SHOWED UP SUNDAY. DID I WORSHIP?
"God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” John 4:21-24.
Worshipping in truth means worshipping in accordance as God has prescribed.
1. Worship as homage or grateful submission to God
2. Worship as service to others
3. Worship as reverence or respect for God
4. Worship and congregational gatherings
Would this not be what we do on Sunday? Show up, dedicate yourself to the Lord, listen and execute.
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Romans 12:1-2
It may be best to speak of congregational worship as a particular expression of the full-body-response, that is, the worship described in the new covenant. In the giving and receiving of various ministries by the execution of our spiritual gifts, we may encounter God and submit ourselves to Him continually in praise and obedience, repentance, and faith (Heb. 10:24-25). Singing to God is an important aspect of corporate worship, but it is not the supreme or only way of expressing devotion to God. Ministry exercised for the building up of the body of Christ in teaching, exhorting, and praying is a significant way of worshiping and glorifying God.
There is a worship that expresses how the Word has moved you, worship that involves the mind, and a worship that involves the body. There is a worship that is giving praise upward, a worship that is receiving instructions from above, and a worship that carries out instruction in the world around us. We need all three types of worship. Some people focus primarily on speaking or singing praise to God. Praise is good, but if all we do is praise God, without ever listening to what he says, do we believe the words we are saying? If he is really all wise and all loving, then we need to be attentive to what he is telling us, because he is worth listening to.
Similarly, all talk and no action does not show God the respect He deserves. Actions speak louder than words, and if our behavior isn’t changed by God, then our actions are saying that God isn’t important — He’s a nice idea, but not relevant to our day-to-day lives. When we really believe that God is worthy of every praise, then we will be willing to listen and to change the way we live in response to such a worthy God. We will trust Him and seek Him and want to please Him as much as we can. Worship should affect our behavior.
Every act of obedience is an act of worship. It declares that God has worth. And whenever we share the gospel with someone, we are declaring God’s worth. We are engaging in the priestly service of preaching the gospel, the worship of being a witness to God’s grace. We tell what a great thing God has done in Jesus Christ, and how that has been good news in our life. We are declaring His worth. We are giving worship in everyday life. We don’t have to wait for a church service.
Have you noticed a common theme here? We acknowledge God’s worth, the One who created the grace provision to save us not just from the penalty of sin but from His wrath, allowed us the means to accept it, equipped us to do His will, gave us time and a place to execute it and rewards us for eternity. What a merciful God!! Worship involves our whole lives. Worship certainly involves more than music as so many of us believe today. Man’s innate tendency is to worship something and for the the believer, God. It just points us to the fact that we were created to worship God and to worship Him with our whole lives. The Westminster Shorter Catechism reminds us: What is the chief end of man? It is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. We haven’t even begun to get started yet considering eternity. The angels have been doing it ever since their creation—we get to join in.
"Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker." Psalm 95:6
NIV.
Worshipping in truth means worshipping in accordance as God has prescribed.
1. Worship as homage or grateful submission to God
2. Worship as service to others
3. Worship as reverence or respect for God
4. Worship and congregational gatherings
Would this not be what we do on Sunday? Show up, dedicate yourself to the Lord, listen and execute.
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Romans 12:1-2
It may be best to speak of congregational worship as a particular expression of the full-body-response, that is, the worship described in the new covenant. In the giving and receiving of various ministries by the execution of our spiritual gifts, we may encounter God and submit ourselves to Him continually in praise and obedience, repentance, and faith (Heb. 10:24-25). Singing to God is an important aspect of corporate worship, but it is not the supreme or only way of expressing devotion to God. Ministry exercised for the building up of the body of Christ in teaching, exhorting, and praying is a significant way of worshiping and glorifying God.
There is a worship that expresses how the Word has moved you, worship that involves the mind, and a worship that involves the body. There is a worship that is giving praise upward, a worship that is receiving instructions from above, and a worship that carries out instruction in the world around us. We need all three types of worship. Some people focus primarily on speaking or singing praise to God. Praise is good, but if all we do is praise God, without ever listening to what he says, do we believe the words we are saying? If he is really all wise and all loving, then we need to be attentive to what he is telling us, because he is worth listening to.
Similarly, all talk and no action does not show God the respect He deserves. Actions speak louder than words, and if our behavior isn’t changed by God, then our actions are saying that God isn’t important — He’s a nice idea, but not relevant to our day-to-day lives. When we really believe that God is worthy of every praise, then we will be willing to listen and to change the way we live in response to such a worthy God. We will trust Him and seek Him and want to please Him as much as we can. Worship should affect our behavior.
Every act of obedience is an act of worship. It declares that God has worth. And whenever we share the gospel with someone, we are declaring God’s worth. We are engaging in the priestly service of preaching the gospel, the worship of being a witness to God’s grace. We tell what a great thing God has done in Jesus Christ, and how that has been good news in our life. We are declaring His worth. We are giving worship in everyday life. We don’t have to wait for a church service.
Have you noticed a common theme here? We acknowledge God’s worth, the One who created the grace provision to save us not just from the penalty of sin but from His wrath, allowed us the means to accept it, equipped us to do His will, gave us time and a place to execute it and rewards us for eternity. What a merciful God!! Worship involves our whole lives. Worship certainly involves more than music as so many of us believe today. Man’s innate tendency is to worship something and for the the believer, God. It just points us to the fact that we were created to worship God and to worship Him with our whole lives. The Westminster Shorter Catechism reminds us: What is the chief end of man? It is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. We haven’t even begun to get started yet considering eternity. The angels have been doing it ever since their creation—we get to join in.
"Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker." Psalm 95:6
NIV.
by Gregg McKinney, Deacon
Posted in Faith Blogs
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