Worship Wars & TSA

John 4:21-26 (NIV)

[21] “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. [22] You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. [23] Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. [24] God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”[25] The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”[26] Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

Romans 12:1-21 (NIV)

A Living Sacrifice [ ] 12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. [2] Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Humble Service in the Body of Christ [3] For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. [4] For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, [5] so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. [6] We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; [7] if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; [8] if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Love in Action [9] Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. [10] Be devoted to one another in love.

The Salvation Army is an integral part of the bride of Christ, the Christian church.

We are called by God, unique, active, practical, getting hands dirty so to speak, an Army...mobilized, on a mission, with purpose, clear identity, passionate, committed and responding to the needs of our communities. However, if we are not first a worshiping people, we are missing the whole point. Everything we are and do and have is because of Jesus.

It is so easy for us to " DO " ..... We must however be a people who "ARE ".... Before we do anything we must Be... Worshippers.


Followers, imitators, of Christ, absolutely...but worshippers first.

Jesus called us to take up our cross and follow him.

To lay down our lives a living sacrifice, He laid down His life as a sacrifice, and in His death we find our life, we find our purpose, we find our mission, we find our meaning....

It was on the cross, He bled and died, it was there He was crucified.
But He rose again, and He lives in my heart....

This whole scenario causes me to worship Him.... Draws me to His presence.
And in His presence is perfect peace.

Just recently some have been stirred by my blogs and thoughts on TSA.

We don't need to be involved in worship wars...

contemporary vs traditional.
loud vs quiet
brass band vs guitars
media vs  ???
old songs vs new songs
salvo vs hillsong


it's not about how you worship, it is however, about who you worship...

That we worship.

I love the fact that we are an Army, mobilized in mission, left hand ...serving our community, giving a cup of water, a bed for the homeless, a meal for the hungry... But our right hand is our worship and faith community.... One without the other for us, makes us incomplete, inbalanced....out of whack.

They go hand in hand for TSA.... Both important. Both aspects, are our DNA.

We cannot Make our debates about just one side of the story, it is us worshipping Jesus, ( the triune God) and the other side of us serving humanity on His behalf.

When a Salvo turns up... Jesus arrives. We work and serve Him in practical ways.
But first we worship and adore Him and serve and honour Him.

This Easter, as we gather at our corps, and churches... It is all about Jesus.

It always has been.
It always will be.

Comments

  1. Beryl26 March 2013 at 12:44

    Gary, you have written so elquently what I have tried for ages to put together in words so others can understand. God bless you abundantly. Beryl

    ReplyDelete

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