Praise, Worship, and the Presence of the Lord: 'A New Covenant Update - Podcast with Steve Bremner'

I recently had the privilege again of doing a podcast with my friend, Steve Bremner of Fire on Your Head. In this podcast we discussed the most sacred of all sacred cows–praise and worship. Touch this issue, and if people have either their identity, their money or both wrapped up in some belief structure about praise and worship, the long knives will come out! Praise and worship in this environments used to be a cottage industry. It is now big business. Touching these things is like stirring a bees nest, especially when the bees nest is full of twenty dollar bills.

It is my contention that in many evangelical, charismatic, and apostolic-prophetic environments, that we have degenerated into old covenant, if not pagan beliefs and practices. We erroneously believe ourselves to either be exercising our liberty, or “restoring” some lost truth about praise and worship, and its alleged importance in our “services.” I believe both our theology and practice need a complete new covenant, grace-based overhaul. I say this as someone who was a worship leader for 35 years in charismatic and apostolic-prophetic environments. I know the good and the bad.

This podcast is taken from my book, Praise Worship, and the Presence of the Lord: A Better Way to Worship. It is available here. It is also available in Kindle, epub, and pdf formats.

Praise and Worship: A New Covenant Perspective

Praise and Worship: A New Covenant Perspective

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the link to the podcast:

http://stevebremner.com/2015/06/entering-into-gods-presence-without-even-singing-songs/

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How Intimacy with the Lord Can Go Wrong: 'Intimacy Must have a Context Other Than Ourselves'

Intimacy Without Reproduction is a Deceptive Dead End

Intimacy Without Reproduction is a Deceptive Dead End

A body of water needs fresh inflow and regular outflow if it’s to avoid turning into a fetid, stagnant pond. Over-emphasized truth crimps the flow of our lives in one way or the other: on the input or output side. Without an outward focus and expression, the message of intimacy with the Lord will turn us into stinking spiritual ponds.

In the natural, the objective of intimacy is for reproduction. In the natural, frequent intimacy will usually result in another life unless unnaturally stopped–contraception. Teaching intimacy with the Lord, over, and over, and over, and over again without an “output” equivalency, is like spiritual contraception.

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Is it Dynamic Praise and Worship or Crowd Manipulation?: 'Psychically Working a Crowd Isn't Worship'

300px-Attributes_of_MusicSometimes out of our innocence, and other times out of our naiveté, the church fails to exercise her God-given abilities of discernment, and ends up labeling things as “God,” just because they may be numerically or financially successful.  Jesus nor Paul would be “successes” under that measuring stick.

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