Deus Misereatur

Most Christian worship gatherings begin with a "Call to Worship". What exactly is this part of the service, and what does it mean?  A "Call to Worship" is just that: God calling us out of the world {thus making us an  ekklesia }; summoning us out of the ordinary and mundane into the extraordinary and mysterious privilege of worshiping him. This favor is only by grace – God’s full-blooded love for us in spite of what we deserve. This honor is solely by God’s invitation through Jesus Christ (“No one can come to the Father but by me”). This God-imparted kindness is singularly by the plentiful empowering of the Holy Spirit (“For through {Christ} we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.”). In other words, worshiping God is utterly of grace.  This means (1) that we must lay aside any sense of self-assumed entitlement or me-generated prerogative with regard to worship. (2) To ignore that call is dangerous and deadening, for it is snubbing the graciousness of...

“For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe” (1 Thessalonians 2.13 NKJV). I have a confession to make. I am a catholic. To be sure, a Reformed catholic. That means at least two primary things: (1) I can heartily affirm all of the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed. (2) Also, I believe what the creeds say when they mention, “I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic Church.” I believe in one church of Jesus Christ, which Jesus promised would never fade away, nor be destroyed by hell or the devil or rotten and grubby men. Why am I telling you this? Mainly, to correct a terrible misconception. Contrary to popular opinion, the Reformation was not about starting a new, competing church. Nor was it about restoring the supposedly pristinely pure 1st Century Church. Instead, it was ab...