Showing posts with label worship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label worship. Show all posts
Wednesday, 16 December 2009
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
Further to my last post
...Neil Bennetts at HT Cheltenham posted as below. Resonates completely with where I think God is wanting us to go with our worship, our songs, and our responses.
http://thebabyandthebathwater.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/we-need-to-go-deeper/
Read and respond.
http://thebabyandthebathwater.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/we-need-to-go-deeper/
Read and respond.
Wednesday, 16 September 2009
What we really need to remember...
"He" is not us.
He doesn't exist within the famework of our selves. He is His own. A life force, independent and moving of His own accord.
Why do we frame God?
God is other. He is not us. We need sometimes to go to where God is at, rather than continually bringing Him into our own reality. His reality goes so much further.
He doesn't exist within the famework of our selves. He is His own. A life force, independent and moving of His own accord.
Why do we frame God?
God is other. He is not us. We need sometimes to go to where God is at, rather than continually bringing Him into our own reality. His reality goes so much further.
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Monday, 22 December 2008
Intervention
This year, Christmas has struck me in a particular way. I've followed advent and the singing of traditional advent carols in a more thoughtful way this time around. A few really hit home for me. Particularly "O Come O Come Immanuel". Is it just me or is this carol a really depressing one?
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
The first verse seems to capture the mood of the carol. Israel was captive to Rome, a nation in exile, with prophetic promises unfulfilled, and an impatient waiting for the Saviour of the world to appear. There is a desperation in the words here. Mourning, captivity, "o come" - a plea to God.
O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Death's dark shadows, un-cheered spirits, gloomy clouds of night. Israel was not in a good state. They were a good generation away from the last prophecies, and hope must have been in short supply. But they held on to a vague belief that God incarnate was on His way to save them. Ok they had more of an idea of political and war-mongering type revolution (which wasn't quite what Jesus did, he sort of trancended all of that), but they were watching and waiting in hope.
O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Thinking further, one can see here that the people were in a woeful, miserable, unfulfilled sate of longing. How many of us have been in that place? Unfulfilled hopes, waiting on prophecy to be brought to completion, sitting in misery, looking to God (and sometimes everywhere else we can find..!), mourning, exile, an un-peace-able-ness-until-God-sorts-it-out.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
The carol tells the Israel of history to wait, as God is coming. But we are singing back to the Israel of the past. The tense has changed. God has come. He did not stand by and watch his people in misery, destroying themselves, and being destroyed. He intervened. He came Himself, in flesh and blood, and encountered the human race first hand. He does not let His people go.
So as I read this carol I think with hindsight that we can "rejoice". We know God incarnate came through Jesus. He rescued His people in a way that went beyond what they dreamed or hoped. His revolution continues today in our hearts.
So this Christmas, as many struggle through times of difficulty, , at times feeling exiled from God's will, we have a hope that is celebrated in Christmas.
God comes.
God intervenes.
He doesn't just "stand there".
We invite His advent this Christmas for all those who are losing hope in their circumstances. There is a hope. There is a future in Jesus. Happy Christmas.
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
The first verse seems to capture the mood of the carol. Israel was captive to Rome, a nation in exile, with prophetic promises unfulfilled, and an impatient waiting for the Saviour of the world to appear. There is a desperation in the words here. Mourning, captivity, "o come" - a plea to God.
O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Death's dark shadows, un-cheered spirits, gloomy clouds of night. Israel was not in a good state. They were a good generation away from the last prophecies, and hope must have been in short supply. But they held on to a vague belief that God incarnate was on His way to save them. Ok they had more of an idea of political and war-mongering type revolution (which wasn't quite what Jesus did, he sort of trancended all of that), but they were watching and waiting in hope.
O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Thinking further, one can see here that the people were in a woeful, miserable, unfulfilled sate of longing. How many of us have been in that place? Unfulfilled hopes, waiting on prophecy to be brought to completion, sitting in misery, looking to God (and sometimes everywhere else we can find..!), mourning, exile, an un-peace-able-ness-until-God-sorts-it-out.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
The carol tells the Israel of history to wait, as God is coming. But we are singing back to the Israel of the past. The tense has changed. God has come. He did not stand by and watch his people in misery, destroying themselves, and being destroyed. He intervened. He came Himself, in flesh and blood, and encountered the human race first hand. He does not let His people go.
So as I read this carol I think with hindsight that we can "rejoice". We know God incarnate came through Jesus. He rescued His people in a way that went beyond what they dreamed or hoped. His revolution continues today in our hearts.
So this Christmas, as many struggle through times of difficulty, , at times feeling exiled from God's will, we have a hope that is celebrated in Christmas.
God comes.
God intervenes.
He doesn't just "stand there".
We invite His advent this Christmas for all those who are losing hope in their circumstances. There is a hope. There is a future in Jesus. Happy Christmas.
Thursday, 20 November 2008
Blatently linking to someone else's blog...
I've been posting on David Gate's blog recently, and found lots of really good thoughts and critique on the worship "industry" and environment in which we find ourselves. His recent posts on Worship Cliches really hit the spot. Check them out.
Worship is a lifestyle
Theology from songs
Worship music in the charts
Worship is a lifestyle
Theology from songs
Worship music in the charts
Friday, 1 February 2008
A debate on "old" vs "new"...
Found this great article, which really got me thinking...
Telegraph Article
I find we are entering a battle sometimes between old and new, and that the hunger for progression can sometimes halt our love for old and traditional.
There is definitely a tension between moving forward and recognising the value and depth of what has gone before. Though how we present this, and how we approach this I believe to be key. Do we approach older songs with cinicism having already decided that we might "lose" a congregation when we sing them? Or do we approach them with an attitude of excitement and discovery, asking God what He will say through an older song that He might not have been able to say through a newer one? Do we automatically believe that we cannot be creative with old hymns, or is there an opportunity to move into realms of creativity not yet explored?
Telegraph Article
I find we are entering a battle sometimes between old and new, and that the hunger for progression can sometimes halt our love for old and traditional.
There is definitely a tension between moving forward and recognising the value and depth of what has gone before. Though how we present this, and how we approach this I believe to be key. Do we approach older songs with cinicism having already decided that we might "lose" a congregation when we sing them? Or do we approach them with an attitude of excitement and discovery, asking God what He will say through an older song that He might not have been able to say through a newer one? Do we automatically believe that we cannot be creative with old hymns, or is there an opportunity to move into realms of creativity not yet explored?
Monday, 15 October 2007
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)