Print this pageCompany Of The Committed | Trait #4 - Time Out For Worship | October 1-2, 2005 |
THE HEART
OF WORSHIP
Giving God His Due – Taking time out to honor God as God.
TWO SIDES
OF WORSHIP Personal worship and corporate 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. [2] 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. [NIV]
Hebrews 10:24-25
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. [25] Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching. [NIV]
TWO REQUIREMENTS
OF WORSHIP What God Wants & What God Despises God wants us to worship Him in spirit and in truth.
John 4:23-24
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. [24] God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." [NIV]
Matthew 15:8-9
" 'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
[9] They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.'" [NIV]
1 Samuel 16:7
But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." [NIV]
1 Samuel 15:22
But Samuel replied:
"Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams. [NIV]
Romans 1:18-32
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, [19] since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. [20] For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
[21] For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. [22] Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools [23] and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
[24] Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. [25] They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen.
[26] Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. [27] In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
[28] Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. [29] They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, [30] slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; [31] they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. [32] Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. [NIV]
John 8:31-32
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. [32] Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." [NIV]
John 17:17
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. [NIV]
FOUR ACTS
OF WORSHIP And What They Do For Our Relationship With God
1) PRAISE: Reminds me who God is.
Psalm 150:1-6
Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
[2] Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
[3] Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
[4] praise him with tambourine and dancing,
praise him with the strings and flute,
[5] praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.
[6] Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord. [NIV]
Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline. [NIV]
Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. [NIV]
2) THANKSGIVING: Reminds me what God has done.
Psalm 100:3-4
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
[4] Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name. [NIV]
1 Thessalonians 5:18
give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. [NIV]
Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. [7] And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. [NIV]
3) LISTENING: Reveals God’s truth & will for my life.
Ecclesiastes 5:1-2
Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.
[2] Do not be quick with your mouth,
do not be hasty in your heart
to utter anything before God.
God is in heaven
and you are on earth,
so let your words be few. [NIV]
James 1:22
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. [NIV]
Acts 2:42
They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. [NIV]
4) SACRIFICE: Realigns my priorities.
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. [2] 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. [NIV]
Hebrews 13:15-16
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name. [16] And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. [NIV]
Matthew 6:19-21
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. [20] But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. [21] For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. [NIV]
Growth Group Homework
For the week of October 2, 2005
1 Chronicles 16:7-36
That day David first committed to Asaph and his associates this psalm of thanks to the Lord:
[8] Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.
[9] Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.
[10] Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
[11] Look to the Lord and his strength;
seek his face always.
[12] Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
[13] O descendants of Israel his servant,
O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.
[14] He is the Lord our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
[15] He remembers his covenant forever,
the word he commanded, for a thousand generations,
[16] the covenant he made with Abraham,
the oath he swore to Isaac.
[17] He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant:
[18] "To you I will give the land of Canaan
as the portion you will inherit."
[19] When they were but few in number,
few indeed, and strangers in it,
[20] they wandered from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another.
[21] He allowed no man to oppress them;
for their sake he rebuked kings:
[22] "Do not touch my anointed ones;
do my prophets no harm."
[23] Sing to the Lord, all the earth;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
[24] Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
[25] For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
he is to be feared above all gods.
[26] For all the gods of the nations are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
[27] Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and joy in his dwelling place.
[28] Ascribe to the Lord, O families of nations,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength,
[29] ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name.
Bring an offering and come before him;
worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.
[30] Tremble before him, all the earth!
The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
[31] Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let them say among the nations, "The Lord reigns!"
[32] Let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!
[33] Then the trees of the forest will sing,
they will sing for joy before the Lord,
for he comes to judge the earth.
[34] Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
[35] Cry out, "Save us, O God our Savior;
gather us and deliver us from the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name,
that we may glory in your praise."
[36] Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Then all the people said "Amen" and "Praise the Lord." [NIV]
Job 1:1-22
In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. [2] He had seven sons and three daughters, [3] and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
[4] His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. [5] When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." This was Job's regular custom.
[6] One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. [7] The Lord said to Satan, "Where have you come from?"
Satan answered the Lord, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."
[8] Then the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."
[9] "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. [10] "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. [11] But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."
[12] The Lord said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger."
Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
[13] One day when Job's sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, [14] a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, [15] and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
[16] While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
[17] While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
[18] While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, "Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, [19] when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
[20] At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship [21] and said:
"Naked I came from my mother's womb,
and naked I will depart.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised."
[22] In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. [NIV]
Psalm 51:1-19
For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
[2] Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
[3] For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
[4] Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge.
[5] Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
[6] Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;
you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
[7] Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
[8] Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
[9] Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
[10] Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
[11] Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
[12] Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
[13] Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will turn back to you.
[14] Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
the God who saves me,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
[15] O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
[16] You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
[17] The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.
[18] In your good pleasure make Zion prosper;
build up the walls of Jerusalem.
[19] Then there will be righteous sacrifices,
whole burnt offerings to delight you;
then bulls will be offered on your altar. [NIV]