Public Worship … (September 2019 Update)
“Private worship is more important than Public Worship.” Until a few weeks ago, this is what I have always said and believed. But in preparing for teaching a class on Worship, I read an article by Don Whitney on “Private Worship.”i In his introduction, he wrote about a sermon by David Clarkson, Public Worship to be Preferred Before Private” which changed his mind. After reading Don’s comments about the sermon, I then read the sermon itself. I was convinced! Clarkson has 12 lengthy major points followed by 9 explanations and another 11 exhortations or applications! Here are a few reasons that I have summarized from this excellent sermon with a couple more of my own observations.
First, Public Worship is more like heaven than Private Worship. In private worship, we are alone with the Lord – which has its benefits also. But in public worship, we are joining our hearts and voices together with people from every nation, tribe and tongue in praising God. Public worship is in many ways a special foretaste of heaven itself!
Second, Public Worship glorifies God more greatly. Certainly God is glorified in the worship of even one of His redeemed. But when thousands upon thousands glorify God together in the same place, God’s glory is magnified and seen by all.
Third, Public Worship can be more edifying than Private Worship. In private worship, you are mainly edifying your own soul. In public worship, we build up one another as we worship together. Also, private worship is often frustrated by times of personal lukewarmness; but in public worship our own weaknesses are lessened by joining together in worship with the whole Body. So, while private worship can be edifying for us personally, public worship has the advantage of edifying us even when we are personally weak or struggling spiritually.
Fourth, Public Worship includes Exhortation from God’s Word. While it is true that the Word of God should be central even in our private worship, public worship affords an opportunity for us to hear clear exposition and exhortation from God’s Word to our own lives. Try as hard as we might, in our private devotions, we can be inclined to skip over or ignore convicting sections of God’s Word. Additionally, we are often “surprised” by the Word in public worship and we hear what God is saying in ways we would not in private devotions.
Fifth, Public Worship provides opportunities for ministry to one another. In private worship, there is little opportunity to be used by the Lord in ministering to others. We may receive many great blessings in private worship but we have far less opportunity to use those blessings in ministering to others. In public worship, the gifts and talents of many can be used to touch the lives of many, many more.
Hebrews 10:24-25 reminds us to “consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. Private worship has many values and should never be neglected. Consistent, daily private worship will enrich your public worship and will enable you to walk with the Lord every day – not just on Sundays! But public worship should not be neglected either. It has many spiritual benefits that we cannot gain simply through private worship. So, worship the Lord – publicly and privately – for He is worthy to be praised!
Teaching Worship, Prayer and Evangelism …
In the beginning of the month, I taught a class on Prayer and Worship for our 4th year students at KTS. I always enjoy teaching this class for many reasons. One reason is that we get to spend time in worship every day. That makes this class a special joy.
This year we had to make some last minute changes. This is the first year we are teaching Prayer and Worship together. This change was made so that the students could have an entire class just on Evangelism (I’m teaching that class in a couple of weeks). However, this meant that these students had Prayer and Evangelism (the old class) two years ago. When we covered the syllabus, we discovered this error. So I decided to take some lessons from the new evangelism class and teach these to the students. We had a great class studying about worship in the mornings and learning about and practicing evangelism in the afternoons. So we were not only in class each day but we also spent some time on the streets of Kyiv sharing the gospel.
After teaching this class, I went back to work on preparing for my next two classes. At the end of September, I will be teaching the new Evangelism class at KTS in Kyiv. We finish on Friday and then I will be home one day before boarding a train to head to Lviv to teach Prayer and Worship. Please be praying for me as I teach. As always, I want the lessons to be biblical, theological and full of practical, pastoral information and examples. I never know exactly what I will be sharing until I hear the situations and issues that the students are dealing with. Pray for me to be clear and helpful for the students.
Also, pray for my strength. I am still having many problems physically, especially with endurance. I have developed the pattern of not eating lunch in the cafeteria while teaching. Instead, I go back to my room, eat a quick sandwich and sleep for an hour until the next session. This seems to give me enough strength to make it through the rest of the day. So pray for my health and strength too as I teach these two classes.
Family …
Our girls and Katya also opened their first day of school for the new year this month! The girls were excited to get started and Katya put together some special activities for the first day. This year’s curriculum takes the girls through the History of the Bible to provide a foundation for future years. It also includes weekly science and nature experiments as well as math and reading lessons. Also, every week, they will be memorizing a verse from Proverbs.
They also have enjoyed helping grandma cut beans and so that we can freeze them for the winter. We have had a great harvest of beans and tomatoes and cucumbers this year! We have also tried to learn a new method of preservation each year. The first year, we did jams (very simple), then we began to can tomatoes and fruits. Last year, we had enough tomatoes to last until late spring. We had enough fruits to make it the whole year! We added more tomatoes to can this year and we are hoping to make until we have fresh tomatoes next year. We also learned to blanch and freeze many vegetables that we were not able to can.
Then decided to add dehydration to our preservation. We love drying fruits and herbs and some vegetables. Many of the kids snacks are simply dried fruits. They love them and we are glad to give them nutritious, low sugar snacks. This year, we decided to add fermentation to our preservations. We started with pickles and we have been adding tomatoes and plan to add carrots and other vegetables. It’s been fun but it also saves us a lot when winter comes and prices climb 3-4 times the summer prices.
But it is not all work and no play. Both girls got started riding bikes and we have loved being able to do this with them. We have been able to go on rides in nearby parks and just around the house. We also enjoy building a fire and cooking out and enjoying marshmallows now that the weather is turning cooler.
Praying for Ukraine …
Please continue to pray for Ukraine. This month, Russia and Ukraine exchanged a number of prisoners. This included the 22 sailors captured by Russia in international waters and held in prison for over a year. It is strange to see a prisoner exchange between two countries that are supposedly not at war! But at least the prisoners are now home with their families.
However, this does not mean that Russia is ending its conflict in Eastern Ukraine. In fact, they have increased sending weapons and they appear to have stepped up attacks on Ukraine. Over the last year, we usually saw 1-2 soldiers being killed every week. This summer, we are seeing at least 1 killed every day as the Russian and Russian-backed forces are increasing their attacks. We really don’t know what they are planning but clearly the conflict is far from over (Even with the prisoner exchange, Russia still hold nearly 80 Ukrainian citizens prisoner). Please remember to pray for Ukraine and especially for those ministering to our soldiers and refugees from the East.
Thanks for praying for us. With summer drawing to a close, we have many more needs for prayer as I will be teaching 4 classes this fall. Also, pray for my health. I continue to have difficulties with breathing and energy. Pray for my strength as I teach this fall. Thanks again for your love for us and for your partnership in our ministry here in Ukraine as I start my 23rd year teaching in Ukraine!
By His Grace,
Jim and Katya
Kristina and Nadia
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