Close Encounters Of The Holy Kind Series

1. Peter Marshall once prayed before the U.S. Senate: "Lord, we thank you that we can come to you just as we are. But remind us that we dare not leave as we came." (Senate Chaplain, '47-48)

2. What are some purposes of worship?

a. Respect God; Love God; Honor God

b. Dying in Service

Little Christopher climbed the steps of a large church building. Upon entering the foyer he saw three statues of Christian Martyrs. He asked his mother who they were and was told, "These are saints who died in service." Christopher then asked, "Which service, Sunday morning or Sunday evening?

Worship helps us to keep from dying in service to God.

3. Series Objectives:

a. To examine what the bible says about worship

b. To deepen our intimacy with God through worship

c. To obey God in greater ways as we learn to express our love to him in boldness and vulnerability

4. Isaiah 6.1-8

5. Isaiah's Background:

Isaiah prophesied for Judah in the 8th century BC. Rabbinic tradition says that Isaiah's father, Amoz, was a brother of King Amaziah. This would make Isaiah a first cousin of King Uzziah and grandson of King Joash. If this is true, Isaiah would have been of the "upper class" and of royal blood. Scholars believe he also has a great familiarity with the temple and the priestly rites of their worship.

I. In the Presence of the Lord We Regain Perspective

Dennis Wise was a giant Elvis Presley fan. In an article in the Boston Globe in 1988 he explained his obsession with Elvis. He followed his entire career; purchased every album he produced; and saw every one of his movies. He even purchased boots that looked like Elvis' boots in spite of the ridicule from his Jr. High classmates. As an adult he got a facelift and changed his hair to look like his idol. He wanted Elvis to notice him so he stormed the stage before and after his concerts. Yet, Elvis probably never saw him. He said at one point he even scaled the wall around Graceland to see Elvis but did not. "It's funny," he said, all of the effort I put into seeing him and never did." **How much effort do we put into seeing God in worship? OR, do we even try?

A. God Reveals His Perfection -- Holy, holy, holy

1. Completeness and emphasis as in Revelation 4.8

8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all round and within, and day and night they never cease to sing, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!"

2. Holy (kadosh) means to divide, set apart, make distinct

3. Antonym is to profane or make common -- Ezekiel 22.26

26 Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.

4. Rebellion causes us to try to make what is holy into something common or ordinary

a. Moses in Exodus 15.11-12

11 "Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? 12 You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them.

b. Hannah in None to compare -- 1 Samuel 2.2

"There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.

c. Our Universe -- Billions of Galaxies with innumerable stars and no end -- No one is like God

B. God Reveals Our Imperfections

Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner did a comedy skit years ago called, "The 2013 Year Old Man". In the skit, Reiner interviewed Brooks, who was the old man in the skit. At one point, Reiner asked the old man, "Did you always believe in the Lord?"

Brooks replied: "No. We had a guy in our village named Phil and for a time we worshiped him."

Reiner: "You worshiped a guy named Phil? Why?"

Brooks: "Because he was big, and mean, and he could break you in two with his bare hands!"

Reiner: "Did you have prayers?"

Brooks: "Yes, would you like to hear one? 'O Phil, please don't be mean, and hurt us, or break us in two with your bare hands.'"

Reiner: "So when did you start worshiping the Lord?"

Brooks: "Well, one day a big thunderstorm came up, and a lightning bolt hit Phil. We gathered around and saw that he was dead. Then we said to one another, 'There's somthin' bigger than Phil!'"

The question of who is in charge in our lives sometimes comes down to who we recognize as being bigger.