Eyes Right

I heard a great sermon this summer by my brother-in-law who pastors Cedarview Community Church in Newmarket, ON. It was one in a series of messages dealing with New Testament worship.

As someone who has grown up in a charismatic church, I’ve seen a lot when it comes to worship. Some of it very powerful and some of it didn’t seem very authentic. I’ve concluded that in many cases, worship is a matter of personal preference and taste. I realize now that God, while allowing us to be individuals does require us to follow some principles and guidelines. Most Christians sing hymns of praise. Why? Is it tradition? Partly but mostly because the Bible shows us time after time that singing and music are pleasing to God and is one way we can express ourselves to Him. Another practice which I’ve always been comfortable with was raising my hands. Until this message, I didn’t really know why.
As Christians, we see the teachings of the New Testament as the fulfillment of the old. When it comes to how we live, we understand the many ideas of the Old Testament were made obsolete (Hebrews 8:13) Part of how we determine what is and isn’t to be practiced from the Old Testament is checking to see if the ideas or practices are encouraged or reinforced in the new. The lifting of hands is mentioned several times in the New Testament. 1 Tim 2:8.

So here’s why we lift our hands in worship and what it means:

• To remind us of our covenant with God.
• Genesis 14:17-23
• Lifting of hands in courts of law signifies an oath

• To show our reliance on Him.
• Exodus 17: 8-16
• We need to physically see and demonstrate our reliance on God to each other
• He likes it
• Psalm 134 :1-2
• If God likes it, why wouldn’t we do it?
• To show surrender
• Psalm 141:2
• When someone is captured, they often are asked to put their hand up in surrender

So this isn’t about what church you go to or what style of worship you prefer, it’s something God has asked us to do because he desires worshippers. So the next time you raise your hands in worship, perhaps, if you’re like me, you’ll know better why you do it. If you don’t, why not?

Image:Worship During a Vertical Set
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrismoncus/281928443/

 

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Photo: Moises and Talsidia “Tanchi” Vega

Over the last few days, I had the opportunity to meet with Moises and Tanchi Vega (shown above). They are both national directors for the Mision Global: Esperando un Milagro.

While you can find out more about their mission at the link above–and, to get a better feel for their audience, I heartily recommend looking at the photos on their site–I was curious to hear how Moises came to Christ. This audiocast allows Moises to share in simple, unadorned words, the most important story he has to share–his testimony.

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One of the other interesting things I learned about was something called “The Evangicube.” This is a fascinating tool to use that relies on pictures painted on a cube to tell the story of Christ, or “a cube that tells the story of the Gospel through moveable pictures.”

Here it is being used, but you can also watch a Flash video and read the RAP song that goes with it.

While it was sad to see Moises and Tanchi leave, it’s nice to know that they’re right around the corner with Skype! I’m hoping that we might do an Eyes Right Skypecast and have a conversation about the work they’re doing in Panama, Peru, and lots of other places!

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