The Reason for Liturgy

People often wonder why our worship gatherings at Coram Deo follow a scripted, liturgical sort of pattern. This is (part of) the answer.

My kids were sick a couple weeks ago, so they stayed home from church (to keep from getting everyone else's kids sick). When we miss church for any reason, we always create some sort of 'worship service' at home to reinforce the fact that Sundays are the Lord's Day. On this particular morning, my 7-year-old son took it upon himself to create a worship script for the family to follow.

Some people think that a free-form worship service is more spontaneous and Spirit-led. My response is: yes, and it also discriminates - especially against kids. Kids love structure. Their little minds don't yet grasp the abstract truths of the faith, so they have a hard time enjoying a free-flowing, spontaneous worship service. But they can follow a patterned liturgy. Liturgy is like a map: it helps you know where you're going. And kids like that.

Concert Props

It was a great show tonight, and a great way to celebrate Coram Deo's 1-year birthday.

Public blogosphere props to the following:

Derek Webb, for playing a great show
Gavin Johnson, for doing the advance work and booking the show
Jared Strock, for warming up the crowd with a diverse, artistic opening set
Tyler McCarty, Gavin, and Jared Strock, for borrowing trailers and hauling gear and piecing together PA equipment to make the show happen
Cody Seebohm, for putting in a 15-hour day to make the show sound good
Tracy Curtis, for being an organizational genius
Ivy and Hilary, for serving selflessly all day and making sure everyone's needs were met
Tom Miller and Travis Loewens, for working tirelessly behind the scenes
Willow Linger, for breaking out the official "Security" t-shirts
Todd Baker, for sticking around and helping us clean up until the last light was turned off
The Coram Deo Setup Crew, for working hard to prepare for a full day

Finally, thanks to all of you who came out to enjoy the show!

The DL on DWebb

On Sunday night, October 29, Coram Deo welcomes Derek Webb to help celebrate our one-year birthday and to make a cultural contribution to our city. We hope more and more people in Omaha will become convinced that good art and the Christian worldview are not antithetical.

Many have asked for concert details, so here they are:

Show starts at 7 PM

Doors open at 6:30

Venue Address is 1316 Jones Street

Tickets are $5

Opening for Derek will be Jared Strock, Coram Deo's own worship leader who is just completing studio work on his first CD

Only Coram Deo attenders have access to advance tickets. The rest of you will have to buy them at the door. We're not trying to be exclusive here; our goal is simply to give Coram Deo folks the first chance to invite friends who might not be inclined toward church. We could pack the place out with "church people," but that's not what we're looking to do.

A total of 450 tickets are available; when they're gone, they're gone. We think there will be plenty of room for everyone who wants to enjoy the show, but hey, if you're worried, get there early. We do expect visitors from Lincoln and southwest Iowa and other such locales.

Any questions, use the comment thread and we'll try to answer them. See you at the show!

Abraham Was Justified

For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous [or justified]. - Romans 2:13

How exactly does this verse square with the doctrine of justification by faith? Even more importantly, how does this square with the statement in the next chapter of Romans that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified [same word] freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3:23-24)? In Romans 2, it is obedience to the law which justifies; in Romans 3, it is the free grace of God which justifies. What's up with that?

The answer lies in the notion of semantic range. Words can have a range of meanings. Which particular meaning is in view depends on the context in which the word is used.

The Greek word dikaioo, translated "justify," can mean "count as righteous," which is the sense Paul is using in Romans 3 (and elsewhere in Romans where justification by faith is expounded). But it can also mean "prove right." A vernacular example of this usage of justify might be: "The Cardinals' play in the National League Championship Series justifies my preseason prediction." The fact that they are playing for the pennant justifies (proves right) my preseason claim.

It is this second use of dikaioo which both Paul (Romans 2:13) and James (James 2:24) are using when they speak of justification by works. The case study for both types of justification is Abraham (see Romans 4:1-3 and James 2:20-26), which should be your first clue that there is no tension between the two - the same guy demonstrates both. Here is a succinct quote from the study notes in my Bible that sums it up neatly:

Paul consistently referred to Abraham's faith as exercised in Genesis 15:1-6 [as a model of justification by faith]. In the Genesis 15 account, justify means "count as righteous:" "Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness" (Ge 15:6). James, however, recalled an episode (recorded in Genesis 22) that took place after Isaac had been born and grown into young adulthood. In the Genesis 22 account, "justify" means "proved right," as indicated by the fact that God was testing Abraham and that Abraham's justification consisted in his passing the test: "Now I know that you fear God" (Ge 22:12). James agreed with Paul that Abraham was initially counted as righteous when he believed God's promise (Jas 2:22-23), but he added that Abraham's later obedience proved the earnestness of his earlier faith.

The proper understanding of Romans 2:13, in light of the rest of Romans, is that "a believer's later obedience proves the earnestness of his (or her) earlier faith." We are justified (declared righteous, at the moment of salvation) by faith. And we are justified (proved right, at the end of life) by obedience. Or, as the Reformers said, "We are saved by faith alone; but the faith that saves is never alone."

Lane Hoffman?

This photo is posted here so that you can assess the validity of Derrick's comment from last week:

i watched the graduate last week and it turns out that lane looks exactly like dustin hoffman did at 25. its seriously freaky.

Hoffman, in a scene from The Graduate, on the left. Our beloved Lane on the right. Your thoughts?