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Why We Worship the Way We Do (CC Troy)
Christ Church on March 27, 2025
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Knowing God (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #31) (KC)

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INTRODUCTION

All religion tends to fall into one of two ditches: imagining an immanent god(s) embedded in the universe and nature or else an utterly transcendent god who is impersonal and ultimately unknowable. Greek philosophy and religion had lurched from the old immanent gods to transcendent principles. But the Bible declares the true God who is outside of creation, and who has freely revealed Himself in His Word and through Creation and in His Son. The true God is utterly distinct from all of creation, and yet He has made Himself known so that we might truly know Him and walk with Him. This is what Jesus is talking about when He says that He is the Good Shepherd (Jn. 10:11-16). 

The Text: “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands…” (Acts 17:24-34).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Paul declares that the “unknown God” is the God who made the world is therefore Lord of heaven and earth (Acts 17:24). This means that He cannot be contained or summoned by the hands of men, since He is the source of all life, but He appoints their times and places so that groping about, they might find Him who is not far from every one of us (Acts 17:25-27). Paul quotes Cleanthes, the Stoic successor of Zeno, saying that we live and move and have our being in God, as well as the Greek poet Aratus and his poem Phaenomena saying that we are God’s offspring/family (Acts 17:28). And that being the case, we ought not think that deity can be adequately represented in images made by man (Acts 17:29). God overlooked all of this ignorance in the past, but now He is commanding everyone to repent since He has appointed a day and a Judge whom He raised from the dead (Acts 17:30-31). At the mention of the resurrection some mocked, some were intrigued, and some believed (Acts 17:32-34). 

IGNORANT VS. TRUE WORSHIP

Paul identifies three misconceptions that characterize “ignorant worship”: that God dwells in temples made with hands (Acts 17:24), that God needs to be served by human hands (Acts 17:25), or thinking that God is like something we can make (Acts 17:29). Instead, God is the Maker and Lord of heaven and earth, He does not need anything but gives all things life, and He has crafted His personal and living image in us from the one blood of Adam. 

One of the laws of universe is that you become like what you worship (Ps. 115:8). This is implied by the “blind-groping” of the pagans that Paul refers to: those who worship blind idols become like them (cf. Ps. 135:16). But the God who made heaven and earth also made from one man’s blood all the nations of the earth to be His family, and we know we are His family because we bear His image: eyes that see, ears that hear, hands that handle (Gen. 1:27-28). Those who worship idols become like them, but those who worship the living God outside of creation receive more life, and movement, and being from Him and in Him. This Creator-creature distinction is why the true God can only be worshiped by faith. This is what we mean when we say that we lift up our hearts to the Lord. He wants us to taste and see that He is far better than all of His gifts. 

A GRAB BAG OF APPLICATIONS

1. There is always the temptation to idolatry. The transcendent God reaches down and meets us in His way, and we ought to receive His gifts in faith. But we do not hold God in those gifts (whether creation, temple, sacraments, church buildings, or rituals). In a culture of rootlessness, many are attracted to ancient liturgies and icons for a “religious experience.” But God is not like gold or silver. True worship constantly looks to the Giver. 

2. This is God’s world, and everything true and good and beautiful proclaims Him, even if sometimes unwittingly. Cleanthes was talking about Zeus, but Paul applied it to the true God. God appoints all of our times and places so that we might find Him. His invisible attributes are clearly seen in all of creation, and those who blasphemously claim they would believe in God if He would only show Himself only reveal their willful blindness. 

3. God is sovereign over every detail for good. God has appointed the times and places so that we might find Him. Our sin blinds us, but God so loved the world that He sent His only Son. God’s overarching plan is to save the world. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. The sovereignty of God teaches us to fear God in reverence, but it also teaches us to love God for His goodness. By the eyes of faith, God does all things well. 

4. The Judge is our Savior. The Bible teaches both of these truths, and Paul preaches them both here: everyone must stand before the judgment of God in which every excuse will flee away and every secret revealed and yet the faithfulness of God has been revealed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Death is coming for us all, and then the judgment. For those who know Christ, this is not a terrible thing at all because we know the Judge and He has already signed our pardon with His blood. 

5. The center of the gospel message is where Paul lands. Many, even many Christians, might think Paul was doing well until he got to this point. Maybe Paul should have stuck with bridge building and affirming common ground and waited for the right moment to bring up the resurrection of the dead – a hard doctrine, offensive to Stoics and Epicureans. But the central task of the Church is to testify that Jesus is risen from the dead. Some mock, some are curious, and some believe and cling to the message. It has always been this way, and we worship the Wisdom that has determined to save the world in this way. 

CONCLUSION

The Athenians brought Paul to be examined at their great judgment seat, but little did they know that the God of Heaven had sent Paul to examine them by His sovereign Word. And the same is true today. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. The Good Shepherd has come for His sheep. He knows His sheep, and His sheep hear His voice and they know Him.

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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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Reformed Worship (What is “Reformed” Anyway? #4) (King’s Cross)

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INTRODUCTION

The 16th Century Reformation was a reformation of worship. Worship is at the center of human life, and therefore, we believe it is the most important thing we do as Christians. How we think about worship and offer our worship flows into all of life. 

In the beginning, God placed Adam in the Garden Sanctuary where Adam had direct communion with God, and from that Garden a river flowed out to the four corners of the world. In Ezekiel’s vision, a river flows out from under the altar growing deeper until it reaches the sea, bringing healing to the nations. What we do in worship impacts us and the whole world. 

The Text: “For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words…” (Heb. 12:18-29). 

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Having warned about bitterness, fornication, and rejecting God’s blessing (Heb. 12:15-17), Hebrews says that Christians have not come to the earthly Mount Sinai that thundered and burned with fire (Heb. 12:18-21), but rather, we have come to Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, where all the saints and angels are, to Jesus the mediator of the New Covenant (Heb. 12:22-24). This New Covenant worship is more sobering since Christ speaks directly from heaven and shakes heaven and earth until only God’s Kingdom which cannot be shaken remains (Heb. 12:25-27, cf. Rev. 21:2). Therefore, we must have His grace to worship acceptably with reverence and fear, since He is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:28-29).  

ACCORDING TO GOD’S WORD

The uniform testimony of Scripture is that God is a jealous God, and He is particularly jealous for His worship. Where He meets with His people is holy ground (Ex. 3:5), and the fierce holiness of Sinai was only a faint glimmer of His heavenly glory (Ex. 19, Heb. 12:18-21). When Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded, fire devoured them (Lev. 10:1-2). When David was bringing the Ark of God back to Jerusalem and the ox cart stumbled and Uzzah put out his hand to support it, God struck him dead (2 Sam. 6:6-7). These were various innovations that God had not commanded, but God’s fierce anger also burned against Israel when they went through the motions of what God had commanded, while harboring sin in their lives (Is. 2:10-20). When Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit, they died (Acts 5), and when the Corinthians were getting drunk and breaking into factions at the Lord’s Supper, some of them became sick and died (1 Cor. 11). And when Israel turned to blatant idolatries, sacrificing their own children to Baals, God says these evils were not commanded, not even contemplated (Jer. 19:5). 

At the same time, David rightly introduced singing and musical instruments into the worship of God (1 Chron. 6, 25-26), and Israel established the feasts of Purim and Hannukah, with God’s apparent blessing (cf. Esther 9, John 10:22). Putting these things together, the Reformers taught that worship must be according to God’s Word. Our central duty is to come before Him to do those things which He has explicitly commanded or which may be clearly inferred from His Word, and yet in that place of deep humility, we are to offer ourselves fully to Him and in that offering will be unique treasures that are pleasing to Him (Rev. 21:24-26).

COVENANT RENEWAL WORSHIP

The Reformers drew from covenant theology as they reformed worship. The fact that baptism and the Lord’s Supper are covenant ceremonies commanded by Christ helped explain Christian worship as “covenantal.” We are called to worship in Jesus’ name, as those who bear God’s covenantal name in our baptism, and Jesus said that we must celebrate the Lord’s Supper as a “memorial” of His death, the new covenant in His blood (1 Cor. 11). The language of memorial is covenantal: the rainbow was a memorial of God’s covenant promise to never flood the earth again (Gen. 9). The Feast of Passover was a memorial of God’s salvation from Egypt (Ex. 12). And the sacrifices and other feasts were constant memorials reminding God and His people of the covenant (e.g. Lev. 2, Num. 10). 

It has been pointed out that the covenant renewal at Sinai was a lot like a wedding, with Moses playing the part of the minister giving the vows, with the whole thing sealed with a feast (Ex. 19-24). In fact, the broad structure of that covenant ceremony are reflected in our worship: A Call to worship (Ex. 19:1-9), Confession/cleansing (Ex. 19:10-25), Word declared and explained (Ex. 20-23), followed by a feast, and a blessing (Ex. 24). Others have pointed out that when the three major sacrifices are offered together, they are always offered in the order of Sin Offering, Ascension Offering, and Peace Offering which also corresponds to our order of worship (Confession, Consecration, Communion). “Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice” (Ps. 50:5), and we offer our bodies and praises as living sacrifices (Rom. 12:1, Heb. 13:15). And we renew our covenant on the weekly anniversary of our Lord’s resurrection (Ex. 20:8, Rev. 1:10). 

APPLICATIONS

Family Worship: In the Old Covenant, God had commanded a morning and evening sacrifice, and this is what the New Testament is alluding to with “pray without ceasing” (Num. 28, 1 Thess. 5:17). While there is a greater freedom in the New Covenant, we should generally be aiming for daily Bible reading, prayer, and singing in our homes. And this is a great way to practice for Sunday morning worship. 

BIBLICAL FAITH & GLORY

The Church is the bride of Christ, and we are therefore required to be subject to Christ in everything, particularly in our renewal of His covenant (Eph. 5:24). While some Reformed folks draw a very narrow circle around what is acceptable, they are more faithful than those who simply want to make it up as they go along, whether with rock concerts or circus shows or medieval pageantry. We want to grow up into true Christian glory (2 Cor. 3:18), as we worship in Spirit and in Truth (Jn. 4:24), and at the center of that is a humble, evangelical faith. 

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Potent Bread & Wine (CCD)

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INTRODUCTION

Last week we surveyed the landscape of the Sacrament of Baptism. This week we’ll hike the terrain of the doctrine of the Lord’s Supper. Cathedrals have the baptismal font at the entrance for good reason; Christ, and Baptism into Him, is the door. However, once you come through the door you are welcomed to the Lord’s banqueting table. Baptism is like birth, the Supper is the eating & drinking which brings about maturity & growth.

THE TEXT

For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.
1 Corinthians 11:26

A MEMORIAL PROCLAMATION

This familiar passage packs a potent punch. The eating of bread and drinking of the blessed cup is a public display of the Lord’s death until His second coming in judgment. The traffic of this memorial proclamation runs in a few directions. First it is a testimonial from God to you–both as individuals and as the corporate bride of Christ–that His banner over you is love, and all the blessings of His covenant are extended to you. You are not cast off in disdain, but are welcomed in to partake of all He is and all He has procured for you in His death.

Secondly, it is a memorial from us to God. In partaking by faith of His body & blood, as signified by bread & wine, you are affirming before the Lord that as He has pledged to call you His own, so you shew that He is your God, even unto death (Ps. 48:14).

Third, just as Jesus was crucified publicly, so our partaking is a public memorialization of that death. In other words, what we testify here is that the Christ which the earthly rulers crucified and the heel which Satan bruised has become both Lord & Christ. This is one reason why private communion is a bit of an oxymoron.

And this leads a final point on the import of what it means for us to “shew the Lord’s death”. Our communion is not only with our Head but with His body. Our love for the Lord Jesus is displayed in our love towards each other (1 Jn. 5:1). This fellowship includes all baptized believers, regardless of age. Paul says earlier that all Israel partook of Christ in the wilderness (1 Cor. 10:3-4). Furthermore, the instructions regarding the Passover feast not only mandated the instruction of children, but presumes their participation in it (Ex. 12:26-27).

LEAVENED BREAD

It’s worth inquiring as to what sort of bread should be used for the Supper. Some determine to use wafers. This stems from their belief that Christ is corporeally present in the bread. They want to avoid scattering crumbs of Jesus all over the floor. The Eastern Orthodox even gather up all the “pearls of Christ” and mix them in with the wine. The people aren’t permitted to eat the bread for fear of dropping crumbs. This isn’t merely getting to the same place by extra steps; both EO & RC views of the Supper lead us to see a re-sacrifice of Christ. Rather, Christ’s body is present in the meal by His Spirit, and we partake of Him by faith.

The Peace Offering required both unleavened & leavened bread (Lev. 7:11-14). The unleavened loaf was burned with the sacrificial creature for the Lord’s portion, the leavened loaf was waved before the Lord and both the priests & worshipper took a portion to eat. The celebration of Pentecost was marked by waving leavened loaves (Lev. 23:16-17). Amos rebukes Israel for offering the correct “sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven” in the incorrect place: Bethel & Gilgal (Am. 4:5). The early church partook of “the bread” together daily (Acts 2:42), and this was simply daily bread, bread on hand (άρτος not άζυμος).

WINE NOT WELCHS

Another common question worth answering is: why use wine? The concern is that it might cause someone who struggles with drunkenness to stumble. This argument doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. Someone struggles with gluttony, so don’t have a potluck. The argument for concern for the “weaker brother” misses the fact that Paul teaches that the meat offered to idols is nothing (1 Cor. 8:4),  and he’s persuaded by the Lord Jesus that there’s nothing problematic in eating that meat (Rom. 14:14). In other words, don’t be a jerk to the brother with an immature conscience, but the text of Scripture invites the immature brother into maturity. Not vice versa.

Wine takes time. Cultivating a vineyard, harvesting, crushing, fermenting grapes requires years of peace. Couple this with the earlier discussion of leavened bread and you see a pattern emerge. Passover required a haste, and thus unleavened bread. When Israel entered the land the Lord was bringing them into a Sabbath Rest which would find its full meaning in Christ. Wine is potent, and so is grace. Wine gladdens the heart, and so does the good news of great joy. Dough slowly rises as the leaven works throughout, just as Christ’s Kingdom is filling the world. All of this because we have entered Sabbath Rest.

AS OFT AS YOU DRINK

What does Paul intend by that line “as oft as you drink it (1 Cor. 10:26)”? While it isn’t wrong to think about Christ while enjoying your evening glass of wine, he is clearly referencing sacramental––not common––use. Does the NT indicate how frequently the Supper is to be taken? The “as oft as you drink” shouldn’t be interpreted as a “whenever you all feel like it”. So, does this often-ness imply a certain regularity? Yes.

We have two clues from elsewhere in Scripture. Acts 20:7 tells us that the Ephesian church gathered together on the first day of the week, and they broke the bread (Cf. 1 Cor. 16:1). In two passages in 1 Corinthians (11 & 14), Paul uses the phrase “coming together” (συνέρχομαι) to describe the assembled saints. In 1 Cor. 11 they are rebuked for coming together in such a manner that inverts the Lord’s Supper, greedily gobbling up the food with no regard for others; while in 1 Cor. 14 they are taught how to behave decently and in order in their corporate worship as they “come together.” There’s another instance of “come together” in 1 Cor. 7; but the context there is for a husband & a wife’s need for regular marital consummation. Their vows need regular memorialization. Taking all this together, the “ as often” in view by Paul seems to be the regular weekly “coming together” on the first day of the week. 

THE GOD WHO FEASTS

God is a God who feasts. He is a God of plenty. He is a God who makes gardens full of fruit trees for the free enjoyment of His image bearers. He is a God who gives the Israelites the bread of Angels in the wilderness. The sacrifices are spoken of as the Lord’s portion. When Jesus comes, he is accused by the religious hall monitors of too much feasting & drinking.

So, Jesus left us a feast. Promised in the Supper is the entirety of the blessedness of God the Father, Son, and Spirit. This feast is a declaration, until the world’s end, of Christ’s death. And what is Christ’s death? His death is the end of all your shame, guilt, and bondage to sin. His death severed you from the old man. His death destroyed the devil’s war machines. His death is the certain hope that the dragon has been cast down, and all the earth is the Lord’s. We feast because God, through Christ, is bringing us to an everlasting feast.

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