Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men; thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that. (Mark 7:8, 13 NASB)
This one will probably strike a nerve with some people because tradition is the only reason they attend church on Sunday. Their family has always gone across the years, and they just "don't feel right" if they haven't been. Well, wait a minute - if the only reason for your church attendance is because your relatives raised you that way; if that's the only reason you go, then you're missing something. God wants so much more out of us than repetition without real purpose; He is always calling us higher - to a new place in Him - to a new place in our service to Him.
Please think about this: tradition is the living faith of the dead; traditionalism is the dead faith of the living. God has called us all to be worshipers of Him. He does not just want our physical presence, but He desires our heart presence, as well. God invites us to give Him everything we have; it all belongs to Him anyway. The very breath in our bodies belongs to Him. God is inviting all of us to make Him the reason we are in church on Sunday. God has never requested worship from us; He has always commanded it. There is nothing wrong with learned tradition, in and of itself. But the problem comes when we make tradition more important than the true worship of God; the problem comes when we revere ourselves and what we want, and our unwillingness to change, rather than revere God and what He wants.
I pray that by the power of the Holy Spirit we will all choose to re-define our perspective, and begin anew to seek God's face in spirit and in truth, independent of our traditions. This is a command from Him.
Experiencing Worship, The Study
Used by churches all over the world to help teach worship, the Experiencing Worship study can help your worship team too.
Your team will learn why we worship and gain a better understanding of how to worship.
One user said..."Your 5 week study course has made a tremendous impact on my life in the study of worship... I would like to express my thanks for a well written study course that leads into a higher realm of praise and worship."
The Paul Langford Project
This is the debut album by EXW friend Paul Langford. Paul is a Chicago based singer, arranger, keyboardist, producer and conductor. Paul has a career that spans 14 years. Paul's work includes arranging for groups like GLAD, Voices of Liberty, VoiceTrek, The Chicago based "Caroling Party" and Day of Discovery Singers. His arranging has appeared on recordings side by side with greats like Gene Puerling and David Maddux, and he has sung with Don Shelton, Bonnie Herman and Bob Bowker, among others.
Used by churches all over the world to help teach worship, the Experiencing Worship study can help your worship team too.
Your team will learn why we worship and gain a better understanding of how to worship.
One user said..."Your 5 week study course has made a tremendous impact on my life in the study of worship... I would like to express my thanks for a well written study course that leads into a higher realm of praise and worship."
This is the debut album by EXW friend Paul Langford. Paul is a Chicago based singer, arranger, keyboardist, producer and conductor. Paul has a career that spans 14 years. Paul's work includes arranging for groups like GLAD, Voices of Liberty, VoiceTrek, The Chicago based "Caroling Party" and Day of Discovery Singers. His arranging has appeared on recordings side by side with greats like Gene Puerling and David Maddux, and he has sung with Don Shelton, Bonnie Herman and Bob Bowker, among others.