感謝讚美上帝護理的大能与豐盛的供應。 本網誌內的所有資源純屬學習交流之用。

2019-01-11


成為敬拜上帝的人Becoming a Worshiper of God

[每日靈修] 1/8/2018,  誠之編譯

「教會很無聊」——這是人們遠離教會的最常見原因。它指出了一些重要問題。與一位威嚴、可畏、永活的上帝相遇,怎麼可能令人感到無聊呢?上帝並不單調乏味。如果敬拜對我們來說很無聊,那不是因為上帝很無聊。佈道可以很單調,禮儀也很單調,但上帝並不是單調的。我認為,問題出在我們崇拜的環境、風格和內容。

關於正確的基督徒崇拜,新約給了我們一些信息。它確立了一些指導方針,但沒有提供太多內容。相比之下,舊約提供了崇拜資料的全景。這給敬拜帶來了一些危險,以及一些重要線索。我們不能簡單地恢復舊約崇拜的元素,因為這些敬拜元素中,有許多已經隨著基督獻上完美的祭物所完成的工作,一勞永逸地成全了。

舊約確實為敬拜中涉及的元素提供了解答。例如,我們看到頭腦必須投入到敬拜當中。講道的中心地位強調了聖經的重要角色。然而,完整的敬拜既是口語的,也是非口語的。崇拜對我們整個人說話,我們的全人也投入到崇拜的經歷當中。在舊約中,我們注意到崇拜與五種感官都密切相關:視覺,聽覺,觸覺,嗅覺和味覺。

活在神的面光中(在神面前禱告):
教會對你來說很無聊嗎?您認為可能的原因是什麼?請花一些時間禱告,祈求上帝告訴你如何成為一個真正的敬拜者。

進一步研讀:
詩一三二7 我們要進他的居所,在他腳凳前下拜。
詩八六9 主啊,你所造的萬民都要來敬拜你;他們也要榮耀你的名。
詩廿九2 要將耶和華的名所當得的榮耀歸給他,以聖潔的(的:或作為)妝飾敬拜耶和華。


Becoming a Worshiper of God

“Church is boring”—this is the most oft-stated reason why people stay away from church. It raises some important questions. How is it possible that an encounter with a majestic, awesome, living God could ever be considered boring by anyone? God is not dull. If worship is boring to us, it is not because God is boring. Sermons can be boring and liturgies can be boring, but God simply cannot be boring. The problem, I think, is with the setting, the style, and the content of our worship.

The New Testament gives us little information about proper Christian worship. It establishes some guidelines, but does not offer much content. In contrast, the Old Testament provides a panorama of worship information. This poses some dangers, as well as some vital clues, for worship. We cannot simply reinstate the elements of Old Testament worship, because many of them are clearly fulfilled once and for all with the finished work of Christ in His offering of the perfect sacrifice.

The Old Testament does provide a key to elements involved in worship. We see, for example, that the mind must be engaged in worship. The centrality of preaching underscores the crucial role of the Word. Full worship, however, is both verbal and nonverbal. The whole person is addressed and involved in a worship experience. We note that in the Old Testament, worship intimately involved all five senses: sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste.

Coram Deo
Is church boring to you? What do you think might be the reason? Spend some time in prayer asking God to show you how to become a true worshiper.

Passages for Further Study
Psalm 132:7
Psalm 86:9
Psalm 29:2