The Best of WorshipMatters.com

By Bob Kauflin

Bob Kauflin, director of Sovereign Grace Music, has been blogging at WorshipMatters.com since 2005. This e-book is a collection of some of his best posts. Looking at how worship relates to the gospel, reverence, idolatry, receiving correction, music, trials, and a lot more, this book will benefit leaders, musicians, and anyone desiring to grow in their understanding of biblical worship.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sovereign Grace
• Release date: Dec 30, 2013
• ISBN: 9781311286192

Book preview

AM I ASTONISHED?

I’ve spent a good amount of time over the past few years using the book, The Valley of Vision, as I meet with God in the morning. It’s a collection of prayers from various Puritans, put together by Arthur Bennett. Apart from God’s Word, it is the most helpful tool I’ve encountered for exposing the depth of my sin and the greater power and glories of the Gospel.

Here’s one section from the prayer called The Mover that has affected me deeply:

O Lord, I am astonished at the difference

Between my receivings and my deservings,

Between the state I am now in and my past gracelessness,

Between the heaven I am bound for and the hell I merit.

Who made me to differ, but you?

For I was not more ready to receive Christ than were others;

I could not have begun to love you if you had not first loved me,

Or been willing unless you had first made me so.

O that such a crown should fit the head of such a sinner!

Such high advancement be for an unfruitful person!

Such joys for so vile a rebel!

When I sit down to meet with God, I’m not typically astonished at the difference between what I deserve and what I’m receiving. I’m more often wondering why I don’t get MORE blessings, see MORE fruitfulness, and gain MORE credit for the things I do. I’m astonished that my dryer is making a noise again, that everyone doesn’t think my ideas are brilliant, or that my one of my children questions my authority. I am so out of touch with reality!

However, my relationship with God is one place where astonishment is always appropriate. Because my life is hidden in Christ (Col. 3:3), I get nothing that I deserve, and everything that I don’t – complete forgiveness, eternal life, communion with my heavenly Father, and the knowledge that every detail of my life is being used for God’s glory and my good.

Lord, astonish my heart today. Make me amazed by grace, encouraged by unending mercy, and comforted in every trial, knowing that because of my Savior, I will never receive what I deserve.

CULTIVATING THANKFULNESS

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! (Ps. 100:4 ESV)

What does God value as we enter His presence? Gratefulness. Our culture puts a high value on being real as we come before God. Genuine. Vulnerable. Authentic. The Psalmists don’t hesitate to tell God when life is a mess and they’re struggling. (Check out Psalm 13, 42, and 88). But in a society where self-expression is often hailed as the ultimate virtue, I’m not sure that being real before God is my problem. Being thankful is. Why is God so concerned that we be grateful? There are a number of reasons. Here are two.

First, thankfulness makes God bigger in my eyes. I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. (Psa. 69:30, ESV) Gratefulness maximizes what God does and minimizes what I do. My friend, C.J. Mahaney, writes that God is placing sticky-notes in our lives as daily reminders of His presence and provision. (Humility: True Greatness, p. 71) Am I aware of them? Did I notice how God provided for me yesterday? Am I rushing into my time with God with a laundry list of requests without noticing that He has already revealed his loving care and wise sovereignty in countless ways? Most importantly, am I overflowing with thankfulness that God has solved my greatest problem and met my greatest need through giving His own Son as a sacrifice for my sins? My present problems become smaller and God becomes bigger as I rejoice in what He’s already done.

Second, thankfulness makes me aware of my need. One of my greatest challenges is overcoming the lie that I’m in control and can do things on my own. Expressing thanks to God reminds me that I need His grace in every aspect of my life – loving my wife, leading my children, ministering to others, providing financially, solving problems, experiencing fruitfulness, and a million other details. What do I have that I didn’t receive? (1 Cor. 4:7) Nothing. So why am I not more grateful than I am? My self-sufficient pride blinds me to the reality of God’s power and goodness at work in my life. A thankful heart opens my eyes.

Of course, thinking about how I need to be thankful doesn’t make me a thankful person. I need both to cultivate and express it. That’s why I want my first waking thoughts to be gratefulness to God for specific evidences of His grace, especially revealed in the Gospel. Gratitude sets the course for my day and helps me see the big picture. And it’s the way God wants me to come into his presence. Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1Th. 5:18, ESV)

SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR

When asked how he’s doing, my friend C.J. Mahaney often answers, Better than I deserve. He’s been responding that way for years, and it always reminds me that my sins far outweigh my trials. Yet God has dealt with my sins by punishing his own Son in my place. I will never know His righteous wrath. I will forever know the joy of His presence.

So why don’t I have a more thankful attitude? I think my perspective is comprehensive, accurate, and authoritative. I think my complaining moves God.

I think I’m ultimately responsible for my destiny. I think I’m immediately responsible for my justification before God. I think I rule everything around me.

I think my wife, children, and friends should recognize that I rule everything around me. I think there are more important things to do than be thankful. I think…

Actually, the problem is that I don’t think. I don’t think about the fact that God chose not to spare His own Son so that I could be spared. (Rom. 8:32) I don’t think about the reality that I owe every breath to a wise and sovereign Creator. I forget. I get distracted. I sin. And God forgives me again and again as I come to Him through the atoning sacrifice of His only Son.

So I remind myself again and again that we as Christians should be the most grateful people on the planet. If I am in Jesus, I have so much that heaven can give me no more. This modern hymn, by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend, helps me remember.

My Heart is Filled With Thankfulness

My heart is filled with thankfulness

To Him who bore my pain

Who plumbed the depths of my disgrace

And gave me life again

Who crushed my curse of sinfulness

And clothed me in His light

And wrote His law of righteousness

With power upon my heart

Today may your heart be filled with thankfulness for the glory of our matchless Savior.

SPIRITUAL DEMENTIA

Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice! Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered, O offspring of Abraham, his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones! (Ps. 105:1-6 ESV)

Recently, we’ve been experiencing something of a mini-crisis in our home. My 85 year old mother-in-law, is suffering from dementia. Although she’s been with us for over 7 years now she has completely forgotten that she’s ever lived with us. As her mental state has slowly declined, my wife, Julie, has begun cooking all her meals, shopping for her, and consistently caring for her needs. In addition, I’ve been overseeing her finances and making sure her affairs are in order. Why do I mention this? She doesn’t remember any of it. She sits for much of the day, confused, depressed, and at times, angry. Where are all my things? Why can’t I leave here? Why are you treating me so badly? Who are you?

In reflecting on our situation, I realized how often we relate to God as though we have spiritual dementia. We wake up in the morning weighed down by responsibilities and forget how He cared for us yesterday. We remember the bills that are due but forget the countless ways He’s provided for us in the past. Guilt, condemnation, and anxiety are crystal clear, but the forgiveness our Savior purchased at Calvary is a murky memory. So we complain. We fight depression. We get confused. We lash out in anger. Why can’t You change my life? Why are You treating me so badly? Who are You?

How wisely the Psalmist exhorts us, Make known his deeds…tell of all his wondrous works…,remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered. One of the primary problems the Israelites faced was simply forgetting who God was and what He had done. In the wilderness, Israel soon forgot his works, and forgot God their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt. (Ps. 106:13, 21) How much like us!

This is one of the reasons we repeatedly read God’s Word, pray, sing, and gather with God’s people. It’s why meeting with God in the morning and filling our minds with His Word is so important. Like my mother-in-law, we struggle daily with the tendency to forget everything we know about God, and conclude that everything ultimately depends on us.

Remember the wondrous works of the Lord today. Remind others. And never forget that our God and Savior is much better than we’ll ever remember or can ever imagine. His greatness truly is unsearchable. (Ps. 145:3)

GRACE FOR CHANGE

O Lord, My every sense, member, faculty, affection, Is a snare to me, I can scarce open my eyes but I envy those above me, Or despise those below.

So begins the prayer from The Valley of Vision entitled Self-Deprecation. In a culture where low self-esteem is the ultimate sin, it’s refreshing to encounter confession that is so honest, so compelling, so familiar. Can you identify with this author’s sad situation? He realizes that our temptations don’t arise so much from things around us as things within us. A co-worker is honored and I wonder why nobody noticed my contribution. I silently applaud myself for buying a slightly-too-expensive gift for the family gift exchange. When asked for an opinion I’m ready with a critique, proving once again that I’m a smart, discerning individual. I go through the day with a vague sadness after realizing I wasn’t invited to a friend’s party. I struggle with envy that another parent’s child is more developed, artistic, or obedient than mine. The only temptations I need are those that come with everyday life.

Later on, the writer laments: Am I gifted? how I lust after applause! Am I unlearned? How I despise what I have not! Am I in authority? How prone to abuse my trust, make will my law, exclude others’ enjoyments, serve my own interests and policy! Am I inferior? How much I grudge others’ pre-eminence! Am I rich? How exalted I become! Thou knowest that all these are snares by my corruptions, and that my greatest snare is myself.

Just this past week a good friend told me about counsel a mutual friend had received. Without knowing the details of the situation I expressed my disagreement with the counsel and started mentally listing all the reasons I knew better. Fortunately, the Holy Spirit interrupted my thought process and reminded me that only Jesus should rightly be called the Wonderful Counselor. Rather than walking humbly with my God, I was exalting my opinion over the counsel of those who actually knew the facts. As a result of the Spirit’s work in my heart, I was able later on to confess my arrogance to my friend, as well as the friend whose counsel I had disagreed with.

How kind of our heavenly Father to provide a Gospel that not only ensures our forgiveness, but our change as well. God promises not only to justify us, but to sanctify and glorify us. (Heb. 10:14; Rom. 8:30) At the cross my sins were displayed, punishment was endured, full payment was made, forgiveness was obtained, and victory was assured. What hope we’ve been given in the midst of our sin! Therefore, I can acknowledge my deepest sinfulness, confident that God’s power to make me like His Son will ultimately surpass sin’s power to deceive me. The writer ends with this hopeful thought: Keep me ever mindful of my natural state, But let me not forget my heavenly title, Or the grace that can deal with every sin. May it be so for each one of us today and every day.

FINDING HOPE IN THE DEPTHS

I’m writing this after spending most of the last 24 hours in bed with the flu. I’ll spare you the details, but it ended up affecting everyone except Chelsea. The family we invited over for dinner last night also succumbed. It was a little special gift we gave them…

What’s been running through my mind at various points is the opening to Psalm 130: Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD! O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy! I’m not sure what depths the Psalmist was going through, but I definitely feel like I’ve been there. No motivation, no strength, no desire to do anything but stay right there in bed.

But even when my physical pain is the worst, it’s not my greatest problem. My sin is. "If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could