Connecting with God through WorshipSunday August 15, 2010

What is Worship?

proskune,w –means to bow down or prostrate yourself before someone or something. It is to recognize their greatness and authority over you.

We Were Created to Worship

• Revelation 4:11 "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

Our Lives are to Be Acts of Worship

• Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-- this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will.

• Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Our Lives are to Be Acts of Worship

• Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

Thoughts from Our Worship Leaders

What Do We Do When We Worship?

• Our Minds & Emotions Are Involved– John 4:24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship

in spirit and in truth.“– 1 Corinthians 14:15 So what shall I do? I will pray with my

spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.

– 2 Samuel 6:14 David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might,

What Do We Do When We Worship?

• We praise God for who He is– Psalm 29:1-2 Ascribe to the LORD, O mighty ones, ascribe

to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.

• – 1 Samuel 2:2 "There is no one holy like the LORD; there is

no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.

What Do We Do When We Worship?

• We praise God for what He has done– Psalm 28:6-9 Praise be to the LORD, for he has heard my cry

for mercy. The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. The LORD is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one. Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever.

– Psalm 40:5 Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.

What Do We Do When We Worship?

• We pour out our hearts to God– Psalm 13:1-6 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look on me and answer, O LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; my enemy will say, "I have overcome him," and my foes will rejoice when I fall. But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me.

– 1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for

you.

Corporate Worship is Special • ESV Psalm 22:3 Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of

Israel.

• Revelation 4:8-11 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

How To Maximize Our Time in Corporate Worship

• Come Prepared to Worship

• Remove Distractions

• Focus on the Words We Sing & the Greatness of Our God.

"It is in the process of being worshipped that God communicates

His presence to men." - C.S. Lewis

Psalm 21:13 Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength; we will sing and

praise your might.