12/20/09 worship set

This is What Christmas Means to Me
Glorious Christmas Medley
Come Make a Place (choir special)

12/13/09 worship set

Child of Light (choir special)
Joy to the World (Unspeakable Joy)
Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee
Hallelujah, Light Has Come (ensemble special)

worship in all directions: inward

Last week we learned that worship is made up of three directions: inward, outward and upward.  We’ll discuss the inward direction this week.

The inward direction of our worship refers to who I am when no one is looking.  It’s not really difficult to lift up praises to God when we’re at church or around other Christians.  In those environments we’re encouraged, even expected, to do so.  But what about when we’re in the privacy of our own homes, browsing the Internet or glancing through a magazine on the newsstands?  Are we being careful to please God with our private thoughts, with the things we see, with the places we visit?

Worshipping inwardly by being good is perhaps the litmus test for all of worship.  If our hearts’ desire is to please God, we can no longer enjoy our former sins.  2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”  This refers to a change inside of us.  According to Psalm 51:16-17, God wants a broken and contrite heart more than our outward sacrifices.  He knows that if our hearts are purely devoted to him, that can’t help but affect our outward behavior.

Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”  A wellspring is the source from which water flows.  Likewise our hearts are the source of all our thoughts, motives and actions.  The importance of this inward direction of worship cannot be overemphasized.  As we read in 2 Chronicles 16:9, God is searching the earth not to support those who sing the best or shout the loudest.  Rather, he seeks for those “whose hearts are fully committed to him.”  As worshippers and worship leaders, that must be our foremost goal.  Without that commitment, all other expressions of worship are actually sickening to God (see Amos 5:21-23 and Revelation 3:16).

[taken from Pure Praise: A Heart-Focused Bible Study on Worship, Dwayne Moore, 17-18.]

So, because you are lukewarm -- neither hot or cold --

I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

--Revelation 3:16

worship in all directions...

At some point in your life, you may have been as I was... Anytime you heard the word worship, you assumed that word mostly referred to singing, clapping and talking to God.  In the last 2 newsletters, we have already seen that worship is actually much more than that: True biblical worship encompasses our entire lives.  In fact, in his book The Ultimate Priority, John MacArthur, Jr. explains that for our worship to be “whole-life” it must include three aspects or directions.  Most certainly, we worship God when we focus directly on him, pointing our worship upward (as we normally think of worship).  However, we should also worship God inwardly.  The third direction we should worship him is outwardly, to those around us.

You might think of three-directional worship like this:

Imagine you say to your boss, “You are the greatest boss to ever walk the face of the earth.  Furthermore, this is the best job I’ve ever had or ever will have.  In fact, I practically worship at your feet for just letting me do this job every day.” (Well, that’s laying it on pretty thick, but just stick with me...)  Ok, having said a mouthful upward toward your boss, how should you behave when no one’s looking?  If you really meant what you said, you’ll talk well of your boss and your job when no one’s watching you.  Why?  Because inwardly you really do love your boss and you want to please him or her.

Now let’s take this idea a step further.  Let’s say you’re in the service industry, and your job involves assisting other people.  Every time you cheerfully seek to help someone, every time you go out of your way to meet someone’s needs, you are outwardly honoring your employer and saying by your actions how much you appreciate working for him or her.  In much the same way, our God is honored -- or worshipped -- not only by what we say to him, but also by how much we love him on the inside and by how we respond to those he died for.

In the coming newsletters, we’ll take a closer look at the inward, outward and upward directions of worship.

In the meantime, consider Hebrews 4:12 which says that the Word of God “exposes our innermost thoughts and desires”.  Who are you really?  Are any of your attitudes or actions offensive to another Christian?  Do you cheerfully give your money as you feel led by God?

[taken from Pure Praise: A Heart-Focused Bible Study on Worship, Dwayne Moore, 17-19.]

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

--Psalm 51:16-17

11/29/09 worship set

Lord, Reign in Me
It is Well
Wonderful Maker
Emmanuel (choir special)

Top 10 Songs for Thanksgiving...

Thanksgiving is the time of the year that we join together with family and friends and give thanks for our blessings.  This is a list of 10 of the best songs that either give thanks or remind us of God's many blessings ... plenty of reasons to be thankful  and praise our Savior.

1.    Everybody Praise the Lord, Lincoln Brewster
2.   Life of Praise, Casting Crowns
3.   Nothing Compares, Third Day
4.   I Love to Praise, Natalie Grant
5.   Indescribable, Chris Tomlin
6.   Cannot Say Enough, MercyMe
7.   The Throne, Michael W. Smith
8.   Wonderful, Merciful Savior, Selah
9.   Hosanna, Kirk Franklin
10.   In His Presence, Jeremy Camp

created for His praise...

Last week we discovered that worship is a lifestyle.  Everything in our lives -- driving a car, mowing grass, doing schoolwork, even eating a cheeseburger -- can qualify as pleasing acts of worship.  But have you stopped to think why God is interested in even our most menial tasks?

Do you remember what God said when he finished creating man & woman on the 6th day?  He said it was “very good” (Gen. 1:31).  Think about that.  They had not even had the chance to do anything, yet he was pleased with them.  He enjoyed their company as he walked in the cool of the day with them.  They were made in his image; they were a reflection of him.  They brought him glory.  As God’s children, we bring him glory, too.  Like Adam & Eve, we are created to praise him with our lives.

In Ephesians 1:3-14, Paul keeps repeating this awesome theme: “to the praise of his glory”.  Paul wanted us to see the purpose for our being created.  All God has done for us and in us is “to the praise of his glorious grace.”  Amazing as it may sound, because he loves us he has raised us up and seated us with Christ in heavenly realms so we can one day be trophies of his grace.

H.A. Ironside believed that one of these days we are going to have a part in a great exhibition.  From every part of the earth there will be gathered together all who have been redeemed.  As Dr. Ironside explains it, the Lord will then show “to all created intelligences how it has been the delight of His heart to show great grace to great sinners.  That is our future -- a future that does not depend on our faithfulness but on His, who saved us by grace in order that we might show His glories forevermore.”

Consider what Romans 12:1 says: “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.”  In view of God’s mercy, Paul tells us that our spiritual act of worship is to lay ourselves down on an altar of surrender.  God wants our hearts yielded to him, pure and simple.  That’s that’s what is acceptable to God: giving up control and allowing him to do whatever he wants to do in us and through us.  The King James version calls presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice to him a “reasonable service.”  As we lay our lives down for him to fill and to use, we become expressions of praise to him.  And, considering we were designed to bring him glory, such an act is very “reasonable.”

[taken from Pure Praise: A Heart-Focused Bible Study on Worship, Dwayne Moore, 14-16.]

...Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our  inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession -- to the praise of his glory.

--Ephesians 3:13-14

11/22/09 worship set

Majestic
How Great is Our God
How He Loves
Everlasting God (choir special)

worship is a way of life...

2 Chronicles 20 tells a story about hundreds of thousands of people who all had their “light bulb” moment of praise & worship at the same time.  You know that moment where you feel as though you’re standing in the very throne room of God telling him how awesome he is?  This was their moment.  Three large armies were marching against Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah.  Jehoshaphat’s response was to call everyone in Judah to a giant prayer meeting.

I’m quite certain I wouldn’t have responded the way the people of Judah did when they learned of their imminent danger.  Simply put, they made the choice to worship.

What we have in this chapter of 2 Chronicles is an incredible worship service.  In the midst of naturally frightening circumstances, they had a supernatural encounter with almighty God.  They saw him as he is and therefore worshipped him as they should.  In fact, they fell down and worshipped him.  According to Strong’s Concordance, the word worship here means “to bow down, prostrate oneself, before a superior in homage, before God in worship.”  God is our superior; he is our Lord.  Submitting to him as our master is the essence of worship.

We are to love the Lord, our God, with everything we are: heart, soul, mind and body (Deut. 6:4-5).  When we do this, we are paying homage to him as our superior.  Just as the people of Judah bowed in surrender, we must surrender to him as our Lord.  Anything less is not biblical worship.

People have asked me, “Isn’t the Christian life really just a bunch of ‘Thou shalt nots’?”  To which I reply, “No, the Christian life is actually one big ‘Thou shalt’...love God.”  It’s really that simple: Worship him completely.

Worship is not just something we do on Sundays at church.  And it’s certainly more than singing or attending a service, although those are included.  Worship is a lifestyle.  It involves everything we do and think and are.  It means loving God with every breath we take and every move we make.

In 1 Corinthians 10:31, Paul wrote, “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”  Paul chose the examples of eating and drinking to illustrate how our most common and everyday activities can and should bring glory and honor to Christ.

So what does this kind of worship look like in everyday life?  Is it really possible to worship God when you’re at home or school or work?  How can even your simplest and most common tasks bring honor and worship to God?

[taken from Pure Praise: A Heart-Focused Bible Study on Worship, Dwayne Moore, 12-13.]

Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

--Deuteronomy 6:4-5

11/15/09 worship set

All Because of Jesus

I Thank You (choir special)

You Are the One

fighting the war in the stars...

Being a huge Star Wars fan, I remember going to the first movie to come out in theaters. It was weaving the story of Luke finding his place in fighting the good fight to make sure the good won out. He had a mentor named OB1 Kenobi, who in appearances, seemed wise but not much of a fighter. Luke and his companions had gone to the enemy’s ship to free Princess Leia and in doing so encountered Darth Vader. In a powerful scene, OB1 Kenobi ended up fighting Darth Vader face to face. Good versus evil. Luke and his companions saw the fight from a distance and after OB1 had assured enough time for the group to escape, he did a very strange thing. He lowered his light sabre and Darth Vader seemingly struck him down. Luke was mortified as he saw his mentor, his friend die before his very eyes. He did not know that OB1 had to die to make it possible for Luke and those of the force to rise up in more powerful numbers and defeat evil once and for all. After that OB1 was a constant help as a spirit that would step in and continue to lead and enable those fighting the good fight. Evil was defeated and peace and good reigned from there on.

That mirrors the fight we as believers continue to fight through the strength of the one who died for us, Jesus. It has always been a struggle as we continue to fight the good fight and present the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world. Each of us are important to God’s plan and His great power comes alive in all who know Him and call him Savior. That plan takes many different directions as He guides us in His perfect will to accomplish, by the leading of the Holy Spirit, the Great Commission. Jesus died and left the Holy Spirit to empower us to do His work. HIS work!

I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do

what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these,

because I am going to the Father.

--John 14:12

As we have served together over the past three years we have seen God do some incredible things. We have experienced those things together and those experiences have knit our hearts together for eternity. Even though I won’t be here, we are still actually all still together….in our love for Jesus, in our heart for worshipping our Lord, in our obedience to His call. The call remains the same, just different connections with different people.

My challenge is this: don’t back away or back off. Continue to fan the flame and see just what God can continue to do through each of you. His plan is still the best. His love is still contagious. He is still worthy of all our praise. He is the great I AM. Serving miles apart we will continue to be of one heart and mind as we serve Him in our mission fields. Our time with you has blessed our hearts and made us better servants. Thank you for encouraging us and loving us, and challenging us to greatness. Hopefully, we have done the same and the lasting effect of our crossing paths will continue to impact a world desperately in need of a Savior.

Until we meet again,

David Warren

Ephesians 5:16