Christ Church

Theophilus the High Priest (Acts of the Apostles #1)

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INTRODUCTION

The longest book in the New Testament is the gospel of Luke. The second longest is volume 2 of this same set, the Acts of the Apostles, the book where we are now going to spend some time. These two books were written by the same man and were dedicated to the same man—Theophilus. While we are beginning to work through the Acts, it is important to remember to keep this book connected in your minds and hearts with what Luke recorded about the Lord’s ministry earlier. This first message is going to focus on that. 

THE TEXT

“The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach . . .” (Acts 1:1). 

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Luke begins the book of Acts by making explicit reference to the gospel of Luke. It is clear that as the author he sees them as a matching set. He is addressing this treatise (logos) to Theophilus, the same man who was addressed in the account given in the gospel of Luke. He then says that the first account was concerning all that Jesus began to do and teach. The implication is that this book of Acts will be an account of what Jesus will continue to do and teach. 

This will be accomplished because the Spirit of Christ will be poured out at the very beginning of this book, and so He will continue His teaching and deeds through His appointed (and anointed) servants (v. 1). Christ indwells believers, and this means that believers are His hands and feet out in the world. Jesus continues His ministry through His body. Christ, the hope of glory, is in us (Col. 1:27). Christ is being formed in us (Gal. 4:19), and this in turn has an impact on the world.  

WHO WAS LUKE?

The author of the third gospel—and of our only inspired account of the early church—is a bit of a mysterious figure to us. We are introduced to him (obliquely) in Acts 16. In Acts 16:8, the account says they came to Troas. Then Paul was given a vision in the night. 

“And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us” (Acts 16:9). 

And in the next verse, v. 10, it says that immediately we endeavored to go to Macedonia. This is the place where Luke teamed up with Paul, and so it seems related to the vision somehow. If Luke is the man in the vision, this lends support to the long tradition that Luke was a Gentile—he would be a man of Macedonia, northern Greece. In support of this, the Greek of these two books is the most polished and sophisticated of all the New Testament, written by an educated man who knew Greek well.   

We know that he was a medical doctor because of a passing remark that Paul makes in Colossians. “Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you” (Colossians 4:14). Not only was Luke a faithful member of Paul’s entourage, he remained so until the end of Paul’s life. “Only Luke is with me . . .” (2 Timothy 4:11a). He is mentioned only one other time, at the conclusion of Philemon (v. 24).

Nevertheless he has had a pronounced impact on the character of the church. His gospel pays close attention to Gentiles, as well as to those who were suffering in various ways, or oppressed. His urbanity, careful scholarship, and compassion have helped to set the tone for countless numbers of believers over the history of the church.   

WHO WAS THEOPHILUS?

Different suggestions have been made regarding the identity of this Theophilus. Was he an unbelieving seeker that Luke was wanting to evangelize? Was he the patron who financially backed Luke’s research?

In my view, the most likely candidate is Theophilus ben Ananus, who was the High Priest from 37 A.D. to 41 A.D. This would make him the son of Annas (Luke 3:2), and brother-in-law of Caiaphas (Matt. 26:3). This identification does not make Theophilus a friendly, as though the son of the corrupt Annas was about to become a Christian. But it does make him a player, and so it makes sense that such a dedication would be attached to these two great apologetic works. Think of it like John Calvin dedicating the Institutes to King Francis I, a Catholic monarch who was decidedly unsympathetic to the Reformation. 

How would someone write an account for a hostile authority? The two great questions are: who was this Jesus? Who are these Christians?

INVITED BY LUKE

These books were no composed slapdash. We are invited by Luke to read two-volume set side-by-side, both of them together. Consider these parallels, gathered by a scholar named Mark Powell.  

Address to Theophilus (Luke 1:1-4), address to Theophilus (Acts 1:1-5). The Spirit descends on Jesus while He is praying (Luke 3:21-22), the Spirit descends on disciples as they were praying (Acts 2:1-13). A sermon announces prophecy fulfilled (Luke 4:16-27), a sermon announces prophecy fulfilled (Acts 2:14-40). Jesus heals a cripple (Luke 5:17-26), Peter heals a cripple (Acts 3:1-10). Religious authorities attack Jesus (Luke 5:29-6:11), religious authorities attack apostles (Acts 4:1-8:3). A centurion invites Jesus to his house (Luke 7:1-10), a centurion invites Peter to his house (Acts 10:1-23). Jesus raises a widow’s son from the dead (Luke 7:11-17), Peter raises a widow from the dead (Acts 9:36-43). A missionary trip to Gentiles (Luke 10:1-12), a missionary trip to Gentiles (Acts 13:1-19:20). Jesus goes to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51-19:28), Paul goes to Jerusalem (Acts 19:21-21:17). Jesus received favorably (Luke 19:37), Paul received favorably (Acts 21:17-20). Jesus was devoted to the Temple (Luke 19:45-48), Paul was devoted to the Temple (Acts 21:26). Sadducees oppose Jesus and scribes support Him (Luke 20:27-39), Sadducees oppose Paul and Pharisees support him (Acts 23:6-9). Jesus breaks bread, giving thanks (Luke 22:19), Paul breaks bread, giving thanks (Acts 27:35). Jesus seized by a mob (Luke 22:54), Paul seized by a mob (Acts 21:30). Jesus slapped by high priest’s aides (Luke 22:63-64), Paul slapped by order of the high priest (Acts 23:2). Jesus is tried 4 times and declared innocent 3 times (Luke 22:66-23:13), Paul is tried 4 times and declared innocent 3 times (Acts 23:1-26:32). Jesus is rejected by the Jews (Luke 23:18), Paul is rejected by the Jews (Acts 21:36). Jesus regarded favorably by a centurion (Luke 23:47), Paul regarded favorably by a centurion (Acts 27:43). Final confirmation of fulfilled Scripture (Luke 24:45-47), final confirmation of fulfilled Scripture (Acts 28:23-28).

CHRIST AND HIS BODY

As we reflect on what Jesus did during His earthly ministry, and as we study how He worked in the first century through those who had believed in Him, we are going to learn a great deal about how to read the narrative that is unfolding all around us now. What does it mean for fallen but forgiven sinners to walk in the footsteps of Jesus? What does it mean for Christ to work through His body? We have a template set out for us, enabling us to look to Christ effectively.

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On Loving the Standard (Biblical Child Discipline in an Age of Therapeutic Goo #9)

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INTRODUCTION

The chances are pretty good that over the years you have heard me say something like this. You task as parents is not to get your kids to conform to the standard, but rather to get them to love the standard. This may seem straightforward and simple, but there are actually layers to it. As we pursue this, we turn to the greatest commandment in the Bible, which is where we find the authority to say things like “love the standard.”

THE TEXT

“Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates” (Deuteronomy 6:1–9). 

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

This passage is where we find the greatest commandment in all of Scripture. We know this on the authority of the Lord Jesus Himself (Matt. 27:36-40). Now God gave Israel all His laws and statutes, in order that they might live them out in the land (v. 1). Doing this, they would fear the Lord, keep His word, from grandfather to grandson, through lengthened days (v. 2). Hear and do, O Israel, that you might prosper (v. 3). Then we come to the great Shema, hear, O Israel. The Lord your God is one (v. 4). You shall love the Lord your God with all that you have and are (v. 5). These words must be taken into the heart (v. 6). From the heart, you are to teach them diligently to your kids—all the time (v. 7). Bind these commandments to yourself (v. 8), and post them on your house and gates (v. 9).   

LOVE CAN BE TAUGHT

The first thing to take away from this passage is the understanding that love is a thing that can indeed be taught. But it cannot be taught by people who do not understand it themselves. Those who would teach this love to others must have it first themselves. Before you teach it to your children, you must be doing it yourself. Love the Lord your God with all your heart (v. 5). The words of His commandments must reside in your heart (v. 6). From the heart, it flows to the mouth, and from the mouth to the environment of the entire home. 

Religious instruction of children must not be pro forma or perfunctory. You are not ticking boxes, but rather nurturing souls, starting with your own.

COMMANDED TO LOVE

The fact that we are commanded to love does not take away from the nature of God’s grace. In his Confessions, Augustine once said, “Give what you command, and then command whatever you will.” Our obedience to this kind of requirement is entirely dependent upon the sovereign grace of God. 

“Therefore thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway” (Deuteronomy 11:1). 

“In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it” (Deuteronomy 30:16). 

The fruit of the Spirit, the working of His grace in our lives, maps very nicely onto the commands of God. What is the greatest command? Love (Dt. 6:4-9). What is the first fruit? Love (Gal. 5:22). It is the same thing all the way through—joy (Phil. 4:4; Gal. 5:22), peace (John 14:1; Gal. 5:22), longsuffering (Eph. 4:2; Gal. 5:22), gentleness (Tit. 3:2; Gal. 5:22), goodness (1 Tim. 6:18), faith (John 8:24; Gal. 5:22), meekness (1 Pet. 3:4; Gal. 5:23), and temperance (Tit. 2:2; Gal. 5:23). God gives us commands, and His Spirit grows obedience to those commands in us. Our responsibility is not to go obey Him on our own, and then bring that obedience back to Him, expecting some kind of a reward. No, we go in His grace, and we come back in His grace.

And we model for our children what this is like. As we walk along the road, we have them by the hand. 

Children learn by imitation primarily. “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children” (Ephesians 5:1). 

GOOD AND GODLY TEACHING

What does it mean to teach? It means to love your God, and the subject you are handling, in the presence of a student, whom you also love. It means to love God and your neighbor, and then to work out the problem together. 

This always brings us back to Jesus Christ. There is nothing worse, nothing more suffocating, than to be trapped in a Christless Christianity. Of course, this is not really Christianity at all, but there appears to be an abundant supply of this counterfeit nonetheless. A Christianity without Christ has no blood in it, no salt, no sap. 

But when Christ is present . . .? How would it be possible not to love the standard? “Great peace have they which love thy law: And nothing shall offend them” (Psalm 119:165; cf. 97,113, 163).

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Sexual Decorum in the Home (Biblical Child Discipline in an Age of Therapeutic Goo #8)

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INTRODUCTION

In some ways, this message will be like a lesson in firearms safety—one of the basic rules of firearm safety is that you should always treat all guns as if they were always loaded. We are all of us sexual beings, men and women, boys and girls, and as Christian disciples, we need to learn how to conduct ourselves accordingly, with propriety and decorum. 

THE TEXT

“Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren; The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity” (1 Timothy 5:1–2). 

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The apostle Paul is instructing Timothy on how to behave in an appropriate and pastoral way in the congregation of the Lord. The standards that apply in a decent household are used by Paul as the template for his instruction. The way we ought to behave in our households provides a pattern for how we should behave in the household of God. When a young pastor has to deal with folly in an older parishioner, he should not rebuke him, but rather entreat him the way you would plead with an aging father (v. 1). Younger men should be treated as brothers (v. 1). Older women should be regarded as mothers in Israel (v. 2). And then Paul comes to the sisters, where he tells Timothy to treat them as sisters. And how should sisters be treated? With all purity, with all holiness, with all comeliness (v. 2). This is necessary because every gun is always loaded.  

ARSONISTS AND FIREMEN

Given the times we find ourselves in, it is necessary for us to consider these things together. But in order for us to do so, I have to deal with a possible distraction first. As many of you know, over the history of our congregation, there have been various sexual scandals and pastoral snarls. And some of them have been kept in the public eye by our enemies for political purposes, over the course of decades. Because of this, some will want to say that we have no right to be talking about this subject at all. But if the protection of the church requires it, we have the obligation to address it.

As we do, just keep a few basic things in mind. Since this church was planted in 1975, the session of Christ Church has consistently acted in a biblical and honorable way with regard to the various situations that have arisen—not perfectly, but honorably. Second, an enormous number of lies have been told about us and it is often the case that the lies cannot be answered without betraying pastoral discretion and confidentiality. And we would rather be lied about than to expose any of you to the wolves. Third, it is clear that many of our critics have no idea what faithful pastors need to do. And last, some of our fiercest enemies are also carrying water for the pornification of America, the perverse grooming of drag queen story hours, and the pending legitimization of pedophiles—a.k.a “minor-attracted persons.” They are like arsonists critiquing the efficiency of fire fighters. While we are always willing to hear criticism, it would not be from the likes of them.       

 FATHER AND BROTHERS

One of the central obligations that the men of a family have is the protection of the household (Gen. 2:15), particularly of the more vulnerable members of that household (1 Pet. 3:7). Now if your first responsibility is the protection of your girls, then this begins with not being someone they need protection from. You are to protect them from snakes, and this begins with not being one.

Daughters and sisters grow up into women, a fact that is obvious to all with eyes in their head. The duty of the men in the house is to protect them by remaining warm, affectionate, and close—but not creepy close. As much as it is made fun of, there is a lot to be said for the Christian side-hug.

Third, you have a responsibility to behave like a gentleman (1 Pet. 3:7), treating the women in your house like ladies. There is a flippant and crass closeness that is also wildly inappropriate—innuendo or casual touching. Your home is not the locker room of your men’s rugby club.    

MOTHERS AND SISTERS

The women have a genuine responsibility in all of this as well. But because of feminist propaganda, we have come to treat those who believe in a woman’s moral agency as people who automatically “blame the victim.” This is ludicrous. Two things can be true at the same time—that thief ought not to have gotten into your car and stolen your wallet, one, and secondly, you shouldn’t have left your wallet on the dashboard with twenty-dollar bills sticking out of it. The thief should be arrested and prosecuted, of course, and all your friends should still call you an idiot. 

So there are two things that women should be prepared to do. One is that of comporting yourself in a chaste and modest fashion (Tit. 2:5). This begins with teaching little girls to “sit like a lady,” and it extends into the teen-age years, when their goal should be to adorn themselves in modesty (1 Tim. 2:9). The apostles of Christ do not call upon the young women to be cool, or fashionable, or “not dorky.” The goal is Christian modesty. The goal is NOT to be “not immodest.” Different things, different attitude altogether. You should not be asking yourself how short your shorts can be before you are definitely in sin, and then have your shorts be a millimeter longer than that.

The second thing that the girls of a household should be taught is the courage to be vocal about anything that makes you uncomfortable. The first level of this is preventative—getting people to back off. Tell your dad that you don’t like your brother coming into your bedroom like that. Tell your mom that you are too old to sit on dad’s lap. The second level is when pastors and/or legal authorities need to be informed and involved. This would be when anything of an explicit sexual nature has occurred. It is not your Christian duty to put up with that, or to make excuses for it, or to pretend that ignoring something is forgiveness. And incidentally, the same thing is true for boys. Do what you need to do, but do not enter into it lightly. You live in a time when false charges are too readily believed (Gen. 39:13-14), and so you should not play into that. But if it needs to be dealt with, then get the help you need to deal with it. 

BUT NEVER FORGET…

A topic like this is necessarily tawdry. But never forget that Christ came into a tawdry world, and He did it in order to suffer and die. And why?

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9–11).

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Child Rearing and Checking Accounts (Biblical Child Discipline in an Age of Therapeutic Goo #7)


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INTRODUCTION

As with all checking accounts, it is important make deposits in the checking account of parental authority before attempting to write checks out of that account with an authoritative flourish in the signature. Like all checking accounts, there needs to be money in there. It is not reasonable to argue that you can’t be out of money because you still have some checks left.  

THE TEXT

“Train up a child in the way he should go: And when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). 

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

There is debate over whether this verse is given to us as a general proverb, or as hard-and-fast promise to parents that if children are brought up right they will never stray, or if the verse is talking about finding the right vocation for your child, and not talking about spiritual condition at all. 

It is not my purpose to settle that question, at least when it comes to this passage. The truth I want us to take from this passage, whatever it is talking about, is the general truth that it is easier to bend the sapling than it is to bend the full-grown oak. And when you bend the sapling, the results of what you have done are lasting results. 

Whatever the course you set for the child, that course will remain with him. Child discipline matters, in other words. What you do with your growing family is not a random roll of the dice. 

STANDING ON THE PROMISES

Allowing for various interpretations of Proverbs 22:6 does not mean that we are backing away from what we have previously taught about how Christian parents are invited to trust the Lord for the salvation of their kids. This is just a quick reminder—and for those who want to do a deep dive, there is the book Standing on the Promises. The first thing is that none of this is by works. We believe the promises of grace by faith alone, and this of course results in parental works. It is not driven by parental works. Christian parents are to teach their children to honor their parents (Eph. 6), and this is a command with a promise attached to it. Christian elders are supposed to imitated by the saints (Heb. 13:7, 17), and it is possible (and required) for Christian leaders to manage their homes in such a way as that their children are not lost or reprobate (1 Tim. 3:4-5; Tit. 1:6).

“Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations” (Deuteronomy 7:9). 

THREE BASIC PRINCIPLES

A garden of yes: Remember the pattern that God established in the garden. He gave our first parents a world full of yes, and with one prohibited tree in the whole world. There was only one no in the garden of yes. Too many Christian parents function with a garden of no, and the occasional and very intermittent yes in the middle of all the negativity. 

With this, you are establishing a place of joy, peace and fellowship. When the fellowship is broken (as it is by sin), children who are accustomed to the harmony of ordinary life are eager to get back into fellowship. But if ordinary time is a time of dull chronic pain, punctuated by the occasional dramatic “scene,” causing acute pain, then this is not what you want. Your highest parental priority should be your defense of a climate of fellowship—which is only possible in and through Christ.   

Ascent to maturity: if you are applying the principle of our text, you bend the sapling when it is a sapling, and you don’t try to bend a trunk that is a foot in diameter. To change the illustration, you put training wheels on your child’s first bike. You don’t put training wheels on their mountain bike because “now they might really get hurt.”

Too many parents are indulgent when sin is little and sometimes even cute. But this is the time when you should be establishing your authority, storing that authority up when you will be needing to “write checks” on it. Do not indulge your little ones, and then panic when they move into secondary school with a decade of “little or no discipline” under their belt. Now they can wreck a car and kill somebody. Now they can get into dank porn. Now they can get pregnant, or get someone pregnant. Now they can seriously damage their prospects for life, and so the temptation is to rush in and put training wheels on their mountain bike.  

Child Rearing by Grace: We are saved by grace through faith, and not of works lest anyone should boast (Eph. 2:8-9). But while we are not saved by good works, we are most certainly saved to good works. This is the meaning of the next verse. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

Trusting God for your kids is not a matter of “pedaling harder.” Compare it to the promises of God concerning answered prayer. We are given a number of astonishing promises. But we know they are not vending machine promises, if for no other reason than the Lord’s prayer for deliverance in Gethsemane (Matt. 26:39). At the same time, the promises must mean something. “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” (Matt. 21:22). “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7). This is a place where we are invited to step into a place of trust, and when God enables us to do so, we can look to Him expectantly. It is same with your children.  

CHRIST ALL THE WAY THROUGH

The very best thing you can do for your children in the Lord is to be an “all-in” Christian. How does He call us to live? And remember that everything He demands from us, He is willing to pour Himself out in order to provide us with it. He writes those promissory notes in His own blood, remember. The second best thing you can do for your children in the Lord is to be an “all-in” husband, or an “all-in” wife. These are the good works you are called to. These are the good works that invite you into the way of peace.

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Why We Worship the Way We Do (KC)

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INTRODUCTION

The apostle Paul wanted to sing in the Spirit, but wanted to sing with the mind also (1 Cor. 14:15). In a similar way, we come here week after week to worship God in the Spirit of God. But it is important for us to understand what we are doing, and why we are doing it. Otherwise we will drift into a mindless routine—which is quite different from a Spirit-led routine. We are now worshiping, and we should understand what we do because it is the most important thing that any of us can do. Your assigned purpose in being created was to be a worshiper of God. Nothing is more important than this, and it is because of this that all the less important aspects of your life can be integrated and can come to have any significant importance at all. It is either homo adorans or homo demens. Christ or chaos.

THE TEXT

“And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving (Col. 2:4-7).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

In verse 4, Paul warns against the seductive power of a certain kind of religious approach, the kind that always fails to approach Christ. Watch out for the smooth talkers and sophists. Guard against those who prefer being credentialed to being wise. Even though Paul was not present with the Colossians (v. 5), he was with them in the spirit. He rejoiced as he beheld their order (taxis), and the rock-solid nature of their faith in Jesus Christ. The word taxis is a military term, and should be understood as a kind of regimentation. But note that this order was both disciplined and alive. It was not the order of a row of gravestones, but rather the order of a military troop, arms at the ready. It was more than such order that pleased Paul, but it was certainly not less. The fact that we have a disciplined liturgy, printed in a bulletin, is not an instance of us quenching the Spirit. Rather, it is an example of the Spirit quenching us. Everything must be according to the Word.

Paul then urged the Colossians to walk in Christ Jesus in just the same way they had received Him (v. 6), which was of course by grace through faith. As they did so, they would be rooted and built up in the Christian faith, in just the way they had been taught. The overflow of this, whenever it is happening, is an abundance of gratitude. As with all things of this nature, we measure whether or not it is happening by the fruit. So with all that said, why do we do what we do?

THE STRUCTURE OF WORSHIP

Consider first the broad outline of our worship service here. We find five basic elements:

Call to Worship—we invoke the name of God, and we enter His gates with adoration and worship;

​Confession of Sin—we wipe our feet at the door;

​Consecration—we offer ourselves up to God as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable;

​Communion—we sit down for table fellowship with our Lord;

​Commissioning—we are sent by Him out into the world.

​The first and last elements “bookend” the service. The first invites us in from the world to assemble before the Lord to worship Him. The last sends us out into the world in order to function as ambassadors of right worship. Call and commission.

The central three elements follow a basic biblical pattern of sacrifice, as it is found in the Old Testament. In the worship of the Older Covenant, God commonly required three kinds of sacrifices together. When they were offered together, they came in this order. First was the guilt offering (confession of sin: Lev. 17), then the ascension or burnt offering (consecration: Lev. 16:24-25), and then the peace offering (communion: Dt. 12:17-19). We see this overall pattern in Lev. 9 and 2 Chron. 29:20-36.

​Worship that follows this basic pattern intentionally is called by us covenant renewal worship.​

FILLING IT ALL IN

We find in various places of Scripture that certain particular practices are called for in New Covenant worship. One of the things we therefore do is to look at the nature of that practice and decide where it would best fit within this structure. For example, the Bible requires the public reading of Scripture in worship (1 Tim. 4:13). So where do we put it? That seems best to fit under Consecration. The Bible commands us to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (Eph. 5:19). Where do we place the different kinds of songs? That would depend—is it a song of penitence or praise? We are commanded to have preaching (1 Tim. 4:2). Where does that go? In doing this, we are seeking to be obedient while arranging our worship intelligently. The Bible gives us the shelves, and it also gives us the elements that are to go on the shelves, which we arrange in the light of Christian prudence.

POSTURE AND DEMEANOR

A very common temptation among the Reformed is to over-engineer the intellectual aspects of our faith. Reason and systematics have their place, but not every place. Reformed people need to be reminded that they have bodies, and that these too are involved in our worship. The body is more than a carrying case for the brain. This is why we lift up holy hands in the Gloria Patri (1 Tim. 2:8), and why we kneel in confession (Ps. 95:6). We stand for the reading of Scripture in order to show deep respect for God’s Word (Neh. 8:5). Our overall demeanor is to be solemnity mixed with gladness. “I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord” (Ps. 122:1).

CONVERSATION BETWEEN GOD AND HIS PEOPLE

Worship is a time of meeting. During this time, God speaks to the people through His ordained representatives (as in the Scripture reading, in the assurance of pardon, or through the sermon). During this time, the people also speak to God, either through their appointed representatives (as in the prayers of petition), or all together with one voice (as with a hymn or psalm, or the creed). We should therefore learn how to think of the worship service as a large conversation, with a direction and theme, and not as a disparate collection of random spiritual artifacts, crammed into a shoebox.

​In the Call to Worship: God says, “Come, meet with Me.” We respond, “First, let us praise Your majesty.” Having done so, God warns us through the Exhortation not to approach Him with unclean hearts. We respond by Confession. God responds by declaring that we have His Assurance of Pardon. Having received forgiveness, in the time of Consecration, you offer up all that you have, and just as the animal was consumed on the altar, your offering of yourself ascends up to Heaven in a column of smoke. God then seals His receipt of your offering by inviting you to sit down with the Lord at His Table, in a time of Communion. When the conversation is complete, you then receive His Commission to go out into the world.

This worship service is a conversation in which all of you are called to actively participate. I would particularly say something to you children. You are welcome here, and you are supposed to be learning how to do what all the rest of us are learning how to do. You have more important things to do than squirming. As you all participate, you are following the most important conversation in the world, which is between God and His people. This conversation, and conversations like it all around the world, are the places where the future of our planet is being determined.

WORSHIP IS WARFARE

Just one more thing. We again return to the passage in Colossians. The order we are cultivating here is not the order of porcelain figurines in a China hutch, neatly arranged on a shelf. The order we are pursuing is alive and disciplined, the order of a well-trained military unit. And why? Because every Lord’s Day we go into battle. But as God’s people we fight on earth from the high ground of heaven.

We ascend into the heavenlies in our worship and meet with our God there (Heb. 12:22). But this heavenly worship is not something that has fearfully run away from the enemy on earth. We do not retreat to Heaven. Rather, as the book of Revelation shows in great detail, the worship of the saints in heaven accomplishes God’s judgments on earth. We fight from that high ground. The twenty-four elders worship God in Heaven (Rev. 4:10), and the seven seals are opened in Heaven (Rev. 5:5).

But this does not leave the earth untouched—quite the opposite. In fact, the only way to touch the earth is if we reach toward it from Heaven.

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