{"id":19343,"date":"2018-07-04T09:33:44","date_gmt":"2018-07-04T13:33:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=19343"},"modified":"2018-07-04T15:31:21","modified_gmt":"2018-07-04T19:31:21","slug":"worship-wednesday-o-praise-the-name-of-the-lord-our-god-hillsong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=19343","title":{"rendered":"Worship Wednesday – O Praise the Name of the Lord Our God – Hillsong"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Photo Credit: Church Front<\/a><\/p>\n

“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – <\/em>Romans 5:8<\/a>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

“Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name.” <\/em>– Psalm 30:4<\/a><\/p>\n

“Give thanks to the LORD for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever.” – <\/em>Psalm 136:1<\/a><\/p>\n

Lost in the moment, it was as if the Heavens opened. We were in a Christian conference surrounded by medical and nursing personnel who want to serve those least served around the world. They would go out as volunteers, leaving their lucrative practices and their comfortable specialties. They would spend several long days in sticky hot makeshift clinics…in obscurity. Tending grateful patients and family members who would never post their experiences to social media. Deep in another world, very different from the US. These will go to serve a needy people and a God who loves that people…and who loves those going.<\/p>\n

We were at the mid-point of the conference, reconvening after the supper meal, and a praise team took the stage to gather us together in worship. Maybe this small group of singers and instrumentalists were regulars in a local church. [I missed the introduction.] They did not draw our attention to them (may have been intentional)…and God used them to draw us to Himself.<\/p>\n

The “cool factor”<\/a> of this praise team…and this whole conference actually…was beautifully not the focus.\u00a0 As we sang, we forgot about those on stage. Just a quiet pointing to God, and the Holy Spirit settled all over the rooms, and especially on our hearts.<\/p>\n

Maybe you experience this on a regular basis. It was a sweet reminder of how, even in our best efforts, we can avoid our culture’s trappings of “cool” which add nothing to what God is already about.<\/p>\n

Jon Bloom<\/a> explores this in his article The Cool God Is a Puny God<\/em><\/a>. He warns against bowing to the idol of cool in our worship of God. God just doesn’t do “cool”.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because, in the apt words of the Incredible Hulk in The Avengers<\/a>, Cool is a \u201cpuny god<\/a>.\u201d Just because Cool is culturally pervasive doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s big. It just has good marketing.<\/em><\/p>\n

The true, big God is after our biggest, deepest, widest, longest-lasting joy. That\u2019s why he commands us to \u201clove the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind\u2026 [and] love your neighbor as yourself\u201d (Matthew 22:37\u201339<\/a>). He designed us not to find happiness in how others think of us, but in our loving others; not pursuing others\u2019 admiration but in pursuing others\u2019 good. That\u2019s the joy that God has for us in commands like this:<\/em><\/p>\n

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his interests, but also to the interests of others.<\/em>\u00a0 (Philippians 2:3\u20134<\/a>)*<\/em><\/p>\n

[Sidebar: I mean no offense. Some of you may be completely cool without seeking it – trendsetters, generally just winsome to those around you. If you’re just being yourself…but if you’re trying to be “cool”, that’s a bondage none of us need. Our dilemma is when people measure themselves and each other by the culture’s “coolness” gauge. Jesus just doesn’t fit anywhere on this scale. He is so far beyond anything we might think is cool. Right?]<\/p>\n

Worship<\/a> with me to the Hillsong<\/a>‘s O Praise the Name of Jesus<\/em>. That little praise team led us in singing this song…and we forgot them, forgot ourselves, and gathered together around the throne of God:<\/p>\n

I cast my mind to Calvary
\nWhere Jesus bled and died for me
\nI see His wounds, His hands, His feet
\nMy Saviour on that cursed tree<\/p>\n

His body bound and drenched in tears
\nThey laid Him down in Joseph’s tomb
\nThe entrance sealed by heavy stone
\nMessiah still and all alone<\/p>\n

O praise the name of the Lord our God
\nO praise His name forevermore
\nFor endless days we will sing Your praise
\nOh Lord, oh Lord our God<\/p>\n

And then on the third at break of dawn
\nThe Son of heaven rose again
\nO trampled death where is your sting?
\nThe angels roar for Christ the King<\/p>\n

O praise the name of the Lord our God
\nO praise His name forevermore
\nFor endless days we will sing Your praise
\nOh Lord, oh Lord our God<\/p>\n

He shall return in robes of white
\nThe blazing sun shall pierce the night
\nAnd I will rise among the saints
\nMy gaze transfixed on Jesus’ face<\/p>\n

O praise the name of the Lord our God
\nO praise His name forever more
\nFor endless days we will sing Your praise
\nOh Lord, oh Lord our God
\nOh Lord, oh Lord our God
\nOh Lord, oh Lord our God**<\/p>\n

Postscript: This world lost a man this week who definitely gave no thought to whether he was cool or not. His name is Robert Wink, and he was welcomed Home by His Savior – the One he made much of his whole life. Bob understood that whatever cool was added nothing to the Person of Jesus. Bob was also moved to action by our need for God’s enduring love. A love that is steadfast despite the changing whims of a self-seeking culture. \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Bob loved people and he loved Jesus, and he took every opportunity to bring people to the saving knowledge of Jesus.<\/p>\n

Obituary – Robert E. “Bob” Wink<\/a><\/p>\n

The world is diminished without this dear man. May it be true of us that at the end of our days, we chose Jesus over self, in our every endeavor…no matter how uncool that might make us. It doesn’t matter.<\/p>\n

Hallelujah!<\/p>\n

Song Story – O Praise the Name<\/em> – Marty Sampson<\/a><\/p>\n

*The Cool God Is a Puny God<\/a> – <\/em>Jon Bloom<\/a><\/p>\n

**Lyrics to O Praise the Name<\/em> – Songwriters: Dean Ussher, Benjamin Hastings, Marty Sampson <\/a><\/p>\n

YouTube Video – Hulk vs. Loki – Puny God<\/em> – The Avengers<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo Credit: Church Front “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8 “Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name.” – Psalm 30:4 “Give thanks to the LORD for He is good, for His steadfast … Continue reading Worship Wednesday – O Praise the Name of the Lord Our God – Hillsong<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[926,2825,799,2820,2126,1705,1180,183,1000,794,3208,1277,5221,2556,599,4732,18,5130,795,2611,1348,432,870,3752,719,761,1102,1456,537,32,47,203,946],"tags":[6171,5268,6162,6169,1025,6166,1026,1836,53,1835,1244,6165,6164,6163,6172,6168,1008,6170,71,1464,6167,1603,2777,49],"class_list":["post-19343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-attending-or-focus","category-branding","category-church-2","category-cleverness","category-community","category-conversations","category-crucifixion","category-culture-religion","category-easter-and-lent","category-faithfulness","category-finishing-strong","category-glory-of-god","category-god-the-father","category-grief-and-loss","category-heaven","category-holy-spirit","category-jesus","category-legacy","category-love-2","category-love-your-neighbor","category-marginalized-people","category-music","category-neighbors","category-purpose-in-life","category-reconciliationforgiveness","category-redeeming-restoring","category-social-media","category-steadfast-love","category-volunteeringserving","category-walk-with-god","category-wednesday-worship","category-word-of-god","category-worship","tag-anastasis","tag-benjamin-hastings","tag-cool","tag-cool-god","tag-crucifixion","tag-dean-ussher","tag-easter","tag-god","tag-hillsong","tag-jesus","tag-jon-bloom","tag-marty-sampson","tag-medical-teams","tag-o-praise-the-name-of-jesus","tag-obituary","tag-puny-god","tag-resurrection","tag-robert-wink","tag-savior","tag-steadfast-love","tag-the-avengers","tag-volunteering","tag-wednesday-worship","tag-worship"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pauPAB-51Z","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19343"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19343\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19359,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19343\/revisions\/19359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}