Renew

The face of Jesus: marred more than any man-- spit upon, slapped, thorn-pierced, bloodied, sweating, the beard plucked, twisted in pain-- For my salvation. A glorious face, now. Let its light shine on me, O Light of Life. Let Your radiance fall on me, Sun and Savior, Lighten my darkness. Then grant me this by Your grace: That I, in turn, may give "The light of the knowledge of the glory of God" (2 Cor 4:6 AV) As I see it in the face of Jesus Christ. --Elisabeth Elliot, A Lamp for My Feet

Recently I was asked about the worship at Redlands, the Presbyterian church I pastor. "What's with all the responsive readings and prayer recitations? I thought we were Protestants." I knew what he was getting at. The order of worship seemed a little too ordered. It seemed like we were just going through the motions (though as Presbyterians we really don't do any "motions"). I reminded him that we do want to avoid being rote, but there is nothing wrong with routine. This reminded me of a recent blog post by John Haralson. He explains their practice at Grace Seattle : We follow an ancient liturgical pattern in our worship, drawing from the wisdom of Christians who have gone before us. Every Sunday we renew our commitment to God, offer him our prayers and gifts, confess our sins, receive forgiveness, hear from God’s word, and celebrate the Lord’s Supper together. In other words, not much changes from week to week. Sure, we sing different songs, pray slig...