Music Ministry Conference (3 of 3)
Well, the conference ends, yes, the slick operation began to falter, yes there were issues with the tech, but my goodness the Word of God was preached! Our third session focused on the presence of God and what it means to be in His presence when we gather. Here are some thoughts on the session:
Gary Williams, Director of the Pastor’s Academy at London Seminary unpacked what it means to be in the Presence of God, specifically when it comes to Worship
There are two schools of thought:
1. Mono Modal – Worship is whole of life, you cannot draw near to God because you are always with God and God is a speaking God, who speaks to us anywhere, and through anything.
2. Historic Reformed – God is present in a particular way, in particular locations and at occasions. Having said this, God is also present at all times and occasions.
Before delving into these two views, Gary stressed that it is true that God is always present with believers in Christ, but there is a particular and rather special presence when we gather to worship Jesus. Yet what do we say to those who say, all of my life is in the presence of God and is worship? Simply, it is not true. Not all our life is worship, for sadly we are still tarnished by sin! Our life should be all worship to Jesus, but it is not due to our sin.
Specifically, what we learned is that the presence of God is felt and known when His Word is preached. God speaks through His word and therefore draws us near when His word is preached. He speaks to us, through His Word, when we are gathered (Hebrews 10:19 and James 4:8 is good examples).
The two stand out points for the whole talk were:
1. We gather in the presence of Jesus, He is therefore present in our Worship, Prayer and Preaching
2. We should delight in the presence of God Himself!
I, along with the Worship Team at Lincoln Baptist were truly blessed by the conference! We learned a lot, left with lots of questions to delve into and have a renewed spirit of thankfulness for our Lord Jesus Christ. If you want to know more, or be connected with some of the teaching, please message the church so we can point you in the right direction.
Pastor Ross Ferguson
P.S. Thank you Music Ministry UK – you are fantastic! You led us to Jesus, and in His presence we are encouraged, lifted up and filled with hope! Praise be to Him!