Jason Locke's Blog

Everyone worships something.  Some worship their bodies -- though the older we get, the harder that becomes!  Some worship sports.  Some worship money or possessions.  Others worship their own children.  On and on it goes. The writer of Psalm 33 describes worship to the one true God.  First, we learn who is to worship God: the righteous.  This is not about judging who is righteous and who is not.  It's about understanding righteousness through the lens of the psalms.  And through that lens, we see that the righteous are those who trust God and are grateful. The writer of Psalm 33 then explains why righteous people worship God.  Verses 4-5 state four reasons why the righteous rejoice, praise, make melody, sing and play to his glory. 1) "The word of the Lord is righteous."   God's word provides life.  His ways are good.  The writer of Psalm 19 describes God's word as being sweeter than honey....

I've heard a few bad sermons in my day.  Shoot, I've preached a few bad sermons.  Do I hear an Amen? But last night was not a time for bad sermons.  Jeff Walling traveled across the US from Charlotte to Fresno to speak all weekend at Northside Christian Church.  Jeff preaches for the Providence Road Church of Christ.  That's "Church of Christ" as in a cappella Churches of Christ.  That's "Church of Christ" as in the group that has tended to think they were the only ones going to heaven.  With that kind of mentality, you shouldn't be surprised to learn that our preachers didn't get many invitations to speak outside our "bonds of fellowship."  Sure, Max Lucado is "one of us."  Thanks to his success as an author and to his gentle, ecumenical spirit, he speaks at churches of all persuasions.  But he is the exception. Since 2005, a handful of our preachers have received occasional invitations to speak in Christian Church...

Verse 1 tells us who should worship. As I said in Monday's post, the righteous should worship God. I described what the Book of Psalms means by a righteous person -- not a perfect person, but one who trusts in God and is grateful for his help. Some worship for the wrong reasons, but at least they are worshiping. In Philippians Paul spoke about people who preach Jesus with the wrong motives. He describes these preachers as selfish and competitive (Phil 1:15-17). They are neither humble nor gentle in their approach. Nevertheless, Paul says that it's okay. Even though their reasons might be all wrong, they are still preaching Jesus. And he rejoices because Jesus is still proclaimed. So it is with those who worship for the wrong reasons. They may be show-offs or show-ups or camouflagers. But at least they are praising God. Some who are righteous, however, do not praise God. Perhaps they were originally grateful to God. Over time, though, they drifted off into self-righteousness. Th...

Thanks to Jim Miller for sharing this one.

In Psalm 33, the psalmist begins by describing the type of person who worships or rejoices in God. "Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous." Righteous worshipers are the ones God wants. But this begs the question: who is an unrighteous worshiper? Let's talk a bit about types of worshipers. We've all seen people worship in a way that strikes us the wrong way. Now this is dangerous ground because it sounds judgmental. But that's how our minds work. We constantly make judgments -- right or wrong -- about things we see around us. We certainly shouldn't judge the way other people worship. But let's admit that not everyone has the best motives when they worship publicly. Jesus addressed this problem in the Sermon on the Mount (see particularly Matt 6). Here are some types of worshipers who seem less than righteous. (1) Show offs . Some want to receive praise for their worship. Whether it's the long, flowery prayer or the aggressively raised hands, some people ...

Differences in worship divide many Christians. The greatest schism in the history of Christianity ostensibly happened because of worship -- namely, whether or not images (icons) could be tools in helping believers worship. Many contemporary Christians choose their place of worship based upon style of worship. Other factors may be important to many people, but worship is clearly one of the most emotional, personal and divisive issues within Christianity today. I'm going to take my time with this issue. For the foreseeable future, we'll look at worship through different lenses. Some will be personal. Others will be textual or historical. Please note that this is a very broad subject, and I hope some of you will feel free to comment and add your perspectives and thoughts to the conversation. I'll start with a look at Psalm 33. This psalm from our Bible is all about worship. If we're going to learn about worship, we will do well to listen to the testimony of scripture. The ...

I follow Big East basketball. For years now, I've watched Scottie Reynolds of the Villanova Wildcats improve and become the best player in the Big East and a first-team All American. Even though I was typically rooting against 'Nova, he always seemed like a class act. Yesterday, I was stunned to learn that Reynolds is a Church of Christ kid. A great article in this month's Christian Chronicle profiles this college basketball star . There's another great article about Reynolds in this blog posting from the Basketball Times Online . He's from the greater DC area and grew up going to church every time the doors opened. Even when his high school team had a Wednesday night game, he typically went to Bible study first and then went to the game. Villanova is in Philadelphia, one of five D-1 programs in the Philadelphia area (St. Joseph's, Penn, Temple, Villanova and La Salle). Going to college hasn't stopped Scottie's involvement in church. He is active in the ...