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Improving Our Worship
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Introduction
• To worship God acceptably and to improve our worship we must recognize that God is high and holy
• We must also consider that he is worthy of our praise and adoration
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Ps. 104:1
• Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
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Ps. 104:24
• O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
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Ps. 104:31
• The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works
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Ps. 104:33
• I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
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Ps. 104:34
• Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD.
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1. Prepare for worship
• John the Baptist was sent to prepare the way for Christ
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Lk. 3:4
• And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;
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• Too often we do not make the proper preparation
• Saturday night?• Prepare on Saturday night for
worship on the first day of the week
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2. Plan the worship
• 1 Cor. 14:33• “For God is not the author of
confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”
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• This does not mean “shaking up the order” which might lead to chaos
• Plan the songs, prayers, sermons, giving, etc.
• Don’t let us worship by rote
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• Rote = doing it without understanding or thought
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3. Participate in worship
• Planning is key to the effective work of the church
• There is also personal responsibility
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1 Cor. 11:28
• But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
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• We are used to being entertained in our society today
• We may tend to view worship in the same way
• We may become observers rather than participating as we should
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• Worship is not entertainment• It is not a stage performance for
the audience• While the church must plan the
worship – each Christian must take an active part
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• Worship was not designed to compete with television
• It is not a spectator sport
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4. Know the purpose of worship
• Worship is to glorify God – to exalt God and to please him --- this is true but there is more
• WORSHIP IS DESIGNED TO BENEFIT THE WORSHIPER!
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• NOTE – We tend to become like what we admire
• Our goal as Christians should be to become more Godlike – more Christ like
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• This is what worship does – we learn to worship and to show reverence toward God – we become more godly
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• “It is not that God needs our worship, but rather that we need to worship God”
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Ps. 50:12
• If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.
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• We do not watch some else worship to become like God
• We do not perform to become like him
• We are not entertained to become like him
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• We only grow more like God as we are personally involved in singing, praying, studying, eating the Lord’s supper and giving
• To know the purpose of worship shows us why we should not forsake the assembly
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5. Create an appetite for worship
• Mt. 5:6• “Blessed are they which do
hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”
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Ps. 117
• O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.
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• There are many opportunities for us to develop worldly habits
• Television, magazines, books, etc., constantly present to us the standards the world lives by
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Conclusion
• Christians must not neglect the opportunities to develop our spiritual appetites
• One of these great opportunities is meeting together to worship God