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Divine Action in Worship
College, in Wheaton, Illinois. DIVINE ACTION IN WORSHIP In worship there is divine action. In our celebration of Christ, something happens. There is an action from above: the Holy Spirit delivers Christ and the benefits of Christ's death and resurrection to the worshipers. In other words, in worship our relationship with Christ is established, maintained, and repaired. Christ meets us in our act of celebrating his death and resurrection. In this worship encounter, the Spirit brings us the very real benefits of Christ's death - salvation, healing, comfort, hope, guidance, and assurance. Through this encounter, order and meaning come into our lives. Through worship, a right ordering of God, the world, self, and neighbor is experienced, and the worshiper receives a peace that passes understanding. Simply put, worship is an it-is-well-with-my-soul experience. -Robert Webber, in BLENDED WORSHIP: ACHIEVING SUBSTANCE AND RELEVANCE IN WORSHIP, Hendrickson Publishers, 1996. [In addition to his long-standing theology post at Wheaton College, Webber is the editor of the 7-volume COMPLETE DICTIONARY OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP (StarSong Publishers), a prolific author on worship related matters, and a regular contributor to WORSHIP LEADER magazine. His Institute for Worship Studies offers RENEW YOUR WORSHIP! WORKSHOP, a highly informative one-day (Saturday) event for pastors, church musicians, worship committee members, or Christians interested in deepening their understanding of the history, practice and renewal of Christian worship. The workshop is offered coast to coast and I highly recommend it to you. For information call 1-630-510-8905.] Have a great week, Chip Stam Pastor of Worship and Music Chapel Hill Bible Church Chapel Hill, North Carolina |