This post continues the wonderful lecture by Robby Bell called Lament for a Wounded Faith.

• 2 Areas where our theology needs refinement:
1. Theology of worship and the church
• Why is our worship so antiseptic?
• Is the purpose of worship to forget our problems and sing happy songs?
• Lamenting is about honesty in our worship.
• We treat the Psalms of Lament as substandard parts of scripture.
2. Theology of God’s response to our suffering
• Stoic patience and acceptance is not the theme of the Bible.
• Tension between now and then is removed in favor of the “then”.
• Even in suffering, we continue to address our thoughts and fears to God as Job did.
• We cannot expect people’s understanding of God to reach higher than their hymnbooks. – Jenkins
• Lament can serve to disrupt and expose the idols in our heart.
• Ultimate goal of lamenting before God is not miraculous intervention but intimacy with God. – Lane
• God invites us to bring our wounds to him, to continue the dialogue with him.
• Cast your cares upon the Lord, and he will sustain you.
• Lament transforms us.
• Lament, rightly engaged, always leads us to the cross.
• Lament must intersect with the cross of Christ and his vicarious suffering.
• The cross always leads us to Jesus, the perfector of our faith.
• We lose something by not acknowledging the presence of what is there.
• Acknowledging where we are doesn’t mean we stay there.
• Too often, engaging the process scares us off.
• Our prayers should be honest.

Tags: General Christian Worship, Music, Psalms // Add Comment »