Worship
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What is worship?
Worship in both the Hebrew as well as the Greek literally means to be pronate…to be face down…or, to bow down...
Worship is when we are on our face before God...
I looked up the word worship in my software and read almost all of the results. The vast majority of the times that worship is mentioned, it is people falling down on their knees and worshipping whether is be kings or Jesus
Worship is bowing in the presence of a king, in our case God
“It is to know, to feel, to experience the resurrected Christ in the midst of the gathered community.” - Richard Foster
Worship is not about coming to a building…or even a sanctuary..
It is about coming into the presence of God
Perkins - walking and talking with God continually
It’s not about a worship team on stage...
It’s not about the singers or the instruments...
It’s not even about the songs that we sing...
“Forms and rituals do not produce worship, nor does the disuse of forms and rituals. We can use all the right techniques and methods, we can have the best possible liturgy, but we have not worshiped the Lord until Spirit touches spirit.” - Richard Foster
“Until God touches and frees our spirit we cannot enter this realm. Singing, praying, praising all may lead to worship, but worship is more than any of them. Our spirit must be ignited by the divine fire.” - Richard Foster
Worship is about acknowledgement, praise, vulnerability, and intimacy with God!
Worship is an outflow of the Holy Spirit in my life...
Jesus is the person of our worship!
Jesus says:
13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
When we worship, it is the Holy Spirit drawing us to the Son, who is Christ, who is our intercessor to the Father
Worship is us approaching the throne of God, by the leading of the Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ!
Worship can and should happen in the church!
It also can and should happen moment by moment.
Avenues
Focus on Jesus - calm distractions
Focus on Jesus - calm distractions
“To still the activity of the flesh so that the activity of the Holy Spirit dominates the way we live will affect and inform public worship.” - Richard Foster
Praise
Praise
15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.
What is the sacrifice of praise?
4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Praise includes our whole being…body, soul (mind, will, emotions), and spirit
Often times we are good at praising with our mind (thinking about songs), spirit (connecting with God)
How about our bodies?
“God calls for worship that involves our whole being The body, mind, spirit, and emotions should all be laid on the altar of worship. Often we forget that worship should include the body as well as the mind and the Spirit.” - Richard Foster
Some Hebrew background:
Worship - prostrate or pronate
Bless - to kneel
Thanksgiving - an extension of the hand
Throughout scripture we see all kinds of praise and worship
lying prostrate
standing
kneeling
lifting hands
clapping
lifting head
bowing head
dancing
Worship, can and should, be appropriate physically
Our bodies can, and should, match our heart in worship...
After all, worship is about the heart, not what we do
Different kinds of worship - talk about them
Steps into Worship
learn to practice the presence of God daily.
Have many different experiences of worship.
large group (corporate)
small group
individual
Find ways to really prepare for the gathered experience
go to bed early
pray for the service
pray for the worship team, pastor
come early
Have a willingness to be gathered in the power of the Lord
let go of my agenda - what does God want?
“the language of the gathered fellowship is not “I,” but ‘we.’” - Richard Foster
Cultivate holy dependency.
be dependent on God for worship
Absorb distractions with gratitude
maybe God wants to move in the distractions?
Children and babies are signs of life!
Learn to offer a sacrifice of worship
this is for God
this is not for me - although there are benefits
maybe I don’t “feel” like worshipping - meet with God
“Lord, I don’t feel like worshipping, but I desire to give you this time. It belongs to you.” - Richard Foster
Fruit of Worship
1. Being in the presence of God
2. Being partnered with God in His work!
3. Seeing God move in and among His people!