A First Worship Service Series

SERMON BRIEF

Date Written: August 2001

Date Preached: August 28, 2001

Church: BBC (PM) Sunday

FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENTS

Series: Let’s Learn from the Past

Title: A First Worship Service

Text: Genesis 4:1-6

ETS: To truly worship God Abel had to realize who God was and then act on that realization.

ESS: For us to truly worship God we must realize who God is and then we must act on that realization.

Objective: I want those who hear this message to understand what worship is about and also how they can truly worship God.

Probing Question: What are the 3 actions we can take to enable us to truly worship God?

1. Have a profound reverence for God

2. Confess our sins to God

3. Place our words into action to fully experience the true worship of God

INTRODUCTION:

I want you to think about something tonight, I want you to think about the past. Think about what has happened to you in the past and what has went on in the past.

For many of us the past is a time we think of often and wish we could go back to. For many of us the past is a time we think of too much and in reality we would rather forget it. And then there are many of us who simply don’t think about the past in any shape, form or fashion.

The past is very seductive, whether good or bad, the past holds a claim on our thoughts and feelings here in the present. Sometimes the past can be a terrible detriment to us in the present because we try to live in the past.

But tonight I want to speak to you about using the past to help us become more productive in the present and in the future. The past holds within it a vast wealth of knowledge and experience, and we are foolish if we do not tap into that resource.

There are events and people that we can look to from the past that can and will have a very positive and uplifting effect on our lives today as we seek to be better servants of the Lord.

Tonight I want us to look to the past to learn about worship. Today we come together on Sunday morning, Sunday night and on Wednesday evening to worship God.

However, do we know for sure that we are giving God all He is due in that time of worship. But that once a week experience of worship is NOT the only time we should be worshipping and praising God.

If we are doing things as God’s word instructs us to do we should be worshipping God every minute of every hour of every day we are alive on this planet.

God is worthy of our continual worship and praise, and to do otherwise we are shortchanging the Creator who has made a way for us to know Him personally and has provided salvation and eternal life for us.

Tonight I want us to go all the way back to where the Bible starts…back to the Genesis of the human race and we need to see what the early worship was like and we need to realize how it relates to us and how it is relevant to us today.

The book of Genesis is a book of many beginnings. In chapter 4 we have a record of humanity’s 1st experience of worship. We find Adam and Eve’s son, Abel, knew how to worship.

Abel put forth acceptable offerings to God, mainly because of Abel’s attitude of the heart. He was doing it for the RIGHT reasons. Abel chose the ‘firstlings’ of his flock and this meant that he gave God the best he had to offer.

I believe that in today’s church that believers need to learn HOW to worship. So tonight I want us to look at some attitudes of the heart that enable us to worship God with a worship that gives God the glory He deserves.

1. We must have a profound reverence for God in the attitude of our heart.

2. We must confess our sins to God, truly seeking to be cleansed of any unrighteousness.

3. Finally, we must make a personal commitment to God.

First, I want us to look at how we must have a profound reverence for God in our worship time.

When we look at tonight’s passage of Scripture (Gen 4:1-6) we find that Abel knew and acknowledged that God was above all, that He was transcendent and holy.

Abel had a primitive concept of God, but he recognized God’s greatness and omnipotent power. Abel had a great respect for God, and by presenting the offering that he did we can come to the conclusion that Abel understood that God DESERVED his worship and praise.