SpoonfulOfDreams

photo © Miroslav Vajdić for openphoto.net CC:Attribution-NoDerivs Let me relate an insignificant incident. Many years ago when I was living with mum and dad we had a new magazine rack. I asked my mum whom this was a gift from. She told me that she and dad had bought it for themselves. I had a good childhood and never went without. We had holidays every year and led a full family life. But money was tight and frivolous spending was out of the question. Had my parents been more liberal with their spending we would not have had the treats that we always looked forward to but that meant we couldn't have something unless it was a gift, had been pre-planned or was a necessity. In my mind the magazine rack was an attractive accessory but not entirely necessary which placed it in the category of a gift. On the one hand this thinking has blighted my life because I've convinced myself I'm unworthy to gift myself just like I thought it strange that my parents would give themselves a ...

photo © Sarah Klockars-Clauser for openphoto.net CC:Attribution-ShareAlike This was written some time ago in response to a guest article and the blogger's response to that article. The point I'm trying to make is that worship is a gift of God and, like the gift horse, should not be examined clinically. What should be tested is not the attitude of worshippers but attitudes towards worship. At one extreme some worship is viewed as entertainment or merely emotional and at the other that worshipping in spirit and in truth necessitates informality or freedom from constraint. We are in danger of being guests at the party arguing over who has given the best gift. The following is the main body of my response: I feel sad that the author feels we "must be very careful how we worship". It was for freedom that Christ set us free, no longer to be tied to customs, obligations and ritual. I also find it pompous to suggest that it is all about God. In corporate worship we are to bu...