Wednesday, February 21, 2007

I love things .... when they work


I love my car, it has everything that I need, and some of the things I want. Four wheel drive, lots of room for cargo, cd player ... but all those things don't mean a thing if the car won't start. So right now, I hate my car, but I'm hoping soon to love it again once it smartens up and works for me :)

posted by Jesse @ 12:24 p.m. 4 comments

Should worship lead into the Word or respond to the Word?

I've been pondering this question for a while, perhaps ever since I read "Facedown" by Matt Redman. There he talks about how worship is a response to the revelation of God. Which I think is true, when we catch a glimpse of who God is - we respond in worship. How do we catch a revelation of God? One of the biggest ways is through His Word I would say. That causes me to think, and I've been hearing it from other people as well, that our worship should flow from a response to the preaching of God's Word.

For years I've been taught the opposite. I've been taught that worship softens people's heart for the preaching of the Word, and I even heard this taught at a pastors' conference I was at last week. Here's the scripture the preacher used to make that point ...

Hosea 10:9-13
9 "Since the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel, and there you have remained. Did not war overtake the evildoers in Gibeah? 10 When I please, I will punish them; nations will be gathered against them to put them in bonds for their double sin. 11 Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh; so I will put a yoke on her fair neck. I will drive Ephraim, Judah must plow, and Jacob must break up the ground. 12 Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you. 13 But you have planted wickedness, you have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception. Because you have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors


Here's what he had to say about this scripture:

Worship, then the Word; Seeking, then Sowing
Judah (meaning "praise") shall plow! Judah is the ministry of praise, prayer, worship, and the seeking of the Lord. We must pull the plow of the Spirit through the soil of our hearts in order to prepare the earth for the planting of the seed. As we are faithful in plowing (praise and worship) and planting (ministry of the Word), God will send rain and provide a plentiful harvest.


Is it just me, or is using this Hosea text as a key to how we should order our worship gatherings a bit of a stretch?

Do you know of anywhere else where it mentions that worshipping God leads to the preaching of His Word? What are your thoughts on this?

posted by Jesse @ 11:04 a.m. 8 comments