I've watched way too much TV over the last few years. Hours, and hours, and hours. Some of those hours were spent watching alien documentaries and cookie-cutter war films, but the vast majority were spent on TV series that were cool... awhile ago. It started with White Collar. Currently, it's Parks and Rec.

And, though I'm slightly ashamed to admit it, most of it was CSI: Miami.

There's a lot of bad things to be said of CSI: Miami. The hero, Horatio Cain, is probably the most predictable, melodramatic protagonist that ever was. There's not much to be said for character development, either, at least in my opinion. And, the producers put far too much attention on what people were - or were not - wearing. 

But one of the main reasons I loved CSI: Miami is at the end of every episode, you found out what made every suspect tick. You learned what they intended, and you watched what it made them. You learned what they sought, what they thought it would give them. And then, you watched them come face-to-face with the earthly consequences of giving a good thing god-hood.

You learned what they worshiped.

And then you watched what they worshiped turn and devour them.

No One Does Not Worship

No one does not worship. Every human is a worshiper.

The Bible often speaks of worship as "ascribing", or bowing, or submission.

Harold Best, in his book Unceasing Worship, defines the term "worship" as follows:

"Worship is the continuous outpouring of all that I am, all that I do, and all that I can ever become in light of a chosen or choosing god."

Worship is always happening. We are always ascribing god-hood to someone or something.

We were made to worship God, to give Him glory with our thoughts, words and deeds. The problem is, we often don't want to. We'd rather worship creation than the Creator.

Much of what we choose to worship is beautiful and good. It's not wrong to want a promotion. It's not wrong to love the mountains. It's not wrong to want to get good grades.

These aspirations and desires are good. They're just not ultimate, and they cannot give us the satisfaction that we seek, at least long term.

Perfect Worship

However, as Christians, saved by God's grace, we want to make sure that our worship is rightly directed.

But we're still "prone to wander" as the old hymn says. Though we've tasted and seen God's goodness in the giving of His Son, in whom "completion" is ultimately found, we want a shortcut. And good gifts look like great shortcuts.

But though we often wander, God's grace is sufficient. For Jesus, our Great High Priest, our Advocate to the Father, lived a life of perfect worship, of perfect submission to the will and word of God. He then, on the cross, swapped out His record of perfect worship for ours, a massive list of misdirected worship.

Because of Jesus, God the Father sees our worship as perfect.

Risen and ascended, He now advocates for us to our heavenly Father.

Where we fail, He has succeeded. In Jesus, we have nothing to fear.

And what Jesus has done demands a response. We must worship Him.

Continuous Outpouring

Romans 12.1 says "I appeal to you therefore brothers [word meaning "brothers and sisters"], by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."

There's a lot here. Paul has just spent pages talking about who God is and what He's done in and through Jesus. The "therefore" is there to say "in light of everything before this."

In short, Paul is saying, "Because of God's grace and mercy toward you, worship Him with all that you are and all you will be."

This is massive. God has given you the ability to worship Him through the Holy Spirit. So you actually can do this.

And it's not quite as grandiose as one would think, at least in practice.

This is waking up in the morning and acknowledging that you're still alive. That you didn't have to think about breathing. And praising God for a new day, though it may not be quite up to your specifications, for God has given you more time on earth to glorify Him.

This is approaching your work, your studies, and your family life as a gift to you, and wanting to do a good job with the gift you've been given so that you can point people to Jesus in word and deed.

This is just being nice, treating people as humans, creatures made in the image of God, in the hopes that they'd get to experience the grace and mercy that you've been shown in Jesus.

This is getting into a Gospel Community or small group, serving in a local church, becoming a member, partnering up for ministry with other Jesus-Worshipers who want people to hear about Jesus.

It takes a bunch of different forms, and shows up in a bunch of different ways. But "whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." (Col 3.17)

Worship Rightly Oriented

At Redeemer, we want our worship to be a rightly oriented response to a good and gracious God.

We want to bear witness to who He is and what He's done.

We want everyone, everywhere, every day to hear and experience the gospel of Jesus. We want them to hear about Him and respond in worship to Him.

We want them to know that the gods of money, of power, of family, of cultural significance, cannot hold a candle to the God of the Bible. If you pursue them, they will ultimately turn and devour you. But in Jesus, there is freedom, and in Jesus, there is life.

The following is an excerpt from the Worship Sourcebook regarding Corporate Worship's meaning and purpose. This book was written and published by The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship; Faith Alive Christian Resources; and Baker Books.

Each week Christians gather for worship in mud huts and Gothic cathedrals, in prisons and nursing homes, in storefront buildings and village squares, in sprawling megachurches and old country chapels. In these diverse  contexts the style of worship caries greatly. Some congregations hear formal sermons read from carefully honed manuscripts; others hear extemporaneous outpourings of emotional fervor. Some sing music accompanied by rock bands, some by pipe organs, some by drum ensembles, some by rusty old pianos, and some by no accompaniment at all. Some dress in their formal Sunday best, others in casual beach clothes.

Yet for all the diversity of cultural expressions and worship styles, there remain several constant norms for Christian worship that transcend cultures and keep us faithful to the gospel of Christ. Especially in an age that constantly focuses on worship still, it is crucial for all leaders to rehearse these transcultural, common criteria for Christian worship and to actively seek to practice them faithfully. Without attention to these basic norms, the best texts, best music, and best forms for worship can easily become distorted and detract from the gospel of Christ that is the basis for Christian life and hope. Though volumes can be written to probe these transcultural norms, even a brief life is helpful for setting the stage for everything that follows in this book.

1. Christian worship should be biblical. The Bible is the source of our knowledge of God and of the world's redemption in Christ. Worship should include prominent readings of Scripture. It should present and depict God's being, character, and actions in ways that are consistent with scriptural teaching. It should obey explicit biblical commands about worship practices, and it should heed scriptural warnings about false and improper worship. Worship should focus its primary attention where the Bible does: on the person and work of Jesus Christ as the Redeemer of all creation and the founder and harbinger of the kingdom of God through the work of the Holy Spirit.
2. Christian worship should be dialogue and relational. In worship, God speaks and God listens. By the power of the Holy Spirit, God challenges us, comforts us, and awakens us. And by the prompting of the Holy Spirit we listen and then respond with praise, confession, petition, testimony, and dedication. Scripture constantly depicts God as initiating and participating in ongoing relationships with people. A healthy life with God maintains a balance of attentive listening and honest speech. So does healthy worship. This is why our words matter in worship: they are used by God to speak to us, and they carry our praise and prayer to God.
3. Christian worship should be covenantal. In worship, God's gracious and new covenant with us in Christ is renewed, affirmed, and sealed. The relationship that God welcomes us into is not a contractual relationship of obligations but a promise-based or covenantal relationship of self-giving love. It is more like a marriage than a legal contact. Worship rehearses God's promises to us and allows for us to recommit ourselves to this covenantal relationship. One question to ask of any worship service is whether it has enabled us to speak to God as faithful and committed covenant partners.
4. Christian worship should be trinitarian. In worship we address the triune God-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - one God in three persons, the God of holiness, love, beauty, and power. God is the one who graciously invites our worship and then hears our response. God is the one who perfects and mediates our praise and petitions. God is also the one who helps us comprehend what we hear and prompts us to respond. In worship, then, we are drawn into relationship with God (the Father) through God (the Son) and by God (the Holy Spirit). Worship is an arena in which the triune God is active in drawing us closer, using tangible, physical things like water, bread, and wine; melodies, rhythms, and harmonies; gestures, smiles, and handshakes to nurture and challenge us. In worship we focus out attention on this self-giving God. This God-centered focus also keeps us from the temptation to worship worship itself.
5. Christian worship should be communal. The gospel of Christ draws us into communal life with other people. Worship is one setting in which we see the church in action and we attempt to demonstrate and deepen the unity, holiness, and witness of the church. Worship is a first-person-plural activity. It is extremely significant in worship that otherwise remarkably different people nevertheless offer praise together, pray together, listen together, and make promises together.
6. Christian worship should be hospitable, caring, and welcoming. Christian worship must never be self-centered. In worship we pray for the world and offer hospitality to all who live in fear, despair, and loneliness. Public worship sends us out for worshipful lives of service and witness. Worship not only comforts us with the promises of the gospel but also disturbs us (in the best sense) as we realize the significance of fear and broken in our world and the world's desperate need for a Savior. Worship stokes the gratitude of our hearts that leads naturally to serving the needs of our broken world.
7. Christian worship should be "in but not of" the world. Christian worship always reflects the culture out of which it is offered. Patterns of speech, styles or dress, senses of time, rhythms and harmonies of music, and styles of visual symbols vary widely depending on cultural contexts. At the same time, worship must not be enslaved to culture. it must remain prophetic, challenging any dimension of local culture that is at odds with the gospel of Christ.
8. Christian worship should be a generous and excellent outpouring of ourselves before God. Worship should not be stingy. Like the perfume that anointed Jesus' feet, our worship should be a lavish outpouring of our love and praise to the God who has created and redeemed us. Worship calls for our best offerings. When we practice music, prepare words to speak, set aside gifts of money and time to offer, and ensure that we are rested and ready to give our undivided attention, we are practicing the kind of excellence worthy of our great and gracious God.
9. Christian worship should be both expressive and formative. It should honestly express what a community already feels and has experienced - imitating the biblical psalms in their vividly honest expressions of praise and lament, thanksgiving and penitence. Yet worship should also stretch us to take to our lips words that we would not come up with on our own that- like the Lord's prayer - will shape new and deeper dimensions of faith and life with God. In this way, words become a tool of Spirit-led discipleship, forming us to be more faithful followers of and witnesses to Jesus Christ.

These norms, which are more illustrative than exhaustive, point to enduring lessons of Christian wisdom drawn from two thousand years of practice and reflection. And because they are so important, these basic norms must not simply reside in introductions to books of resources. They must function habitually in the working imaginations of worship leaders each week. Each week people who are responsible for worship have the joyful tasks of imagining how worship can be truly biblical, dialogue, covenantal, trinitarian, hospitable, and excellent.

Also important is that these norms come together. Christians need worship that is simultaneously trinitarian and hospitable, covenantal and "in but not of the world." All too often we make choices that, for example, either deepen our theological vision at the expense of hospitality or weaken our theological vision int he name of hospitality...Page 17-18 (The Practice of Christian Worship) of the Worship Sourcebook

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3 Ways To Encourage Peace Between Generations Within Denominations: In the end, it is important to remember that substance is more valuable than style. We can and should be aggressive when it comes to issues of substance. There are things you cannot be and still be considered within the boundaries of your theological tribe—it isn’t a free-for-all. If you are going to be in a family, value what the family values.

The Simple Beauty Of God's Grace: It’s easy to overlook a little phrase like that. It’s easy to let it be little more than background noise, quickly filtered out. But a couple of weeks ago it was like I heard it again for the first time: “By God’s grace.” It’s a beautiful thing! It is an acknowledgement that without the sweet grace of God, the very opposite would be true. It is an acknowledgement of utter dependency upon God.

Intimacy Or Familiarity: When I consider Bible reading, I see two broad approaches: one that aims for familiarity and one that aims for intimacy. Both are good, both are beautiful, and both have their place.

Slander In The Camp: How many of you have witnessed the evils of slander? Sadly, it happens all the time in circles of people who name Jesus as their King and Redeemer. The more I speak with leaders and fellow Christians, the more I realize how prevalent this is.

More Highly Than You Ought: I’m deeply persuaded that we’re addicted to the pursuit of self-glory because, when we look in the mirror, we think we see someone who deserves to be glorified. Instead of using the mirror of God’s Word to keep our judgment sober, we see an aggrandized version of who the Bible says we actually are. I’ve found that there are four common factors that contribute to this distorted view of self:

Rules For Facebook From Parents To Daughter: As long as we live she will always be the object of our concern and love, but one day we will no longer be responsible for her choices. But for now, these are the rules.

The Secret To Abounding: Growing up in the United States, we are bred to believe that we can accomplish anything we want, that all of our goals and dreams are within reach. We like the idea that we can do anything or everything, and at a glance, Philippians 4:13 seems to support that idea—“I can do all things.” But did Paul really mean that as long as we rely on Christ’s strength we can do anything?

Should I Date A Godly Girl I Do Not Find Attractive?: I appreciate Matt Chandler’s response to the question.

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The Beauty Of The Cross: 19 Objections & Answers On Penal Substitutionary Atonement: That said, I do want to engage some of the broadly theological objections against it, as well as correct popular caricatures of the doctrine along the way. I have to say that a number of the issues that people have with penal substitution are quite understandable when you consider some of the silliness that passes for biblical preaching on the subject in popular contexts. Those who affirm the doctrine as true and beautiful do our hearers no benefit when we defend misshapen, caricatured versions of the doctrine. I’ll try to do my best to avoid that in what follows.

7 Marks Of A Deeply Deadly Sin: Not all sin is the same. While every sin places you under the wrath of God, and while any sin is sufficient to create an eternal chasm between God and man, not every sin is identical. In chapter 9 of his work Overcoming Sin and Temptation, John Owen wants you to think about that besetting sin in your life to consider if it is an “ordinary” sin, or if it is one that is particularly deadly and that, therefore, requires something more than the usual pattern of putting sin to death. The deadliness of a sin is not related so much to the category of that sin, but to how deeply-rooted it is in your life, and to how you have responded to God as he has revealed it to you.

Preparing For Sunday Worship: We count preaching as significant, so we expect our pastor will prepare his sermon before he enters the pulpit. We consider worship songs important, so we expect our music teams, pianists, and organists will appropriately prepare before sitting down at their instruments. We believe our engagement in corporate worship is essential, so we should also expect to prepare even as we expect the pastor and musicians to prepare for their participation in the Sunday morning service. How can you prepare for worship? Here are a few ideas.

3 Tips For Discipling You Kids Through Halloween: Halloween seems to be the one holiday in American Christianity that we just don’t know what to do with. We are happy to celebrate cultural or historical holidays like the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, or New Year’s Day. We love religious holidays like Easter and Christmas. But Halloween… Halloween has quite a mixed history, and so we don’t know how to approach it.

What Led You To Become An Atheist? Some Surprising Answers: What leads people away from religion and into atheism? That’s the question that fascinated Larry Taunton so much that he launched a nationwide series of interviews with hundreds of college-age atheists. His question was simple: “What led you to become an atheist?” The answers were surprising, creating a completely unexpected composite sketch of American college-aged atheists. Here’s a summary from his article.

Why Do We Anoint With Oil?: Since the oil was used in both medicinal and sacramental contexts, we at Living Stones have to keep in mind both common grace (which benefits all mankind) and special grace (which is for God’s people), if you will. We acknowledge and respect the medical community, and we believe that God works through the means of the common grace of our doctors. (James tips his hat towards the medical community, in my opinion). Yet, in prayer, we go before God, requesting that he do a miracle, something supernatural in healing the people of Living Stones. When we do this, we are asking for a special grace.

The State Of Theology: New Findings On America's Theological Health: Earlier this year, Ligonier Ministries commissioned a survey of 3,000 Americans in partnership with LifeWay Research. The survey quantified Americans’ theological knowledge and awareness. A combination of true and false statements was used to test participants. The survey addressed core doctrinal topics and issues, such as the Bible, salvation, God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, sin, the Trinity, man, hell, and the nature of the church. In our desire to serve the church in fulfilling the Great Commission, these findings help to point out common gaps in theological knowledge and awareness so that Christians might be more effective in the proclamation, teaching, and defense of the essential truths of the Christian faith.

The Evil In North Korea: That brings us to the most important thing we can do as Christians. “The real business of your life as a saved soul,” Oswald Chambers wrote a century ago, “is intercessory prayer.” If, as Asia specialist Minxin Pei observes, “No modern authoritarian dynastic regime has succeeded in passing power to the third generation,” then the Kim dynasty isn’t long for this world. Perhaps our prayers can push it over the edge.

One Trait That Set Apart The Earliest Christians: But in the second century, as Christianity emerged with a distinctive religious identity, the surrounding pagan culture began to take notice. And it didn’t like what it saw. Christians were seen as strange and superstitious—a peculiar religious movement that undermined the norms of decent society. Christians were, well, different.

The Most Neglected Part Of The Pastor's Job Description: The most significant yet unused disciple making resource we have in our churches are the older, faithful women among us. It’s to our shame if as pastors we don’t have a strategy for investing in them and seeing them invest in others. But it will be for our joy and for the church’s strength if we do.

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Look And Live: From one who bears the fang-shaped scar, I urge you this weekend to attend corporate worship not merely to sing or merely to listen, but to look — to gaze. Look and live.

You Can't Catch Sin Like A Cold: So, when we are around obvious sin, those people and places, we can’t catch their sin. We can choose their sin, but that is a matter of decision, of belief, of theology. If we hold fast to Jesus there is no risk of that sin invisibly taking hold of us like a flu bug might. How freeing! We no longer have to keep our distance or live in cultural quarantine. We can engage those people with grace and freedom without fear. Because we are near Jesus we can be near to anyone without fear that they will make us more like them than like Him.

Theological Impatience: Theological impatience is one of the most troubling features of our generation. Examples of impatience in everyday life abound – measuring your progress against that of the person in the adjacent supermarket queue, tutting at the slowness of a microwave dinner – but far more inisidious is the way this everyday impatience now manifests itself in the way we do theology. Assuming, as we are often told, “the means is the message” (that is, the physical way in which you communicate something forms an important part of what you communicate), we would expect that: if theology is done in blog comments and tweets and Facebook posts, then it would be surprising if that did not make us theologically impatient.

Biblical verses Systematic Theology?: This is what gives Systematic Theology its finality. Biblical Theology asks, What did the patriarchs say, or Moses, or the prophets or Paul or John? Systematic Theology asks, What does the Bible say?

What Is The 'Abomination of Desolation'?: A wise preacher dealing with this passage may find particular value in focusing on this point. When Jesus gives instruction concerning future events, his purpose is not to satiate our curiosity or answer all or our speculative questions. Instead, his purpose is to protect and guide and instruct his people. Jesus gave relatively little attention to the question "When?" and much toward the question "How shall we live faithfully?" Preaching on such texts today should be shaped by Jesus’ concern for the welfare and endurance of his church.

Christianity Is Not Going Away: The quiet religious revival in New York City is mostly below the radar screen. But it showcases how Christendom, although it ebbs and flows, after 1700 or so years, is not going away.

Friendless Millennials In A Digital Age: She is hitting the nail square on its head. Young people vaguely know about stuff, but they often do not truly know those around them. Much of that comes from our connectedness on the Internet, and specifically social media.

A Failure Of Worship: The addict is not merely following deeply-ingrained habits and physical desires, but seeking the escstasy of worship. The problem is not the desire to worship—we are created to be worshippers—but the idolatrous object of that worship. The addict looks elsewhere—anywhere—for what can be found only in God. The addict’s foremost failure is a failure of worship.

Should We Kiss Evangelism Goodbye?: What my dad and mom thought about me as I was growing up meant a lot. Their thoughts and opinions could crush or lift me in a moment. The truth is that we seek approval from others all the time. As you get to know someone, you might pick up that they need to hear the gospel of adoption, that God the Father offers an undying approval in his Son Jesus. This can radically change people’s view of God, and thrill them with the hope of a Father’s love. Don’t kiss your evangelism goodbye; just give it a facelift.

Kids And Missional Communities - Family Meals: Sometimes families feel like they shouldn’t hold their Family Meal on Sundays, since we’ve already done one church event that day. But there’s no such thing as too much church family on one day, and many of our Missional Communities have found great success with a Family Meal that starts at 5pm on Sundays.

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To: Dad, Love: Your Adoptive Daughter: Thank you for attending all of my ballet recitals as a little girl. Thank you for discipling me and teaching me the godly way to live. Thank you for making sure that I heard the gospel regularly taught and saw it lived out. Thank you for allowing me to pour my heart out over a cup of coffee. Thank you for working hard to provide for the family. Thank you for being selfless.

Honesty, Truth and Homosexuality: The world is talking about homosexuality. The conversation is impossible to ignore if you are paying any attention to cultural currents. News outlets, Twitter, blogs, television shows and even federal courts are conversing. What they are saying is fascinating. It is also frustrating.

How Our Thoughts Feed (or starve) Our Passion For Jesus: When Edwards speaks of "religion" he is speaking of a living, vital relationship with Jesus, clearly different than how we use this term today.

Pastors Aren't Born But Formed: As a young pastor myself, one theme that caught my attention was the formative influence of mentors and friends. In what follows I'd like to highlight three lessons on mentorship for both younger and older pastors drawn from Calvin's early years.

Pornography And Gospel Community: One of my elders at church taught a class Sunday on pornography. He was vulnerable and honest about his own serious struggle with pornography after being exposed to it at a very young age through sexual deviancy among the adults in his home. I found his lesson relevant to men who've struggled with pornography, women who've struggled with pornography, men who haven't struggled with pornography, and women who haven't struggled with pornography. Since that probably covers all the readers here, I thought I would share the progression of his thoughts.

Worship - A Biblical Definition: Notice that I also use the word “response” in my definition. Before the fall, we were primarily responders. God is the actor, displaying His love for us, and we responded in worship. This is the natural order of things. Today, we attempt to be the actors, and we hope that others will respond to us.

Summer Family Activity Book: Summer is fast approaching! For many of you, the next few months will be filled with travel, adventure and increased opportunities to spend time together as a family. As you begin to think about and plan how you will spend the next few months, we’d like to once again present you with the Summer Family Activity Book. This resource gives you ideas on how to be intentional with your time together as a family.

5 Reasons Established Churches Should Plant Churches: Most people know me I love church planting. I've done extensive research on the topic, written books about it and even planted churches. In addition to my love for church planting, however, I also love established churches. I'm as passionate about church revitalization as I am about church planting. While some may see the two as mutually exclusive, I'm most excited about where the two overlap: churches planting churches. Pastors of established churches should be engaged in church planting. Here are five reasons why.

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