worship Archives - Colin Dye

A new sound of praise and worship

Colin Dye — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 12:13:04 +0000

New sounds of worship are breaking out in Kensington Temple. Music that expresses our praise to God in a contemporary style is bringing freshness to our services and inspiring a new generation to connect with God. Tired of the worn-down sameness that characterizes much of the recent Christian worship music we are breaking out of the mould and finding new expressions of joy. This fresh sound releases people in the church and connects with those outside.

A new sound of praise and worship- KT, Forever, the New Album by Kensington Temple Worship Band

Once thought radical and outrageous, various forms of Christian rock music have had a pervasive influence on the musical vocabulary of churches for decades. And yet, there is much more out there for us to discover and bring to God.
The contemporary R & B style of music is rich and varied. Its technique of layering sounds provides an ideal platform for creativity and musical expression. Almost any combination of musical sounds can be built onto its rhythmic foundation. That way we can explore, develop and embrace a wide range of musical styles and tastes while presenting something that is clear, uplifting, honest and authentic. A truly contemporary London urban sound.
Our Music Director, Fabio D?Andrea is currently introducing this new style into our worship repertoire. He has written around 30 new songs and they are being well-received by our congregations. Dax O?Callaghan, the successful singer-songwriter and performer who brought us the hip-hop dance production, ?Soldier? is about to release a new contemporary Christian music album containing many songs suitable for congregational worship.
Committed Christians like these are dedicating their talents to bringing new expressions of joy, praise, worship and reality to the musical life of the church. They are helping us become true worshippers and, at the same time, to connect us with the world around us. However, using contemporary music in this way is not always welcomed.

Why should the devil have all the best music?
General Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, horrified respectable Victorian society by encouraging Christian words to be set to popular music tunes and played in his meetings. He responded to the inevitable criticism by asking ?Why should the devil have all the good tunes??
Larry Norman, the Christian singer and song writer introduced popular rock music in the ?Jesus Revolution? of the late 60?s and 70?s of the last Century. He fostered the legendary ?Jesus People? movement that reached out to the hippie generation. Young people loved him, but some Conservative Christians hated him for it. Like Booth, he responded by writing a song entitled, ?Why should the devil have all the good music??
Contemporary Christian music has never had an easy ride in the church. Every innovation, every fresh musical instrument brought into the service of God, was at first resisted, criticized and condemned before becoming more generally accepted. The pipe organ for us today is the symbol of traditional church music. But when it was first introduced some centuries into the Christian era it was condemned as being of the devil. During the?16^th Century some leaders of the Reformation called it “the insignia of Baal, foolishly borrowed by the Papists from the Jews.?

Evil Musical Instruments
It is easy to see how the Early Church refused to use musical instruments which were associated at that time with paganism. The organ was connected with gladiatorial combat. Pipes and flutes were associated with idol worship. Clement, one of the Early Church Fathers, wrote, ?Leave the pipe to the shepherd, the flute to the men who are in fear of gods and intent on their idol worshipping. Such musical instruments must be excluded from our wingless feasts, for they are more suited for beasts and for the class of men that is least capable of reason than for men.?
Lyman Coleman, a Presbyterian, wrote in his history of the Primitive Church, “The tendency of this (instrumental music) was to secularize the music of the church, and to encourage singing by a choir. Such musical accompaniments were gradually introduced; but they can hardly be assigned to a period earlier than the fifth and sixth centuries. Organs were unknown in church until the eighth or ninth centuries. Previous to this, they had their place in the theatre, rather than in the church. They were never regarded with favour in the Eastern Church, and were vehemently opposed in many places in the West.”
Rejecting the Sacred/Secular Divide
It is not only the Early Church that struggled with the concept of Contemporary Christian Music. The Modern Church has also had its opponents to the electric guitar, the drums and the sounds of a synthesizer. Appeals to Old Testament forms of worship, which apparently enjoyed the sounds of practically every available instrument in ancient times, are groundless in the opinion of some. Are these not symbols of Old Testament flesh worship made redundant by Christ?s call to worship ?in spirit and truth??
The real issue here is not whether we use musical instruments or not, but whether our praise and worship is the genuine expression of our hearts. We can worship God a cappella or accompanied by musical instruments. The only real question is whether we are offering genuine worship.
Another big error to avoid in all this is the false separation between the so-called ?secular? and the so-called ?sacred?. This sacred/secular divide is one of the biggest evils of our day. To the believer it means that we must disengage from our contemporary society and live in a holy bubble. To the unbelievers it means that the Christian faith should be pushed to the margins of society.
But surely there is nothing truly secular except sin itself. Objects, machines or technology are not sinful in themselves ? only in how and to what end they are sometimes used. Much modern contemporary music is dedicated to ungodly goals. But God can make even ?the wrath of man to praise him?. Contemporary music styles can be brought to the feet of Jesus and surrendered to him. This way we show that he is Lord of everything, including the gift of music.
There is also a hunger for God out there in the world and this hunger is reflected in much of its music. A recent song by the band, ?The Wanted?, expresses simple sentiments about the search for and appreciation of love. It is as if they are singing about Jesus ? and do not know it. We should be out there telling them that Christ is real and showing them what a personal relationship with him can mean – the difference only he can make. What better way than doing it through music, the language of our contemporary world?

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Delight yourselves in the Lord

Colin Dye — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 09:00:35 +0000

Delight yourself also in the LORD: and he shall give you the desires of your heart.
Vintage sermon by colin Dye.

Delight yourselves in the Lord, a sermon by Colin Dye

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New Piano Album by Fabio D'Andrea

Colin Dye — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 13:24:21 +0000

I am pleased to announce that Kensington Temple’s new Musical Director, Fabio D’Andrea, has released an album of piano music called ‘Reflection’ which has been a recommended album of the week on Classic FM.

Fabio d’Andrea new classical album

As well as featuring wonderful traditional classics ‘Reflection’ also features some of Fabio’s own compositions, resulting in a very relaxing soundtrack which is particularly great to use in personal times of reflection, soaking and prayer.
Fabio will be giving an interview on Premier Radio during the morning of Thursday 6th as well as on many regional BBC radio stations, in addition to airplay on Classic FM. We are asking everyone to please support him as he is sharing his amazing talents out in the secular arena and representing Kensington Temple.

As a church we have always championed the arts, and this is a great way for us to unite and present KT’s home talent to the public.
You can support this project by buying a copy of the album from either iTunes or another retailer. Every single purchase will help push the CD into the secular arena and help raise the public exposure of KT’s talent.
We do thank-you for all your valued support. Link’s to download ‘Reflection’ or to have the physical CD delivered to you directly are here:
iTunes download
Amazon download
CD online store

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Worship in heaven

Colin Dye — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 09:39:30 +0000

Painting by Beth Larsen entitled "Heavenly Worship"

True worship is God?s eternal heart for all sinful people. Since the dawn of time, the Father has been actively seeking sinful men and women who will be his people and will worship him in spirit and truth.? Even now, he is drawing believers together essentially to worship him, and is still gently persuading us that this is his good-and-perfect will for our lives.
We have considered the insights of Proverbs 8, which seems to show that God has been rejoicing in-and-with himself for all eternity – even before his worship overflowed into creation. This seems to suggest that all creation was made primarily to join in with the pre-existing heavenly worship, and so to enjoy God in his presence forever.
The Scriptures include several other insights which also appear to show that heaven is characterised by true worship and great rejoicing. For example:
????????????? Isaiah 6:1-3 describes the angelic rejoicing which goes on within heaven
????????????? Ezekiel 40-47 suggests that heavenly worship is the destiny of God?s people
????????????? Luke 2:13-14 reveals the great praise of the heavenly host
????????????? Luke 15:7 & 10 show that there is rejoicing in heaven.
??????????????? These insights, however, are dwarfed by the awesome descriptions in the book of Revelation, which make God?s ultimate purposes plain. He is drawing us together to a place of total worship, where we will live together in his perfect presence forever, and will spend eternity rejoicing together in-and-with him . We can say that worship in spirit and truth participates in and anticipates the worship of heaven.
?????????????????Worship in Revelation
??????????????? Heavenly worship is the backdrop and context for all the visions of the book of Revelation. We must take care that we are not so concerned to understand the apostle John?s visions correctly that we overlook what he reveals about the place and priority of heavenly worship.
??????????????? Revelation 4 is the first of John?s descriptions of heavenly worship: verse 2 shows that this recognition and appreciation of worship can come only in-and-through the Spirit, and verses 8-11 reveal that everything in heaven lives to worship God. It is much the same in 5:8-14; 7:9-17; 11:15-19 & 15:3-5.
??????????????? These important passages show that heavenly worship embraces ancient hymns (15:3) and brand new songs (5:9); that it focuses entirely on the person of God (4:8, 11; 5:9, 13; 7:12; 11:17; 15:3 & 16:5); and that it celebrates what God has done, what he is doing, and what he has promised to do (4:11; 5:9-10, 12, 13; 11:17-18 & 15:4).
??????????????? In particular, the book of Revelation reveals that heavenly worship revolves around two great themes of worship:
????????????? The song of creation – Revelation 4:11
????????????? The song of salvation – Revelation 5:9.
These two themes appear constantly throughout Scripture, and both reveal everything about God?s person and character – his power and his love, his grace and his purity, and so on. Because God reveals himself through his mighty acts, we experience him for who he is when we worship him in his presence as Creator and Saviour.
As creation is the essential overflow of God?s own worship, the worship of God as creator has always been at the heart of worship. Creation is a visible evidence of God?s power and might, and a proof of his uniqueness and supremacy. Through creation, the Old Testament people of God were able to recognise that God was the only God, and that other gods were simply impotent idols.
The Jews were called to worship one God because they knew through creation that there was only one God, and this was meant to determine how they lived and served. Many Psalms celebrate God as creator, and his handiwork of creation and divine creativity – seen again in the new heaven and earth – is a major theme of heavenly worship.
Many modern believers fail to sing the song of creation, and neglect to worship God as creator. In their worship, they focus almost entirely upon God?s work of salvation. But the Father?s work of redemption is inseparably linked with his work of creation (he has the right to redeem only because it is his creation) and we cannot appreciate redemption properly without recognising its vital link with creation. We consider this in Knowing the Father.
In the Old Testament, the people of Israel knew that God continually acted to save them from their enemies, from famine, from disease, and so on. They knew that Yahweh was their Saviour, and that their existence as a nation depended upon his mighty acts of deliverance. In particular, their deliverance from slavery in Egypt was basic to their understanding of God, and ?the song of Moses? in Exodus 15:1-21 was their definitive expression of worship to God as Saviour – this is the hymn which Revelation shows is still being sung in heaven.
We know, however, that God has performed an even greater act of salvation for his people than the Passover miracle. At the cross, Jesus became the Saviour of the whole world, delivered us all from the slavery of sin, and decisively defeated our enemy. This has become the theme of countless songs of salvation sung through the ages, and is the theme of the new heavenly songs of Revelation 1:5-6 & 5:9-14.
?Personal and corporate
Revelation?s most telling insight into heavenly worship is its consistent presentation of heavenly worshippers as being both fully individual and completely corporate.
Revelation 5:11-13, for example, reports that ?ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands and thousands? and ?every creature in heaven and on the earth and under the earth? are united in one expression of worship. They retain their distinctive personhood but have been brought by the Spirit to a climax of worshipping oneness.
It is the same in Revelation 7:9-10, which records how ?a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, people and tongue? are standing before the throne and shouting praise to God. Their individual, national, tribal and linguistic differences are still obvious, but they are united in praise and worship to God. They are offering praise and worship which is personal to them, but which is expressed through their Spirit-made corporate oneness.
This, then, is our destiny – to be an eternal worshipper who is thoroughly personal yet fully united with all other worshippers.?? Like the people of Israel in the days of the first temple, we have been drawn by God?s grace towards him. In faith, we have set out on a personal pilgrimage towards him, and have then discovered that God is building us together with the other believers in our area.
Together with them, we are journeying on towards him, learning to worship and serve together, beginning to appreciate our interdependence in the body, struggling at times with the tensions but working to maintain the unity of the Spirit.
And the great goal of eternal, heavenly worship in the intimate presence of God is always before us. It has always been God?s greatest desire for us to enjoy him in the same way, and just as intensely, as we read the persons of God rejoiced in themselves in Proverbs 8.
The God who is personal but corporate, one but more than one, is drawing us into exactly the same eternal enjoyment of personal but corporate rejoicing. In his great grace and mercy, the Father is seeking yet more sinful men and women who will worship him in spirit and truth, and will enjoy his glorious presence forever.

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Extravagant Love

Colin Dye — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 00:19:26 +0000

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The Father requires Worship

Colin Dye — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 23:55:40 +0000

The Father requires worship

October is our annual Cell Conference month. This year the theme is True Worshippers. My goal is that we should all move closer to the Father by learning the lost art and true meaning of worship. As a cell church, we know that the real life of the church is found in the cells, just as in the human body. Worship is part of our DNA as Christians. That’s why genuine worship beginning in the cells and extending to the celebration services makes for a healthy and active church. During the conference, the Friday and Saturday daytime seminars will explore the part worship plays both in cell meetings and celebration services.
Keeping your focus
When we worship God in spirit and truth, we maintain our focus on him, we orientate our lives around him and we see ourselves as we truly are. Our lives are hidden with Christ in God because, now, Christ is our life. That’s why we set our affection and our minds fully on him. Worship is one of the main ways we do that. And that’s one of the reasons God requires our worship.
In John’s Gospel, Jesus reveals that the Father is seeking true worshippers – those who bring him genuine and sincere worship (John 4:23). The word translated “seek” in this verse carries an important nuance. It means “to require”, and that shows worship is not an optional extra but something that God expects us to give him.
This is a strange concept in our self-centred world. To unspiritual ears it sounds that God is looking to boost himself by the adoration of others. But he is not like us. We may crave attention and acclamation. He does not. Worship breaks the cycle of our self-centredness and answers the need we have to look away from ourselves to the presence and power of our Father in heaven.
Linking with heaven
Worship enables us to “behold the glory of the Lord” and to realize that the “veil of separation” has been removed. Intimacy is mixed with wonder and adoration. That is the mainspring of our Christian existence. Worship is liberating and life-affirming because it is our link with heaven. As we gaze in awe at our holy and righteous God we find some of that goodness released in our hearts. The Holy Spirit brings about his energizing transformation within. We rise from the place of worship refreshed, changed, and ready to take on our earthly challenges.
God bless you as you worship and serve God with us this month.

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Knowing and Enjoying God

Colin Dye — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 01:10:32 +0000

Knowing and enjoying God

This autumn we are preparing for our True Worshippers Energise Conference at the end of October. We begin with a Festival of Worship incorporating a series of creative events and seminars on worship. God’s people must learn to be true worshippers. By our praise, worship and thanksgiving we enter into the realm of faith and joy. We connect with our heavenly Father and we discover his heart. We get to know him and enjoy the intimacy that comes with our sonship.
Jesus lived only for the glory of Abba, God the Father. This was the whole motivation of his life. That’s why he came, that’s why he lived and that’s why he died. We learn from Jesus’ example to live for God’s glory by worshipping him in spirit and truth as we experience his eternal life.
This life brings the deep joy and fullness God created us to know. Some Bible teachers once put it like this. They asked the question, ‘What is our chief purpose in life?’ And they gave the following answer. The ultimate purpose of our lives is to ‘know God and to enjoy him forever.’
The word ‘worship’ means to acknowledge the worth of someone or something. We can appreciate many good things in life – our friends and family or the gifts and talents we have ourselves or in others. But, these things are the precious and gracious gifts of God, ‘who gives us all things richly to enjoy’ (1 Timothy 6:17).
In worship, we recognise God for who he is. We see his real worth, which is associated with his glory, the ‘weight’ of his value, and the reality of his presence. When we recognise God for who he is and give him glory, we connect with him as the living, loving, giving and forgiving God – the creator, sustainer, lord, ruler and righteous judge of all things.
God is not looking for worship on its own, but he is seeking worshippers – those who worship him in spirit and truth. It is all about having a deep and meaningful relationship with God. It is about getting to know him and enjoying him for who he is. Once we do this we find his goodness manifesting in every part of our lives.
God bless you as you worship and serve God with us this month.

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