Sunday, August 31, 2014
Bringing strange fire into God's service
"The man who is appointed to reveal God's wrath needs to conceal his own." JB, GW, pp. 22-23
Let Us Tremble
"Let us tremble. The Lord is quick towards some and He is patient toward others." JB, GW, p. 20
"A gracious heart will see the truth through a very little crevice."
"You do not have expressed commands for an abundance of things, but sometimes you have an example in some things, and not always a clear example, either. But compare one thing with another, and that which seems to be nearest the mind of God seems most probable to be in the Scripture. A humble heart will soon be convinced when another man is not." JB, GW, p. 18
Little Things
"God stands much upon little things, though men would think it a little matter whether they use this fire or that fire. Men will say, 'Will not this burn as we'll as that? But God stands on it. And so it was with the ark. Uzzah did but touch the ark when it was ready to fall. Now we would think it to be no great matter; but one touch of the ark cost him his life. There is not any one small thing in the worship of God but God stands mightily upon it." JB, GW, p. 13
Vain Worship
"In Matthew 5:19 we read, 'In vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men.' It is a vain thing to worship God when there is nothing but a commandment of man for this worship." JB, GW, p. 12
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
"Exceedingly Troubled"
"Which was (no question) exceedingly troubled by the great and sore affliction that was upon him in the strange death of his two sons, Nadab and Abihu." p. 1
"Upon this, the spirit of Aaron could not but be exceedingly troubled to see his two sons thus struck." p. 1
"Upon this, the spirit of Aaron could not but be exceedingly troubled to see his two sons thus struck." p. 1
Foundation and Issues in Worship 2014 [MU404]
Baptist Bible College, Dr. David Harris, D.M.A.
Monday/Wednesday 1:10-2:00 p.m. Room 202
I. Course Description
A study of Biblical and historical foundations of Christian worship and their implications for understanding the nature of corporate worship. Through the close reading of seminal texts, the student will examine the Christian’s responsibility to worship in spirit and truth.
II. Eight Observations
A. Jeremiah Burroughs [1599-1646]
Jeremiah Burroughs, one of the Westminster Assembly of Divines, wrote Gospel Worship so that the people of God might corporately sanctify God as God in hearing the Word of God preached, in taking the Lord’s Supper, and through prayer. His text for these 14 sermons are the words of Moses spoken after God slew Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s sons, for offering unauthorized fire before the Lord: “Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said, ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’ And Aaron held his peace.” Leviticus 10:3, ESV. Burroughs writes: Now upon this, when Moses said that God would be sanctified in those that draw near to Him, it was as if He had said, ‘Aaron, though I confess that the hand of God is heavy upon you this day, yet it is fitting for you to submit to God. It is fitting that God should be glorified, whatever becomes of you. You are dear to God, but God’s name is dearer to Him than you are. Whatever the lives of your sons were, yet it is fitting that God should be honored and His name sanctified whatever becomes of your sons or your comforts, and, therefore, let your heart be quieted. You have had a great loss and affliction upon you, but God has had glory. God has glorified Himself.’” from the CD Gospel Worship recorded by the BBC Praise Band [2005]
B. John Piper [b. 1946]
“Jonathan Edwards was criticized in response to that book [The Essay on the Trinity] for trying too hard to understand the Trinity, and removing mystery. His response to that was two things. The Bible reveals vastly more than we imagine about God as Three in One. And we have scarcely begun to probe the depths of what really there is for us to understand by revelation. And secondly, he said that there is plenty of mystery left when I’m done with my little efforts. He said we will intensify our worship more if we press in and up as far as we can, rather than stopping early and saying, ‘Isn’t it a mystery? Let’s all bow down and worship. Now the way that landed on me 30 years ago was very significant because there were people in my class in seminary [Fuller] who had a very anti-intellectualistic, anti-rational, ‘stop questioning, probing, digging, trying to understand, because worship comes from the great unknown [mysterious] and if you can understand God, why would you want to worship Him? He’d be equal to you!’ And that never quite sat right with me. You can’t sing [very] many worship songs about what you don’t know about God. I mean one or two. You can write one or two songs about how little you know of God and feel really little and worshipful. But you can’t write more than two or three. Worship does not primarily flow from what you do not know. Worship primarily flows from what we have been able to see of the wonder. And it just seems so strange to me that people would be pushing on ignorance for the sake of worship. ‘Just don’t go there, don’t rise there, don’t climb there, because when you get to the top you won’t worship. You’ll stand on top of God.’ And I just thought, ‘there is no danger of that happening.’ In fact, I have a conception of eternity, of spending about 10,000 years climbing the Alps of God’s all-satisfying glory, discovering new things all the way, and at the last year of the 10,000th, pulling myself over the crest and looking – and there stretches another mountain range disappearing into the sky and you spend another 10,000 years climbing and discovering new things about the glory and wonder of God. And you pull yourself up over 20,000 years into eternity and there’s another mountain range – and that will happen forever and ever. You will never be bored in heaven. An infinite God revealing Himself to a finite mind requires eternity. It’s the knowledge of God, not the ignorance of God that inspires God-exalting awe and worship.” September 2003, Capitol Hill Baptist Church [transcribed].
C. Bob Kauflin on Singing and Preaching
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7_sXAhYodE
F. Michael Horton
“Creeds, confessions, a good systematic theology can all help us to see the limitations of our own narrow range of ideas, presuppositions, experiences, and longings. We must rid ourselves of the notion that it matters little what others have said in their reading of Scripture through the ages . . . The choice is not between following ‘mere men’ and Scripture directly; it’s a choice between interpreting Scripture with the larger church rather than thinking of ourselves as omnicompetent. It is a sign of humility when we are able to conclude that we, like the Ethiopian eunuch, are hampered by our own blind spots. ‘So Philip ran to him [the Ethiopian], and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ And he said, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him . . . Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture [Isaiah 53.7-8], preached Jesus to him [Acts 8.30-31, 35 NKJV].’ Instead of pretending to start from scratch, join the conversation already in progress since Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” A Better Way: Rediscovering the Drama of Christ-Centered Worship [2003]
G. Dietrich Bonheoffer
Baptist Bible College, Dr. David Harris, D.M.A.
Monday/Wednesday 1:10-2:00 p.m. Room 202
I. Course Description
A study of Biblical and historical foundations of Christian worship and their implications for understanding the nature of corporate worship. Through the close reading of seminal texts, the student will examine the Christian’s responsibility to worship in spirit and truth.
II. Eight Observations
A. Jeremiah Burroughs [1599-1646]
Jeremiah Burroughs, one of the Westminster Assembly of Divines, wrote Gospel Worship so that the people of God might corporately sanctify God as God in hearing the Word of God preached, in taking the Lord’s Supper, and through prayer. His text for these 14 sermons are the words of Moses spoken after God slew Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s sons, for offering unauthorized fire before the Lord: “Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said, ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’ And Aaron held his peace.” Leviticus 10:3, ESV. Burroughs writes: Now upon this, when Moses said that God would be sanctified in those that draw near to Him, it was as if He had said, ‘Aaron, though I confess that the hand of God is heavy upon you this day, yet it is fitting for you to submit to God. It is fitting that God should be glorified, whatever becomes of you. You are dear to God, but God’s name is dearer to Him than you are. Whatever the lives of your sons were, yet it is fitting that God should be honored and His name sanctified whatever becomes of your sons or your comforts, and, therefore, let your heart be quieted. You have had a great loss and affliction upon you, but God has had glory. God has glorified Himself.’” from the CD Gospel Worship recorded by the BBC Praise Band [2005]
B. John Piper [b. 1946]
“Jonathan Edwards was criticized in response to that book [The Essay on the Trinity] for trying too hard to understand the Trinity, and removing mystery. His response to that was two things. The Bible reveals vastly more than we imagine about God as Three in One. And we have scarcely begun to probe the depths of what really there is for us to understand by revelation. And secondly, he said that there is plenty of mystery left when I’m done with my little efforts. He said we will intensify our worship more if we press in and up as far as we can, rather than stopping early and saying, ‘Isn’t it a mystery? Let’s all bow down and worship. Now the way that landed on me 30 years ago was very significant because there were people in my class in seminary [Fuller] who had a very anti-intellectualistic, anti-rational, ‘stop questioning, probing, digging, trying to understand, because worship comes from the great unknown [mysterious] and if you can understand God, why would you want to worship Him? He’d be equal to you!’ And that never quite sat right with me. You can’t sing [very] many worship songs about what you don’t know about God. I mean one or two. You can write one or two songs about how little you know of God and feel really little and worshipful. But you can’t write more than two or three. Worship does not primarily flow from what you do not know. Worship primarily flows from what we have been able to see of the wonder. And it just seems so strange to me that people would be pushing on ignorance for the sake of worship. ‘Just don’t go there, don’t rise there, don’t climb there, because when you get to the top you won’t worship. You’ll stand on top of God.’ And I just thought, ‘there is no danger of that happening.’ In fact, I have a conception of eternity, of spending about 10,000 years climbing the Alps of God’s all-satisfying glory, discovering new things all the way, and at the last year of the 10,000th, pulling myself over the crest and looking – and there stretches another mountain range disappearing into the sky and you spend another 10,000 years climbing and discovering new things about the glory and wonder of God. And you pull yourself up over 20,000 years into eternity and there’s another mountain range – and that will happen forever and ever. You will never be bored in heaven. An infinite God revealing Himself to a finite mind requires eternity. It’s the knowledge of God, not the ignorance of God that inspires God-exalting awe and worship.” September 2003, Capitol Hill Baptist Church [transcribed].
C. Bob Kauflin on Singing and Preaching
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7_sXAhYodE
D. The Cambridge Declaration [1996]
“Whenever in the church biblical authority has been lost, Christ has been displaced, the gospel has been distorted, or faith has been perverted, it has always been for one reason: our interests have displaced God's and we are doing his work in our way. The loss of God's centrality in the life of today's church is common and lamentable. It is this loss that allows us to transform worship into entertainment, gospel preaching into marketing, believing into technique, being good into feeling good about ourselves, and faithfulness into being successful. As a result, God, Christ, and the Bible have come to mean too little to us and rest too inconsequentially upon us.”
“Whenever in the church biblical authority has been lost, Christ has been displaced, the gospel has been distorted, or faith has been perverted, it has always been for one reason: our interests have displaced God's and we are doing his work in our way. The loss of God's centrality in the life of today's church is common and lamentable. It is this loss that allows us to transform worship into entertainment, gospel preaching into marketing, believing into technique, being good into feeling good about ourselves, and faithfulness into being successful. As a result, God, Christ, and the Bible have come to mean too little to us and rest too inconsequentially upon us.”
E. J. Ligon Duncan III
“Freedom from human opinions can be found only in the rule of God’s good and gracious and wise law. If humans can dictate how we may worship, apart from the word, or in addition to the word, then we are captive to their command. The only way we can really experience one of the key blessings of Christian freedom in the context corporate worship—freedom from human doctrines and commandments—is if corporate worship is directed only according to the word of God.” “Foundations for Biblically Directed Worship.” p. 58
“Freedom from human opinions can be found only in the rule of God’s good and gracious and wise law. If humans can dictate how we may worship, apart from the word, or in addition to the word, then we are captive to their command. The only way we can really experience one of the key blessings of Christian freedom in the context corporate worship—freedom from human doctrines and commandments—is if corporate worship is directed only according to the word of God.” “Foundations for Biblically Directed Worship.” p. 58
F. Michael Horton
“Creeds, confessions, a good systematic theology can all help us to see the limitations of our own narrow range of ideas, presuppositions, experiences, and longings. We must rid ourselves of the notion that it matters little what others have said in their reading of Scripture through the ages . . . The choice is not between following ‘mere men’ and Scripture directly; it’s a choice between interpreting Scripture with the larger church rather than thinking of ourselves as omnicompetent. It is a sign of humility when we are able to conclude that we, like the Ethiopian eunuch, are hampered by our own blind spots. ‘So Philip ran to him [the Ethiopian], and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ And he said, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him . . . Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture [Isaiah 53.7-8], preached Jesus to him [Acts 8.30-31, 35 NKJV].’ Instead of pretending to start from scratch, join the conversation already in progress since Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” A Better Way: Rediscovering the Drama of Christ-Centered Worship [2003]
G. Dietrich Bonheoffer
“All devotion, all attention should be concentrated upon the Word in the hymn . . . the music is completely the servant of the Word (Scripture). It elucidates the Word in its mystery.” Life Together (1939)
H. Ben Stevens, Why God Created the World: A Jonathan Edwards Adaptation
"We are a consequence of God's decision to create. Now that we are here, He loves us. He even decided to enter human history to save us. But all of that comes as a consequence of His initial decision to create something at all. So what motivated that initial decision? What was His absolute goal? We always start with ourselves. But if we aren't eternal, then something which is eternal, some absolute goal, which was important to God before the idea of creation, must be what motivated Him to start the process. Think of it like this. Is it possible that God could have created the world out of pity for us? No. You can't pity something that doesn't exist. Pity assumes the existence of the one to be pitied. The same applies to love. It sounds poetic to say God created the world out of his love for us, but that assumes that we have always been here to love. We weren't. We had to be thought up. So why did God think us up in the first place?" Ben Stevens, Why God Created the World: A Jonathan Edwards Adaptation
I. Jen Wilkin
“So, to my fellow worshipers, let's consider together whether our adoration is given to music or through music. And to those worship leaders composing church music today, God bless you—you endure enormous pressure to create 'worship experiences.' Whether your gifting runs toward hymnody or poetry, write lyrics that teach so much truth they can stand on their own. And then set them to music that magnifies their beauty. We, your congregants are slaves to our personal tastes. Teach us to crave corporately the better thing—the Word rendered luminous by song, confessed by a thousand tongues. On Whales and Worship Music (2013)
III. General Objectives
A. The student will see the Bible as the final authority for the practice of Christian worship.
B. The student will interpret the Scripture with the larger historical consciousness of the Christian church for the practice of Christian worship.
C. The student will recognize anthropocentric worship, performance based worship, and methodically based worship as compared with the practice of Christian worship.
D. The student will appreciate the value of reading seminal texts on the practice of Christian worship.
IV. Specific Objectives
A. The student will read seminal texts on the practice of Christian worship
B. The student will evaluate relationships between Old and New covenant practices of Christian worship.
C. The student will evaluate relationships between historical writing and contemporary writing on the practice of Christian worship.
D. The student will participate in class discussions on the practice of Christian worship.
E. The student will blog on the practice of Christian worship.
V. Requirements
A. Knowing
B. Enjoying
C. Reading
D. Remembering [quizzing] 40%
E. Blogging [on subjects covered in the reading] 40%
F. Final essay assessment on subjects of interest to class members 20%
A. The student will see the Bible as the final authority for the practice of Christian worship.
B. The student will interpret the Scripture with the larger historical consciousness of the Christian church for the practice of Christian worship.
C. The student will recognize anthropocentric worship, performance based worship, and methodically based worship as compared with the practice of Christian worship.
D. The student will appreciate the value of reading seminal texts on the practice of Christian worship.
IV. Specific Objectives
A. The student will read seminal texts on the practice of Christian worship
B. The student will evaluate relationships between Old and New covenant practices of Christian worship.
C. The student will evaluate relationships between historical writing and contemporary writing on the practice of Christian worship.
D. The student will participate in class discussions on the practice of Christian worship.
E. The student will blog on the practice of Christian worship.
V. Requirements
A. Knowing
B. Enjoying
C. Reading
D. Remembering [quizzing] 40%
E. Blogging [on subjects covered in the reading] 40%
F. Final essay assessment on subjects of interest to class members 20%
VI. Texts
Burroughs, Jeremiah. Gospel Worship. Morgan, Pennsylvania: Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 1990.
Burroughs, Jeremiah. Gospel Worship. Morgan, Pennsylvania: Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 1990.
Ryken, Philip Graham, Thomas Derek W.H., and Duncan J. Ligon III, editors. Give Praise to God: A Vision for Reforming Worship. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: P&R Publishing, 2004.
Truman, Carl. Fool Rush In Where Monkeys Fear to Tread: Taking Aim at Everyone.
Phillipsburg, New Jersey: P&R Publishing, 2011.
VII. Calendar
August
August
27 Course Introduction GPTG 1-16, GW 1-11,
September
1 GPTG 1-32, GW 1-23, FRIWMFTT "Fools Rush In Where Monkeys Fear to Tread" Quiz
3 GPTG 33-48, GW 24-33, Blog
8 GPTG 49-64, GW 34-44, "Messiahs Pointed to the Door" Quiz
10 GPTG 65-80, GW 45-56, Blog
15 GPTG 81-96, GW 57-66, FRIWMFTT "The Crowd Is Untruth" Quiz
17 GPTG 97-112, GW 67-78, Blog
22 GPTG 113-128, GW 79-89, FRIWMFTT, "The Nameless One" Quiz
24 GPTG 129-144, GW 90-100, Blog
29 GPTG 145-160, GW 101-110, FRIWMFFT "Look, It's Rubbish" Quiz
October
1 GPTG 161-169, GW 111-124, Blog
6 C.S. Lewis on Church Music, GW 125-135, Quiz
20 GPTG 222-240, C.S. Lewis, FRIWMFTT "The Freedom of the Christian Market" The Weight of Glory 35-46, Quiz
22 GPTG 241-256, GW 158-174, Blog
27 GPTG 257-272, GW 174-191, FRIWMFTT "From the Versace Vacuum to the Brand of Brothers" Quiz
29 GPTG 273-288, GW 191-2o2, Blog
3 GPTG 33-48, GW 24-33, Blog
8 GPTG 49-64, GW 34-44, "Messiahs Pointed to the Door" Quiz
10 GPTG 65-80, GW 45-56, Blog
15 GPTG 81-96, GW 57-66, FRIWMFTT "The Crowd Is Untruth" Quiz
17 GPTG 97-112, GW 67-78, Blog
22 GPTG 113-128, GW 79-89, FRIWMFTT, "The Nameless One" Quiz
24 GPTG 129-144, GW 90-100, Blog
29 GPTG 145-160, GW 101-110, FRIWMFFT "Look, It's Rubbish" Quiz
October
1 GPTG 161-169, GW 111-124, Blog
6 C.S. Lewis on Church Music, GW 125-135, Quiz
13 GW 136-146, FRIWMFTT "On Meeting Joe Frazier: The Missing Element" Quiz
15 C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory 25-35, GW 147-157, Blog (TWOG)20 GPTG 222-240, C.S. Lewis, FRIWMFTT "The Freedom of the Christian Market" The Weight of Glory 35-46, Quiz
22 GPTG 241-256, GW 158-174, Blog
27 GPTG 257-272, GW 174-191, FRIWMFTT "From the Versace Vacuum to the Brand of Brothers" Quiz
29 GPTG 273-288, GW 191-2o2, Blog
November
5 GPTG 289-304, GW 203-215, Blog
10 GPTG 305-320, GW 215-225, FRIWMFTT "Welcome to Wherever You Are" Quiz
16 Blogs, GPTG 305-320, GW 215-225, FRIWMFTT "Welcome to Wherever You Are"
17 GPTG 321-336, GW 225-236, FRIWMFTT "Why Are There Never Enough Parking Spaces at the Prostate Clinic?" Quiz
19 Blogs, GPTG 321-336, GW 225-236, FRIWMFTT "Why Are There Never Enough Parking Spaces at the Prostate Clinic?"
19 Blogs, GPTG 321-336, GW 225-236, FRIWMFTT "Why Are There Never Enough Parking Spaces at the Prostate Clinic?"
24 GPTG 337-352, GW 236-247, FRIWMFTT "Trapped in Neverland" Quiz
December
3 GPTG 353-368, GW 247-258, Blog
8 GPTG 369-374; GW 258-268, FRIWMFTT "Making Exhibitions of Ourselves" Quiz
10 GPTG 436-446; GW 268-278, Blog
15 GW, 278-299, FRIWMFTT "Is the Thickness of Two Short Planks a Forgotten Divine Attribute?" Quiz
8 GPTG 369-374; GW 258-268, FRIWMFTT "Making Exhibitions of Ourselves" Quiz
10 GPTG 436-446; GW 268-278, Blog
15 GW, 278-299, FRIWMFTT "Is the Thickness of Two Short Planks a Forgotten Divine Attribute?" Quiz
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