{"id":3103,"date":"2015-04-13T11:58:21","date_gmt":"2015-04-13T16:58:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/?p=3103"},"modified":"2015-04-13T11:58:52","modified_gmt":"2015-04-13T16:58:52","slug":"we-celebrate-gods-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/2015\/04\/we-celebrate-gods-story\/","title":{"rendered":"We Celebrate God&#8217;s Story"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019re starting a blog series that invites worship leaders to interact with other voices of familiar and new Covenant worship leaders by looking at the core values of Covenant Worship:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cWhen Covenanters worship, we <strong>celebrate God\u2019s story<\/strong> through expressions <strong>rooted in our culture<\/strong>. Our worship creates a sense of <strong>intimacy<\/strong> with both God and one another and forms us into a <strong>community of disciples<\/strong> of Christ.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>This week, David Bjorlin helps us think more deeply about the value: We celebrate God\u2019s story.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2015\/04\/6970202153_543ab5e52b_z.jpg\" rel=\"prettyPhoto[3103]\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-3107\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2015\/04\/6970202153_543ab5e52b_z-300x220.jpg\" alt=\"6970202153_543ab5e52b_z\" width=\"300\" height=\"220\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2015\/04\/6970202153_543ab5e52b_z-300x220.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2015\/04\/6970202153_543ab5e52b_z.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>One of my favorite definitions of worship also happens to be the shortest:\u00a0<em>\u201cWorship does God\u2019s story.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0I remember reading theologian Robert Webber\u2019s definition in seminary and thinking, \u201cThat does not seem like the worship I know!\u201d Up until that point, I had thought worship was primarily about my story. Did I like the songs? Did the sermon speak to me? What did I get out of it?<\/p>\n<p>Webber\u2019s definition shifted my perception of worship and\u00a0<strong>asked not how God could enter my story but how we could enter God\u2019s.<\/strong>\u00a0Through the proclamation of Scripture, the breaking of bread, and the washing with water we proclaim the story of God that stretches from creation through our final redemption.<\/p>\n<p>It tells the story of the chosen nation of Israel, the story of the Holy Spirit falling on Pentecost to breathe life into the nascent church, the story that centers on the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of God\u2019s Son, Jesus Christ. It is even the story of how God used a small group of Swedish dissenters to proclaim that God\u2019s love and friendship were for all people. And I think this is good news for the worship leader.<\/p>\n<p>If worship is not primarily about my story or your story, then\u00a0<strong>our job is not to manufacture a worship experience or continually search for cultural relevance, but rather to tell God\u2019s story and invite the worshipping community to enact this story until we live our whole lives as characters in that story.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>As a worship leader, what are ways you can better enact God\u2019s story?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><em>Dave Bjorlin is the worship pastor at Resurrection Covenant Church and a grad student at Boston University School of Theology. He studies hymnody, the connection between worship and ethics, and the incorporation of children in worship. He is an adjunct lecturer on worship at North Park Theological Seminary.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-report-this\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc?moderation_action=report_form&#038;object_type=post&#038;object_id=3103&#038;width=250&#038;height=300\" class=\"thickbox\" title=\"Report This Post\">Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019re starting a blog series that invites worship leaders to interact with other voices of familiar and new Covenant worship leaders by looking at the core values of Covenant Worship: \u201cWhen Covenanters worship, we celebrate God\u2019s story through expressions rooted in our culture. Our worship creates a sense of intimacy with both God and one [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":162,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>We Celebrate God&#039;s Story - Worship Connect<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/2015\/04\/we-celebrate-gods-story\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"We Celebrate God&#039;s Story - Worship Connect\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We\u2019re starting a blog series that invites worship leaders to interact with other voices of familiar and new Covenant worship leaders by looking at the core values of Covenant Worship: \u201cWhen Covenanters worship, we celebrate God\u2019s story through expressions rooted in our culture. 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