Audio from Senior Pastor Vaughn Drawdy on Sunday morning January 14th, 2018.
Psalm 34:1-3 NIV
1 I will extol the Lord at all times;his praise will always be on my lips. 2 I will glory in the Lord;let the afflicted hear and rejoice. 3 Glorify the Lord with me;let us exalt his name together.
Let’s talk about
1.What worship is not, and what it is.
2.Why worship
3.What does that look like and sound like at JOY
Worship: to kneel before, bow, in awe or reverence.
>Other actions tied to worship- singing, dancing, clapping, kneeling, bowing, (rejoicing) in response to God’s goodness and faithfulness.
At the heart of worship we find a God who desires to interact, love on, be a part of His creation.
>He walk in the cool of the day with Adam (Gen. 3:8)
>He tabernacled with Israel (Ex. 24-30)
>Now in Christ, we are filled with His Holy Spirit… How is that for tabernacling. (Col. 1:19-20)
At the heart of worship we find man capable to meet with God. Capable because of Christ Jesus our Lord. Worship then is our response to His presence. As we understand the reality of His love, provisions, life and hope. We respond. Worship connects our mind, heart and will to God through thankfulness, love, need, and desire.
A. What Worship Is Not: (Can be found in these, but not limited to)
1.Worship is not AN EVENT.
2.Worship is not MUSIC.
3.Worship is not A PERFORMANCE.
4.Worship is not A FEELING.
5.Worship is not something that’s CONFINED to one day a week.
6.Worship is not about us.
B. What Worship Is.
1. Worship is A RESPONSE TO GOD. 1 John 4:19
2. Worship is HEART-FELT. John 4:23
3. Worship is THAT WHICH VALUES HIM ABOVE EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING. Mark 12:30
4. Worship is a CHOICE. Is. 12:4-6
C. Why do we Worship?
A. We Worship Because of Who God Is.
>Praise is a response to what God does.
>Worship is a response to who God is.
I praise God; I thank Him for His mercy when He answers my prayers. I praise Him in response to His works, but I worship Him for who He is, simply because He is God.
I am not worshipping Him because of what He will do for me, but because of what He is to me. When worship becomes commercial, rote, passive, style driven, it ceases to be worship. When it isn’t to God, about God and God centered, then it ceases to be worship.
WHAT does this look like and sound like at JOY?
At JOY we believe in the importance of worship.
Corporate worship conveys many things:
>TO God - our gratitude, our true heart felt love of Him
>TO God - we are making a declaration of dependence and devotion to Him
>TO Others - in our testimony of song, witness- we love God
>TO Others - we are dependent on Him
>In Others - encourages them to open there lives to Him
>In Others - Helps others know His love, goodness and strength
There is a place for various types of songs in our corporate worship services as long as we remember why we are singing, and what it is all about. When we loose sight we will not have worship but division, flesh and in some churches - war.
Homework: WORSHIP
Meditate on Psalm 95