Cornerstone Curriculum, Official Certification Edition

LESSON 3 | PRACTICING CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP: EFFECTIVE WORSHIP LEADING / 327

2. No one can approach God except through the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Worship in the Bible is the due response of rational creatures to the self-revelation of their Creator. It is honoring and glorifying of God by gratefully offering back to him all the good gifts, and all the knowledge of his greatness and graciousness, that he has given. It involves praising him for what he is, thanking him for what he has done, desiring him to get himself more glory by further acts of mercy, judgment, and power, and trusting him with our concern for our ~ J. I. Packer. Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs. (electronic version). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1995. own and others’ future well-being.

a. Acts 4.12

b. 1 John 2.23

3. Use and employ worship methods but do not substitute them for our need to approach and relate to God only through his Son.

a. 2 John 1.9

b. 1 Pet. 3.18

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c. Titus 2.14

Conclusion • The fundamental concept of Christian leadership is representation. As representatives of Jesus, his Church, and the Christian faith, we are called by God to lead God’s people to bring glory and honor to God. • Perhaps the most critical way in which we represent God is to lead his people in worship. • Worship is not mere form, tradition, and going through the motions of weekly service; true worship involves our obedience to the Spirit, according to the truth of God’s Word, in proper liturgical order, grounded in a living faith that celebrates God and his work in the world. • We lead the people into the presence of God in dependence on the Lord Jesus Christ alone to bring us before the Father.

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