Illustration: A story is told about a wife cooking a roast. She cuts the end off of the roast, puts it on a pan and then in the oven. The husband asks her "Why did you cut the end off?" she replies "Because my mom always did." The next day the wife talks to mom and asks "Why did you cut the end off of the roast before putting it in the oven?". Mom replies "Because my mom always did." So the both of them went to Grandma and asked the same question. "Grandma, why do you cut the end of the roast off before cooking it?" Grandma replies "So it would fit in to the pan!"
So many times we do things without knowing why but we do it any way. Because we have always done it that way and no one ever has taken the time to find out why themselves. We just go through life doing things that we have no idea why we do what we do.
Friends, I see the church is the same way. Many have been raised in good Biblical teaching churches, never missing a Sunday, always striving to live a good Christian life. But sadly many are clueless of some fundamental issues. We go about our business within the church, never asking or really seeking the reasons why we do the things we do. We simply accept certain things because that’s just how things are and we really don’t need to know exactly why. Things have just always been that way and we’re content and comfortable.
It reminds me of the military to a certain degree. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” I am fine and don’t need to know, let’s just do our thing and continue on. But I must tell you that this is ignorant and I do not believe Ignorance is bliss. God desires each of us to follow Him not blindly but boldly and intelligently.
This morning I want to share with you some areas that we need to look back at and understand the reality of why we do the things we do. For some of you, this may simply be a review, none the less; God desires all of us to evaluate the things we do for Him often. The first thing I want to talk about is,…..
I.COMMUNION
A.We do this every week; and I often wonder how many of us are partaking the way God designed us to partake in the Lord’s Supper?
1.The Bible nowhere instructs us how often we should take communion.
1 Corinthians 11:24-26 records the following instructions for communion:
24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
2.This passage gives all the instructions we need to perform the rite of communion and to understand the significance of what we are doing.
3.The bread which He broke in half represents His body which was broken on the cross for us. The cup represents the blood He shed on our behalf, sealing a covenant between Him and us.
4.Each time we perform the communion ritual, we are not only remembering what He did for us, but we are “showing” it as well to all who watch and all who participate. This is a beautiful and graphic picture of what happened at the cross, what it means, and how it impacts our lives as believers.
5.Some churches have a monthly Lord’s Supper service; others do it bi-monthly, others weekly. The Bible does not give us specific instruction as to how often we are to take communion.
6.Here at our church we have chosen to observe the Lord’s Supper each week. This gives each one of us a fantastic opportunity to renew our focus on Jesus each week.
B.But one serious danger in many churches like ours is that the congregation may take communion so often that it becomes routine. No matter how often communion is taken, we should partake with reverence, love, and a deep sense of gratitude for the Lord Jesus.
1.I do pray that we are honoring Jesus each week as we take communion. I also pray that each one of us are taking communion in a worthy manner.
1 Corinthians 11:27-30 27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.
2.How about us? Do we examine ourselves each week before we take communion or do we simply go through the steps because we have made it just another part of the service?
3.We should never rush through this portion of our services. This should be a time of prayer for each one of us. And as the elements are passed, we should never feel rushed in taking communion. Please don’t feel that you need to take it as it is passed.
4.In each one of our pews between the hymnals and Bibles, there is a space for you to place your cup. It is there for you, to not speed up communion but to take once you feel prepared as you have examined your heart.
5.It is really all about worship isn’t it? This is what brings me to my next point for this morning,…
II.WORSHIP
A.Each week we gather here and we worship God. Really? Is this what we are doing? Are we truly worshipping Him the way He deserves to be worshipped?
VIDEO: “Football Worship”
1.What is it that you worship? What is it that you get excited about?
Psalm 95: 1-5 “Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land.”
2.Worship is collective. Three times in verses 1 and 2 we read, “Let us…” While worship should have a private element to it throughout the week, the psalmist here is stating that worship is designed to be congregational, not merely individual.
3.Worship is vocal. Too often we think of worship as not only private, but silent as well. We may worship God in our heart or even sing quietly, but God is longing for us to sing out to Him.
Illustration: We are to be the Cheering Squad for Him. Just as a Cheering Squad lifts up and inspires not only the masses who attend but the team they are cheering for as well.
4.God Almighty is that team, He and He alone is whom we are cheering for and as we do so, we should be inspiring our brothers and sisters to our right and to our left as we cheer each Sunday.
5.Have you ever been to a game where the cheerleaders have no excitement? They look as if they were forced to be there and they really could care less about the team they are cheering for. They really are failing at their jobs.
6.How about us? I am not saying we need to jump up hoot and holler, if that’s what you feel like doing then do it. But what is it that we are doing? Once again, are we simply going through the steps each week at church or are we truly worshiping and seeking to praise His Holy name.
7. Worship is vibrant and vigorous. We are to participate with joyful, grateful praise and to be exuberant in our worship. “sing for joy” in verse 1 could be translated, “shout for joy.”
8.When we are told to “shout aloud” in the second half of verse 1, that’s exactly what it means. “Shout aloud to the Rock of our Salvation”, we have received victory!!
9.When the Israelites were anticipating a battle or celebrating a triumph. This expression was used in Joshua 6:20, when the Israelites were marching around the walls of Jericho:
“When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed…”
It’s also found in 1 Samuel 4:5, where we read about what happened when the Ark of the Covenant was brought into the camp, “…All Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook.”
10.Friends, I don’t really know why our worship is not as vibrant and vigorous as what we see in the Scriptures or in other places around the world. I don’t know why mine is sometimes so somber. Maybe it’s a cultural thing. Or maybe we’ve just gotten into a rut. Maybe were just not very expressive in general. Or, maybe it’s because we don’t have much joy in our hearts. I’m not sure what all the reasons are but I’m personally challenged by this Psalm to become much more exuberant and expressive in my worship.
11.Why is it that we’re often critical of others whose worship is too animated and enthusiastic? But very few of us even come close to being too passionate. Our tendency is to react against such worship,
12.But why do we sometimes react against such worship when the Scriptures clearly tells us that this is a good way to worship?
13.Looking at the Scriptures, we see that it is acceptable to clap, dance, to use musical instruments, and yes to even raise your hands when you worship God.
Psalm 47: 1-2 1 Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. 2 For the LORD Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth.
Psalm 150:4-6 4 praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, 5 praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. 6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.
And we read in Psalm 134: 2 to 2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the LORD.
14.Maybe it is just something that is foreign to many of us because it has really never been explored, which brings me to the last point….
III.ALTER CALL
A.Since my very first sermon here I have offered a time of invitation at the end of every sermon. But why? What is an alter call? Is it only for those that are seeking salvation, Baptism, Church membership? What is it all about?
1.An altar call is a practice in which those who wish to make a new spiritual commitment to Jesus Christ are invited to come forward publicly. It is so named because people gather at the altar.
2. In the Old Testament, an altar was where sacrifices were made. So, the name "altar call" refers to a believer "offering" themselves on an altar to God, as in Romans 12:1: 1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
3.Many lost souls have given their lives to Jesus during alter calls. Not because an alter call is magical or because coming forward saves you. It’s because it is an opportunity to set things right in your life. It’s an open door for to you to sacrifice your sins before God. It’s an opportunity to accept Jesus and all He gives.
4.From my experience, I haven’t had very many opportunities like that outside of the church. Why? Well, the truth is that many of us are not out evangelizing like we should and this keeps those opportunities limited to church services.
5.I also don’t buy into the thought that we should ever assume just because we see the same faces here week after week for the past umpteen years means they’ve accepted Jesus.
Illustration: Story of the Associate Pastor’s wife in Ark City. How she came forward one Sunday and gave her life to Jesus.
B.The Alter Call is also a time for people to receive prayer for their specific needs.
1.It’s not only a time when people can come and repent of their sins but it is also a time to pray for our needs and to get a "touch" from God. It’s a time when we can make commitments, a time to rededicate our lives, a time to pray for healing, to surrender a new part of our lives to God, or to receive a particular blessing. It is also a place of dedication where callings are given (such as a call to a certain ministry).
2. There are so many blessings that we can receive at the Alter. This is why I prefer to call it a Time of Invitation because I believe God invites us each week as we gather to receive multiple blessings at the Alter.
Conclusion: My prayer for our church is that we gain a better understanding of why we do what we do and by gaining that knowledge that we will be able honor and glorify God in all we do. God desires more than our attendance in His house each week. He wants our time with Him to be real and heartfelt.
