I hope that you were encouraged by the reminder this morning as we began our gathering that we do not invite God to join us, but that God invites us to join and enjoy Him. In Matthew 11:28, Jesus said, "Come unto me those of you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Did you notice. He says "come to me" and that He will give to us. In worship, we do not come to display our faithfulness, but to become more mindful of His. We do not come to offer God our goodness, but to receive His—and to rest, be renewed and rejoice. Worship is drinking from the fountain of living water and responding with joy and gladness. I trust that you were filled and satisfied with the riches of God's grace today. We've got a long week ahead. It's good to be full.

I am reading Larry Crabb tonight. I don't know him personally, but wish that I did. Here is a nugget from his book, The Safest Place on Earth.

We moderns tend to think of our spiritual journey as a God-directed adventure until something goes seriously wrong or until certain problems persist past the time we give God to take them away. Then we think about solving the problems more than about finding God in the midst of them. We focus more on using God to improve our lives than on worshipping Him in any and every circumstance. We think more about pathology—what can be fixed—than about the journey we're on.

That, my friends, will preach. 

I've been in the kitchen this week preparing a banquet for Sunday. No, not that kind of banquet—not the kind that fills the stomach, but the kind that satisfies the soul. As the LORD says in Isaiah 55, "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food."

That is what I want for us on Sunday, and every Sunday. I long for us as a community of grace to delight ourselves in the rich fare of the gospel. Food for our souls. Life. Health. Strength. So would you pray that as I prepare, that I would crave the sweet and savory aromas of God's kindness to us in the person of Jesus, and that I would be enabled by grace to serve you well the banquet of the gospel?

Why go to church? Not a bad question, actually. To make the answer reasonably short, we could say that there are two possible options: we go to give or to get. The law says go to church that you may give to God. But the gospel says that we go to church so that we may get from God. The later approach emphasizes God as giver and sinner as recipient. Thus, from a gospel perspective, worship becomes a "means of grace," whereby through the songs, prayers, sacraments and teaching, I am strengthened by the promises of God in the gospel (2 Tim. 2:1). When the law calls me to worship, I feel guilty and burdened. When the gospel calls me to worship, I feel hungry, hopeful and glad. Law demanding worship ("I should go") is like required attendance at a civic club meeting. But gospel inviting worship ("I get to go") is like the banquet following the wedding of a King.

Now, part of the problem is that we who lead churches are not very skilled at preparing banquets of grace (and that in itself reveals a need for heart/grace revival among church leadership- myself being first in line). And so will you pray that those who lead Creekstone will become master chefs, who prepare a feast for the people, so that God will be overflowingly glorified by our gospel-imbibed joy (which is the response to grace that entails the giving on our part).

For some of the best worship resources on the planet, check out Sovereign Grace Ministries.

"I found it a beautifully powerful thing to be assured of grace BEFORE confession."

Historic Christian liturgy tends to begin with a song of praise, then move to the confession of sin, an assurance of pardon, a song of thanksgiving, the sermon, communion, songs of response and a benediction. Today at East Lanier Community Church, the order was changed in a way that struck me as significant. The assurance of pardon came BEFORE the confession of sin. This is not insignificant. I've often thought that more "liturgical" worship lost its power early on when confession followed praise, and the context for the gospel had not been set up for genuine repentance that was a response to the cross. To me, pre-assurance, out of context confession took the wind out of the sails so to speak. Now, I realize the purpose for the historic ordering. However, I found it a beautifully powerful thing to be assured of grace BEFORE confession. It felt more like gospel-centered confession than law-drvien confession. And this seems to be theologically correct, too, since the Scriputres say (Rom. 2) that it is the kindness (grace) of God that leads us to genuine repentance/confession. Law confession is motivated by guilt and fear, not love and grace. That is why I am so thankful that this morning, as I stood before God in the presence of his people, I found myself gladly confessing sin to the one who had just promised to forgive it, and cleanse me of ALL my unrighteousness.

Here are a few nuggets of gold from one of my living heros, C.J. Mahaney (from an interview from a previous post- see below on the main page of mckaycaston.com).  Enjoy.

• When dealing with folks on the ministry team, especially in the context of worship leadership, encourage with evidences of grace before a critique or suggestion for improvement. Dr. Bryan Chapell did this with us in our preaching classes at Covenant Seminary. He always began a student's post-sermon evaluation with encouragement before suggesting areas of improvement.

• CJ quoted someone who once said, "What we win people with is what we win people to." Since Covenant Life Church is known for its emotive, celebratory worship style, he was warning people not to win people with music and modern creativity, but with the content of the gospel, focusing on Jesus and the cross. He wants people leaving the service saying, "What a great Savior!" rather than "Wasn't that great music." Or sermon for that matter. This leads into the next nugget.

• Music/singing, the sermon, and all the elements of worship are not the end, but a means to understanding, embracing and experiencing the power of the gospel. This does not mean that we downplay the significance of any element—I love to sing and I love to preach! This simply means that we should make sure that everything about worship (music, sermon, prayers, etc.) is a crowbar moving us to sense the wonder of the gospel in a deeper and more personal way.

• C.J. quoted Martyn Lloyd-Jones' statement in his book Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Its Cures, saying, "Most unhappiness is because I listen to myself rather than speak to myself." He means that when I listen to my "flesh" and the lies of the enemy more than I preach the gospel and the fullness of God's truth to myself, I am bound for disappointment and unhappiness. But when I speak truth and grace to my heart, I discover a joy that is often unexpected and full of hope and worship.

• And of course, C.J.'s genuine humility and gospel affectedness is sheer beauty. He always takes the lowest place and lifts us those around him. Kind of reminds me of Phil. 2. Such a rare quality among us pastor types, and is only cultivated by long gazes at the cross of Jesus.

So, I'll make a deal with you. I'll preach the gospel to myself today if you will preach the gospel to yourself today, too. Deal? Great! Yes, we are more sinful than we could ever imagine (law), but in Jesus, we are more forgiven, loved and accepted than we could ever dare to dream (gospel)!