7.15.2001 | CHRISTIAN TERMINOLOGY- "Worship"

One of the scary things about going to a new church is wondering how they worship…” Are they wildly charismatic?”, “Will there be liturgy I don’t know?”, “Will I be expected to raise my hands, to stand, to kneel, to walk up front?”, “Will I know the songs?”, Will the church be too stiff for me?”, “Will I fit in?”

All legitimate concerns….

Thesis: True worship of God grows from the heart, mind and soul.

The concept of worship can be confusing.

We hope that every Sunday at some point during the service you will encounter God, his majesty, his holiness, his righteousness, his love, his grace. At our church specifically, we hope you have an E.P.I.C. experience…(as detailed in our bulleting each week.)

There is also a good chance that at a typical CC service you will experience one or all of the following: Liturgy, (the work of the people) confession/reflection and repentance, prayer, songs, bible teaching, celebration, communion and a sense of community. We want to give you a chance to respond to what God is teaching you. We don’t want to just skip right by the richness of our religious heritage. We hope you will feel a sense of awe and reverence. You can also just sit back and observe the whole thing if you want.

True worship of God is so deep, we want you to get there on your own time. We want you to own it for yourself and hopefully we can help facilitate it. We realize it takes time to learn to worship God and we want to allow you that time. Don’ rush it. When you come to church and you consider your involvement with the entire service, you should only do what seems natural to you. Don’t stand, sit, sing, pray, or participate in any way until you are ready to do it. Worship doesn’t have to be such a foreign concept. What are some of the other things in life we worship?

Some definitions of worship:

• Declaring God’s worth.
• Admiring God’s character and delighting in His works.
• Giving honor and glory to God.
• An active response to God whereby we declare His worth.
• Our response to God’s mystery, goodness and righteousness.
• To ascribe to Him supreme worth, for He alone is worthy.
• The celebration of God!

Are you getting why we come to church?
So, what kind of answer should you give someone when they ask you why you go to church to worship?

Let’s stand and read Psalm 100 together.

“Where two or three are gathered, I am there..” Matt. 18:20

Our text for the morning: The book of Psalm
The Psalms are packed full of ideas on worship….
Know as the “Book of Praises.”
The Psalms were a hymnal to the Jewish people…
They are full of praise, prayers, frustrations….great poetry expressing true heart-felt feelings towards God.
There are numerous Psalms we could’ve used for today’s sermon.

We’ll look at Psalm 96

Nugs:

vs. 1-2 Sing to the Lord...You obviously have noticed that we do a lot of singing. Why do we do more singing after the sermon?

vs. 3 Declare and sing of His goodness, His marvelous deeds, His salvation

vs. 4 & 9-10 Fear, respect, awe, reverence, a deep need for God.
While we know there is a God, sometimes we refuse to honor Him. That’s the #1 judgment of God upon us. By our fallen nature we refuse to give honor that is due God our creator.
vs. 5-6 His majesty...If God is praiseworthy, then it is our obligation to praise Him
vs. 7-8 Ascribe, write songs, poetry, prayers, all your thoughts…art etc.
vs. 11-13 The whole world worships God…
vs. 13 One more reminder...He will judge us.

Also remember:

• We don’t always come to church to “get” or walk out feeling good…
• Yes, you can worship God is nature….Hebrews 10:22-25 (red) SLIDE
• “Amazing Grace” page 246…
• Ephesians 2:19-22

What is really central to all worship is the Gospel message....

From now on I would hope that when we gather to worship we would all have:

• A renewed reverence for God.
• Freedom to worship Him in a way that is appropriate for you.
• A deeper appreciation for the importance of the community of God.
• An attitude of repentance, confession and reflection.
• Room for the Holy Spirit to move
• Worship that is hospitable enough to welcome any confused soul.
• Worship that is joyful enough to briefly house the living God.

Thesis repeat: True worship of God grows from the heart, mind and soul.

Prayer

Reflection...Chris Rice song.

Communion

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