I.The Content Of Worship
A.Adoration
1.A Bowed Heart
a.Psalm 95:6-7 – “Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.”
To be sure, the physical bowing of the head or the body in worship is more than just an implied action. Throughout scripture, when an individual came into the presence of God the immediate response was to bow. But, as we have already heard, the physical bowing of the body is not the most important concern, but rather the humble or bowed heart is the key.
B.Confession
1.An Honest Heart
a.Psalm 51:4 – “Against You, and You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge.”
b.Luke 3:8a – “Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance.”
When it comes to confession, I always go back to King David, who was described as a “man after God’s own heart.” He realized the importance of acknowledging the fact that he sinned against God first and foremost. We also read in the New Testament that we no longer confess to a priest, as symbolized by the veil of the temple being torn from top to bottom, but rather we as God’s children have direct access to His Lap.
C.Thanksgiving
1.A Thankful Heart
a.Psalm 100:4 – “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.”
The scene is in the house of a Pharisee named Simon. While reclining at the table of the Pharisee, Jesus answers a thought in Simon’s head with a parable of “Two Debtors.” “A certain moneylender had two debtors; one owed 500 denarii, and the other 50. When they could not repay, he graciously forgave them both. Which of them therefore will love him more?” Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And Jesus said to him, “You have judged correctly.” Jesus then turns to the woman and says to Simon, “This woman has not ceased to worship me with her tears, kisses and perfume. For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
D.Supplication
1.Requests from the Heart
a.Philippians 4:6-7 – “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let you requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
b.Proverbs 23:7a – “For as he thinks within himself, so is he.”
c.Luke 12:34 – “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
d.James 4:3 – “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your own pleasures.”
