I’m at the part of my proposed definition for worship leaders which says their task is to magnify the worth of God and the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Certainly there are many aspects of God’s worth and works that we can and should dwell on as we sing His praise. He’s our Creator, our Deliverer, our Father, our Guide, our Shepherd, and Shield. But this side of the cross, we find the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ ( 2 Cor. 4:62 Corinthians 4:6
[6]For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,"
has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (ESV)
) and his substitutionary sacrifice for our sins. This is what Paul considered of first importance ( 1 Cor. 15:1-41 Corinthians 15:1-4
[15:1]Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I
preached to you, which you received, in which you stand,
[2]and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to
the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain.
[3]For I delivered to you as of first importance what I
also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance
with the Scriptures, [4]that he was buried, that he was
raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
(ESV)
), what Peter encouraged us to remember ( 2 Pet. 1:92 Peter 1:9
[9]For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted
that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed
from his former sins. (ESV)
), and what is to richly fill our singing ( Col. 3:16Colossians 3:16
[16]Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching
and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms
and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your
hearts to God. (ESV)
). Every time we gather to worship God, the saving sacrifice of Jesus Christ must be gloriously displayed for everyone to see and benefit from. Here are four brief reasons why both in word and song, our Savior and His redemptive work must be central when we gather to exalt God. 1. Jesus’ atoning work on the cross made us worshippers of God. ( Rev. 5:9-10Revelation 5:9-10
[9]And they sang a new song, saying,
"Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people
for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
[10]and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our
God,
and they shall reign on the earth."
) We wouldn’t even be worshipping God if Jesus hadn’t endured God’s wrath against our sin and purchased us for His Father’s glory. 2. Jesus’ atoning work on the cross is our means of access to God. ( Heb. 10:19-22Hebrews 10:19-22
[19]Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to
enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, [20]by the new
and living way that he opened for us through the curtain,
that is, through his flesh, [21]and since we have a great
priest over the house of God, [22]let us draw near with a
true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts
sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies
washed with pure water. (ESV)
; Eph. 2:18Ephesians 2:18
[18]For through him we both have access in one Spirit to
the Father. (ESV)
) I’ve seen more than one church post a want ad for a worship leader who can lead a church “into God’s presence.” Tough job. Biblically speaking, no worship leader, pastor, band, or song will ever lead us “into God’s presence.” At Calvary, Jesus tore down the veil that separated us from God’s presence. His saving work is complete and will never be repeated – only joyfully recounted. 3. Jesus’ atoning work on the cross makes our worship acceptable. ( 1 Peter 2:4-51 Peter 2:4-5
[4]As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men
but in the sight of God chosen and precious, [5]you
yourselves like living stones are being built up as a
spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus
Christ. (ESV)
; Heb. 13:15Hebrews 13:15
[15]Through him then let us continually offer up a
sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that
acknowledge his name. (ESV)
) Nothing against skill, practice, complexity, nuance, musicianship, or sincerity, but only the finished work of Christ makes our offerings of worship acceptable in God’s eyes. What a relief! 4. Jesus’ atoning work on the cross is the object of our adoration. ( Rev. 5:11-12Revelation 5:11-12
[11]Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the
living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels,
numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands,
[12]saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was
slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and
honor and glory and blessing!" (ESV)
) The hosts of heaven never seem to get tired of extolling the Lamb who was slain. Should we? At some point I want to talk about the blessings of Gospel-centered worship and the effects of neglecting it. But we’ll save that for another time. In the mean time, I encourage you to glory in the Redeemer whose praise will never cease throughout eternity.
Read Part 13 of What Does a Worship Leader Do?
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Yes! Yes! Yes! May it never be that we should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. All genuine worship is possible only because of the cross.
Every ray of blessing must be followed back to it’s source the Son! We care about worship and leading worship because of the way the gospel has radically transformed our lives. Every blessing is a gospel blessing. Every joy a gospel joy. Every song of praise a gospel song of praise. We only recognize God’s worthiness because of the atoning work of Christ on behalf of His chosen.
It’s really unbelievable what the grace of God in Christ does and continues to do through a bunch of clay pots like us to display His glory through the gospel .
To Him be all the glory.
You have no clue who I am , but you are on my short list of brothers who I can’t wait to give a big hug and say, “Thank you so much for making much of Him!”
Ian
Comment by Ian McConnell — February 21, 2006 @ 7:55 pm