Cornerstone Curriculum, Official Certification Edition - Mentor's Guide

M E N T O R N O T E S / 1 3 9

Have students share briefly in groups how this realization occurred. (There is not time for everyone to give their entire testimony so make sure students hone in on the specific point of when they grasped that the could not earn salvation). Bring students back together and say “The Church exists only because of the grace of God. Today’s lesson helps us understand worship as the Church’s response to grace.” Both of these last two contact portions deal with a similar theme, that is, the character and quality of our worship, and what it is that God requires or demands. What is significant in considering worship here is the cultural and social norms associated with the practices and events deemed to be worship. In other words, churches are largely unaware that their worship is culturally and historically conditioned, and that worship of God, as an expression of truth and the heart, must have a deeply personal and immediate characteristic to it. It will never be worship simply to ape what others have done, expecting the feelings and affections that they had to be reproduced in us by the mere doing of their acts, the singing of their songs, or the practice of their deeds. Worship, as an expression of the Spirit, will always be dressed in cultural garments but it will also always be given to the God-above-all-cultures, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus. Gaining flexibility in worship styles and methods is directly correlated to seeing that God is a God of all humankind, and therefore can be legitimately and wonderfully glorified through the heartfelt cultural expression of any people who have repented, believed, and are following through faith, hope, and love the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Equating some cultural expression of worship with worship itself , that is, the way in which all worship everywhere is to be conceived and done, is a common and yet devastating error made in many congregations, and by many Christians. Allowing freedom to express our deepest gratitude and praise to God is a critical part of a leader’s ministry in leading others into the presence of God.

& 4 page 269 Contact 1

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& 5 page 269 Contacts 2 and 3

C h r i s t i a n M i n i s t r y