Worship

[Psalm 122:1] “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD!”

I read something the other day that has stuck with me for two weeks, it goes like this:

“In worship, we come together as a family of believers who welcome others. We learn through study and discussion. We pray for our needs and for the needs of the world. We give to support the mission of the church. In worship we praise and adore the One who forgives, loves, and equips....”

WORSHIP (IBD): “reverent devotion and allegiance pledged to God; the rituals or ceremonies by which the reverence is expressed.” The English word Worship comes from the old English word “worth-ship”, a word which denotes the worthiness of the one receiving the special honor or devotion.

We come to church on Sunday to worship. To worship the Lord. That’s why I believe church attendance is very important for the Christian. In worship, we:

A) We come together as a family of believers.

(Hebrews 10:25) “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”

We need the fellowship together. We need this. To encourage each other to “KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON”. It reminds me of the story of the Geese.

(The geese fly in a “V” formation for a reason. The wind from the wings helps the goose directly behind, they honk to encourage the one ahead to keep going. When the lead goose gives out another one takes its place. If one gets tired or injured, several geese will go down & stay with the goose until it either rest or dies. Then they will join another flock.) We need the weekly fellowship to charge our spiritual batteries in order to make it thru each week.

B) We learn through study and discussion.

(2 Timothy 2:15) “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Part of our worship is to study God’s word. In the New Testament there is no instructions for specific procedures to follow in the services, however lessons from the bible to be read and studied with a lot of emphasis on prophecy and inspired preaching.

(So many churches today tickle ears rather than preach the truth, talking to a guy from Alabama the other day, he was saying a lot of these contemporary churches have watered down doctrine)

C) We pray for our needs and for the needs of the world.

(James 5:17) “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Prayer had a leading place in Christian worship. Some of Paul’s letters when opened had reference to pray for fellow Christians. We live in a hurting world. People are going thru difficult times and the FIRST thing they do is ask for prayer.

(We need to pray for healing. We need to pray for direction. We need to pray for power. WE JUST NEED TO PRAY)

D) We give to support the mission of the church.

(Matthew 28:18,19) “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”

We are part of the bigger picture. It’s about making disciples. It’s about going into every “nook” and “cranny” of this earth and transforming the lost into disciples. As part of the UMC, we support those in the mission field, those that have heard the call to take the Gospel into the world. (a lot of folks have gone into non-denominational churches, getting away from traditional churches, getting away from what they call “organized religion”, however, they better be careful that they are part of a church that supports the mission field…..)

E) We praise and adore the One who forgives, loves, and equips....”

Part of our worship is in praising the Lord. Giving thanks & adoration for what HE HAS DONE, for what HE IS DOING and for what HE IS GOING TO DO.

(Psalm 86:9) “All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name”.

(Psalm 95:6) “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker”.

(Psalm 96:9) “O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth”

New Testament worship was characterized by a JOY and THANKSGIVING because of God’s gracious redemption in Christ. The early Christian worship focused on God’s saving work in Jesus Christ.