Gospel Worship

I was privileged to attend the Life By the Book 2011 conference today. Every message was clearly centered around the Gospel and challenged me to really think about my view of God, the church, and the gospel. I'm still trying to sort out everything I heard today, because sometimes there is so much truth packed into one sermon that it seems almost impossible to comprehend it all in one sitting. So I'm going to mull it over and then go listen to the sermon audios from the conference, mull it over some more, and then perhaps listen again. It was excellent.

Lately, it seems as though I've been hearing a lot about Michal, King David's first wife. She was mentioned in Bible class, I read through a section about her in a commentary while doing a study on somebody completely different, I read a short fiction book that was based on her story, and she was mentioned in chapel. Kind of a strange conglomeration of things that just kept her story present in my mind.

Today at the conference, one of the speakers spoke on true fellowship - how it flows from our fellowship with God and into our fellowship with one another. There are certain issues that Christians differ on, but that doesn't mean we can't have fellowship. Good, solid stuff. We moved right into a song following the message. As we began to sing Beneath the Cross of Jesus, I started to see hands popping up over the congregation. Not many, but a few. Men and women raising their hands in worship to the Lord. I was a little taken aback because . . . well, honestly, it's just not how my church is. We don't move much during our song services at all. You won't find any lifted and outstretched hands in the congregation.

But then I stopped. And I thought about it. Did I have anything against this particular manifestation of worship? Not really. I had never done it, but that doesn't mean it's wrong, right? I mean, sometimes the words of a song will hit me and the next thing you know, I've got tears drippin' down my face as I try and sing with some semblance of dignity. Instead of crying, they lift their hands to God. I was still formulating this in my mind when I thought of Michal's experience with open, joyful worship.

And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart. 
2 Samuel 6:14-16

Michal saw David openly praising the Lord without thought of what others were thinking, and she despised him  in her heart. Obviously Saul wasn't the type to leap before the Lord with praise. How often have I looked at someone that worships differently than I do with a sort of disdain, feeling superior to them because of my conservative worship? How absolutely wrong of me. Who am I to judge the heart? Their actions weren't an act of pride, not a 'look-at-me' gesture, but just an openness before the Lord in worship. The second verse of the song says,

Beneath the cross of Jesus, his family is my own
Once strangers chasing selfish dreams, now one through grace alone
How could I now dishonor the ones that you have loved?
Beneath the cross of Jesus see the children called by God.


I only knew 3 or 4 people in that room, but singing that song made me realize that we are all a family in Christ. Our common bond is the gospel and our salvation through grace. Who am I? Nothing but a sinner saved by grace, just like everyone else in the room. Arms outstretched, arms to the sides, dry eyes, eyes full of tears, loud rejoicing, quiet praising . . . it didn't matter your position. As we sang to our Savior, I knew that I was among the children called by God. What a wonderful God He is.


m(r)