Being consumed with the perpendicular pro-noun.

I was at a Church service in the middle of March. It was at Findlay Memorial. And it really got me thinking. The sermon from Michael made me think about two things. Two things which I have thought about in the past, but when you are involved in leading a congregation in praise, two things which are useful to examine on a regular basis.

• What songs do we use in times of praise? Are the songs that we (the body or congregation) are using, songs that tell us very little about God but lots about ourselves?
  and
• What do we want to achieve during our times of praise, in light of what Praise and worship truly is (the celebration of God, earnest in prayer and intense in song)?

These issues need careful exploration and what I am about to write doesn’t answer them, either directly or sufficiently. I just wanted to put them out there, giving fuel for thought. Thousands of words could be, have been and probably will be written on what corporate praise and worship is all about and I would encourage you to explore as many of these musings as you can, allow them to ruminate in your thought processes, but in all your enquiries look to the bible and follow its example in everything.

I have though, been thinking about the role of the worship leader regarding the personal pro-noun in corporate praise. We need to remember times of praise are not about us. Worship leaders have a responsibility to make worshippers aware of this, and sustain this train of thought with those that come under our ministry and guidance. I also feel that we often need to remind and examine ourselves ‘personally’ regarding this as well. The calling to facilitate others, and lead them in collective praise must be met with a humble heart. It is to the humble that God gives grace; and He will oppose those who are proud (James 4:6). Leading praise in order to achieve self glorification comes from a proud heart, it is about an audience of one, not two, the congregation should never be seen as our audience. We are reminded that being of such heart is not just a matter of concern; it is in direct opposition to God. “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18)

James 4:6 may well have been referring to the rich people caught up with the world that surrounded them in 1st century Jerusalem. Nevertheless it still alludes to the opposition God shows to our human single minded devotion. If pride in general is opposing to God then how much more must it annoy God when a worship leader takes some of the praise that should be exclusively for Him.

First and foremost corporate praise is not for the worship leader. Primarily corporate praise is not for the worshiper. Above all corporate praise is for God alone.

P.S This is a bit random but quite appropriate. As sad as it sounds I often use dictionary.com to find out what some big words mean that I don’t quite understand, in doing this I can sometimes take a mild obsession to their ‘word for the day’. It was very interesting that today’s word for the day was ‘Paean’, pronounced PEE-uhn, and although phonetically sounding like something which someone may do at the side of the road, a paean is actually a joyous song of praise, triumph or thanksgiving. This was very interesting considering the above post, which I was writing at the time. Although I suppose Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Paean’s doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, does it?

The worship of Psalm 50, more than singing songs

Psalm 50
"Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you: I am God, your God. I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, which are ever before me. I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens,
for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? Sacrifice thank-offerings to God, fulfil your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honour me."


I believe that Psalm 50 is telling us that higher than our ritual of singing songs is the simple acknowledgement that God is what we need. In Verse 15 the Psalmist urges to call on God when we are in trouble; this is what God wants over our sacrificial ritualistic Sunday morning or big event praise offerings. The Israelites were very quick to offer sacrifice through burnt offerings, but God wanted more than that, he wanted to be present when his people needed help, God wants to be part of everything.
We have a tendency to find comfort in the song and not in the comforter. It is more difficult to find the creator in the mundane things of life than in your favourite songs on Sunday, but when you do, when you begin to find him in all the stuff of life, everything starts to sing. This is living praise.
I hope that my worship becomes more than a song. I pray that my worship is habitual. I pray that my worship becomes the worship found in Psalm 50. Make worship your lifestyle.

Tim Beattie

Living Jesus

I have started reading "Following Jesus - a non-religious guidebook for the spiritually hungry". It is making me re-evaluate how living a Jesus centred life should be more of a danger than we let it be, it prompted me to create the above picture.

Speaking to one another

Speak to one another
with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.
Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,
always giving thanks to God the Father for everything,
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 5:19-20

Mostly when I hear people talking about verse 19 of Ephesians 5 they are using it to argue for the different styles of songs that can be used in times of praise. It’s good for that. It also tells us so much more than that though. We tend to miss out the first line, but it sets the scene. It includes the verb, the doing part of the verse. It tells us what to do with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. It tells us, that we should use them to ‘speak to one another’.

Now don’t get me wrong, above all, I believe our praise should be giving God the glory that he rightfully deserves. We sing and make music in our hearts to give God thanks for ‘everything’. God must be our focus. But there must also be an awareness of others around us when we praise as part of a community or gathering. I like to think of it as a direct parallel, when we praise God together, we should also be building up the body of Christ in Spirit and truth. So does that mean praise isn’t just about us and God? Should we think of corporate praise as being about ourselves and those around us and how we interact with God together?

I think we have to understand it like this.
I also think we need reminded of this.

It’s easy to get carried away with the notion that praise times are times for God and me to do business on our own. Fair enough it might well be that there are lots of other people in the room, but the interaction taking place is really just God, me and nobody else. Paul’s teaching in his letter to the Ephesians however reveals something different. The next time you gather to praise God think about those around you. Never ever allow anything other than giving God glory take centre stage during praise, but endeavour to make it more than just about how you make God centre stage by yourself. Make sure you are making every effort to edify those around you as you exalt God to the highest place. There couldn’t possibly be a better built community of believers than one that emerges from our praises to God.






Tim Beattie

My Interesting Ode to something special

You’re always missing when I need you
Well ok you’re sometimes there
But so often when I reach out
There’s no part of you to tear

Someone’s been before me
They’ve taken more than they could need
This really leaves me wanting
It leaves me really stuck indeed

Roca let me stay a while
Roca let me go
Rocas taken part of me
No part of me you’ll know

The smallest piece of you could help me
Just enough to get me through
They know I’m lost without you
I’ll not know what to do

Roca let me stay a while
Roca let me go
Rocas taken part of me
No part of me you’ll know

Maybe you think nothing of me
In fact you never think at all
Some could say you’re heartless
Setting me up for a cruel fall

Roca let me stay a while
Roca let me go
Rocas taken part of me
No part of me you’ll know

Me

Something missing

People walking by,
I wonder where they’re going,
So many faces.
And their expressions showing,
Social smiles,
For everyone who’s looking.
Still inside,
There seems to be something missing.

What fills that space
Inside of us all
I want to be complete
Feels so sweet

me

Values and Beliefs that are ROUNDED

I was taking Time Out (youth group) on Wednesday evening past. It was pretty much planned that as it was our last normally structured night before Easter, we would have a look at something associated with what Christians believe Easter is all about. I thought it might be a good idea to try and get to grips with how the disciples may have felt after they saw Jesus coming back to life after he was crucified and put inside the Tomb.

We had an interesting discussion about this, and one of the groups afterwards progressed on to the question of how God has always been about since the start of time. I was pretty much making the point that because I am a Christian and believe that what the bible says is completely true, I therefore have to believe that God is a deity that has always been in existence, or as A.W Tozer declared “Whatever God is he is infinitely.” A Theology, that unless you are willing to push faith to its boundaries is actually incredibly hard to comprehend. One of the girls then simply said “yeah, God’s like a circle.” An analogy I had heard before but hadn’t spent too much time deliberating over. It’s true though that we can look at a circle and see that it doesn’t have a starting or end point and to be honest it doesn’t really bother me that much, what’s more important is that it is a circle, and acts like a circle.

Gods pretty much like that to me as well. I’m not reflecting too much on the analogy of God being like a circle, but I am concerning myself with not being that troubled of looking at a circle and considering where it might begin or where it ends. I’m just pretty content it does what it says on the tin and acts like a circle. So as with God, I’m really not that worried that I can’t specify when God was begotten, as I believe God was not, but I’m rather more interested in the fact that God does what God does, and interacts with me on a daily basis as a loving father and righteous judge.

Os Guinness writes that “God’s existence not only cannot be proved, it should not be attempted”, I take that to mean that we shouldn’t attempt to stretch our imaginations by trying to figure out how God has always been around. I would agree with this. We maybe would have enough to occupy ourselves with if we just stick to trying to obey God through the guidelines he has given us in the Bible, and also His constant interaction through the Holy Spirit, and the disciplines we should be carrying out to live a Spirit filled life. If we think we are getting completely on top of these tasks, then maybe we could preoccupy our thinking with big questions that we don’t have any answers for, or more importantly in the long run don’t really need to know the answers for. As Robert M. Horn writes, “God is not for proof but proclamation; not for argument but acceptance.” I don’t think I spend enough time praying to God, or praising Him for who and what He is, or being alone with Him, never mind try to discover the reasons behind his perpetuality.

Never ending,
always You will never end
Because, You’re always never ending,
You where there before there was beginning,
Always You where
You are never ending.

Here You are now with us
here we are found in You
And this makes all the difference,
this changes everything
making our whole existence
worth something so we sing…..you make all the difference.

D.Crowder