Worship As A Lifestyle
The highlight of this weekend was a joint praise & worship service hosted by the Calgary Chinese Alliance Church on Friday evening. There was a decent showing of young adults from churches all across the city. The music was great with a nice selection of new and old songs by Reuben Morgan, United Live, Starfield and Brian Doerksen. The music team consisted of 2 acoustic guitars (both singing as well), 1 electric, 1 bass, drums, keyboard, violin and a supporting vocalist. I thought the sound was nicely balanced for a gym environment and I loved how the violin sounded with some of the songs.
Pastor Ed Weiss was the speaker for the evening and gave a very simple message. It was basically about being set apart for God and separated from the world. As followers of Christ, should we talk like the world, dress like the world or act like the world? I was reminded of Paul's words to the Romans when he said to transform ourselves by renewing our minds and to stop conforming to the patterns of the world. One of the examples that Pastor Ed used that got me thinking was how we dress. I completely agree that modesty is the best policy when it comes to dress. But what about spending unnecessary money on certain names or certain types of clothes just because they're popular? I'm definitely guilty of spending lots of money on clothes I don't need but just because they're considered "in style". In hindsight, this is likely an example of conforming to the patterns of this world.
Did I need to buy a Burton snowboard? Burton bindings? Burton pants? An Arc'Teryx jacket? Of course not. I could have spent a fraction of the money on similar equipment and given the rest to the church or to charity. But I did a lot of justifications in my own mind: better equipment will last longer and thus be cheaper in the long run, my jacket is versatile and can be used all year round with layering, my snowpants were 10 years old and I was due for some new ones anyway... and the list goes on. It's not like I've neglected my tithing or gone into debt to afford them.
And what about my GAS attacks? Sure, I serve in the music ministry at church and I definitely used that as a justification to buy my Takamine. But what about all the bells and whistles associated with my electric? I definitely didn't need a G&L. I could have gotten a used MIM Strat for 1/5 the price, swapped in some decent pickups and given the rest of the money to the Global Advance Fund.
Then I started thinking about the concept of living comfortably as a disciple of Christ. When Jesus called the 12 disciples to follow Him in His ministry, they had to leave basically everything (family, friends, jobs) behind. And in the end they sufferred greatly for the sake of Christ and most were martyred. How does this relate to the post-modern disciple? Can we drive our Lexus or BMW and still call ourselves Christ-followers? I understand that God blesses his people and that being wealthy is not a sin. Most of the examples come from the Old Testament: Job, Abraham, Joseph and Soloman. I guess it just becomes very difficult when have plenty due to the powerful temptations associated with money. Jesus said that without God, it is impossible for a man to enter the kingdom of God. We must be willing to give up our lives and everything within them. Jesus also said, "everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life." (Eugene Peterson uses "bonus of eternal life.")
Sometimes I find it hard to grasp the eternal rewards that we will inherit by living the abundant life in Christ. I guess part of this is due to my tendency to do the bare minimum in life. Instead of striving for excellence, I often find myself settling for mediocrity. But "good enough for me" isn't necessarily "good enough for God"; especially if i'm squandering my God given talents. More and more I'm realizing that my living sacrifice is not so much in the form of money or things but rather in my time and efforts.
Pastor Ed Weiss was the speaker for the evening and gave a very simple message. It was basically about being set apart for God and separated from the world. As followers of Christ, should we talk like the world, dress like the world or act like the world? I was reminded of Paul's words to the Romans when he said to transform ourselves by renewing our minds and to stop conforming to the patterns of the world. One of the examples that Pastor Ed used that got me thinking was how we dress. I completely agree that modesty is the best policy when it comes to dress. But what about spending unnecessary money on certain names or certain types of clothes just because they're popular? I'm definitely guilty of spending lots of money on clothes I don't need but just because they're considered "in style". In hindsight, this is likely an example of conforming to the patterns of this world.
Did I need to buy a Burton snowboard? Burton bindings? Burton pants? An Arc'Teryx jacket? Of course not. I could have spent a fraction of the money on similar equipment and given the rest to the church or to charity. But I did a lot of justifications in my own mind: better equipment will last longer and thus be cheaper in the long run, my jacket is versatile and can be used all year round with layering, my snowpants were 10 years old and I was due for some new ones anyway... and the list goes on. It's not like I've neglected my tithing or gone into debt to afford them.
And what about my GAS attacks? Sure, I serve in the music ministry at church and I definitely used that as a justification to buy my Takamine. But what about all the bells and whistles associated with my electric? I definitely didn't need a G&L. I could have gotten a used MIM Strat for 1/5 the price, swapped in some decent pickups and given the rest of the money to the Global Advance Fund.
Then I started thinking about the concept of living comfortably as a disciple of Christ. When Jesus called the 12 disciples to follow Him in His ministry, they had to leave basically everything (family, friends, jobs) behind. And in the end they sufferred greatly for the sake of Christ and most were martyred. How does this relate to the post-modern disciple? Can we drive our Lexus or BMW and still call ourselves Christ-followers? I understand that God blesses his people and that being wealthy is not a sin. Most of the examples come from the Old Testament: Job, Abraham, Joseph and Soloman. I guess it just becomes very difficult when have plenty due to the powerful temptations associated with money. Jesus said that without God, it is impossible for a man to enter the kingdom of God. We must be willing to give up our lives and everything within them. Jesus also said, "everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life." (Eugene Peterson uses "bonus of eternal life.")
Sometimes I find it hard to grasp the eternal rewards that we will inherit by living the abundant life in Christ. I guess part of this is due to my tendency to do the bare minimum in life. Instead of striving for excellence, I often find myself settling for mediocrity. But "good enough for me" isn't necessarily "good enough for God"; especially if i'm squandering my God given talents. More and more I'm realizing that my living sacrifice is not so much in the form of money or things but rather in my time and efforts.
Labels: Worship
posted by Matt at 1:41 PM
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