weekly grocery store bill. People are moving from one church to the next church to the next emerging church with a cool name in an attempt to find “good worship.” But what is “good worship?” Who is it for? John Piper, in his book Let The Nations Be Glad, has said “No one will be able to rise to the magnificence of the missionary cause who does not feel the magnificence of Christ. There will be no big world vision without a big God. There will be no passion to draw others into our worship where there is no passion for worship.”

Take what Piper is saying and think of it in reverse. We see a lot of churches and Christians speak of feeling the magnificence of Christ, having the vision of a big God, and experiencing passion in worship, but where is the passion to take that magnificent Jesus to the seventy something different people groups here in my city of St. Louis, or the people in your city of origin? I believe what Dr. Piper is saying, and the Psalms would support, is that wherever there is the authentic feeling of the magnificence of Christ in worship, there people will also rise to the magnificence of the missionary cause. In other words, the greatness of God will drive a big world vision and a passion for the nations. That is good worship!

It is my hope that our churches be filled with authentic worship which is fueled by a missional fire that motivates us to take the gospel to our cities and to the nations. I’m convinced that regardless of our position on style in worship, then and only then will “good worship” occur.

If our “good worship” is not helping to form good missionaries, then there’s a problem and it is probable that we do not understand worship. Great music with lyrics and leadership primarily directed toward the person and the persons’ needs will draw a crowd. But crowds won’t change the world, churches full of authentic worship and armies of missionaries will change the world. Let us agree together to settle for nothing less than that kind of “good worship.”



A pastor wrote this song ...He came from a well-known church which had talented musicians and so...Imagine the atmosphere and music...Evry thing was like,sort of, "heavenly music" ...get what I mean?
Well, He found out that the congregation were many times stirred by the music instead of meaning what they sang ...

This is his testimony :

In an interview with Worship Leader magazine, Matt Redman tells the story of his song, "The Heart of Worship," written at his local church, Soul Survivor, in Watford, England:

"The song came out of a season we were having in our church. It was an unsettling season as a worship leader there. We were only a few years old as a church family, and yet somehow we'd lost the vibrancy in our worship that seemed to characterize us. Instead of throwing ourselves into the worship no matter what, it felt like there were too many other factors at play. Sometimes it felt like people would only enter in if they were 'into the song,' or if the sound was perfect or if they liked the worship leader.

So Mike, the Pastor, did a brave thing. He banned the band, for a season. We all huddled into a smaller room without any lights, musicians or any sound system. The point being, let's just check if we can worship without relying on all these outward things. They can be great, but not if we become too focused or dependent on them in themselves. It was a challenging time for us all, but slowly we started to regain what we were terming 'the heart of worship.' And there was a new freshness about our approach to God in worship.

So, I wrote a little song which simply described what had happened to us as a church: When the music fades, all is stripped away, and I simply come/longing just to bring something that's of worth that will bless your heart/I'm coming back to the heart of worship, and it's all about You, it's all about You, Jesus."

This story is of another church on another continent, but we tell it here to highlight the universal need to ask the question, "What is the heart of worship?" If we've given our hearts to the God who is the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and whose faithfulness we've experienced in our lives, then why is it so easy to get caught up in the distractions of family, work, and school, the sanctuary's temperature or by what so-and-so is wearing in church? While these are all issues worth addressing, we must ask ourselves whether we're allowing our discomfort with these things to take a higher priority than honest and heartfelt praise for God.


This song (as below)is really touching...

Artist: Matt Redman
Song: Heart Of Worship
Album:
[" " CD]

When the music fades
All is slipped away
and I simply come.
Longing just to bring
something thats of worth
that will bless Your heart.

I'll bring You more than a song,
for a song in itself
is not what You have required.
You search much deeper within,
through the way things appear,
Your looking into my heart.

I'm coming back to the heart of worship
and its all about You, its all about You, Jesus.
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
when its all about You, its all about You, Jesus.

King of endless worth,
no one could express
how much you deserve.
Though I'm weak and poor,
all I have is Yours,
every single breath!

I'll bring You more than a song,
for a song in itself
is not what You have required.
You search much deeper within,
through the way things appear,
Your looking into my heart.

I'm coming back to the heart of worship
and its all about You, its all about You, Jesus.
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
when its all about You, its all about You, Jesus.