Worship God | Essential Christianity
Rodney Thrift   -  

Essential Christianity

Worship God…

Week 1 SOUL TATTOO: Spending time in the Holy Bible is not an obligation, but a privileged way to access the heart of God.

Week 2 SOUL TATOO: Baptism is like the wedding band of Christianity, it is an outward sign of an inward commitment to Jesus Christ.

Week 3 SOUL TATTOO: Jesus is committed to The Church and promised to build His Church.

SOUL TATTOO: Worship is a passion For God’s presence. Praise is calling attention to God’s glory.

The Purpose of the CHURCH…

  • Ministry to God. “Worship”
  • Ministry to Believers. “Nurture and Mature”
  • Ministry to the World. “Evangelism, Service and Mercy”

Matthew 28:19 (ESV) 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…

 “All Word and no Spirit, you dry up! All Spirit and no Word, you blow up! The word, and the spirit together, you grow up.” L.A. Joiner

“When it’s healthy, the local church is the most resource rich environment on the planet. It’s the place where people from every background, every generation, every cultural and ethnic heritage, every diverse skill and ability come together to form a family.” (Pastor Jeff Little, Milestone Church, Book, The Way to Win)

Matthew 28:16-20 (ESV) 16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.

Mark 14:26 (ESV) 26 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Worship God

Psalm 149:1-9 (ESV) 1Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly! Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King! Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre! For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation. Let the godly exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands, to execute vengeance on the nations and punishments on the peoples, to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron, to execute on them the judgment written! This is honor for all his godly ones. Praise the Lord!

SOUL TATTOO: Worship is a passion for God’s presence. Praise is calling attention to God’s glory.

DEFINE BIBLICAL WORSHIP:

Worship: “Worship is the continuous outpouring of all that I am, all that I do and all that I can ever become in the light of a chosen or choosing God.” (Harold Best, Unceasing Worship)

“Worship includes (1) praise; (2) proclamation; i.e., lips that confess His name; (3) service, which means doing good as a demonstration of the Gospel to the world; (4) participation, which means sharing with others as a demonstration of grace to the world; (5) sacrifice, the giving of time, talent and treasure; and (6) submission, i.e., respecting Godly authority placed over us so that we can grow in wisdom and holiness.” (Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears, Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe)

Praise: To praise God is to call attention to His glory. Bless, exalt, extol, glorify, magnify, thank, and confess.

  • Worship is love expressed

Matthew 22:37 (NIV) “Jesus replied: ’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’”

John 4:23 (NIV) Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

  • A moment of praise can turn your hopelessness into joy.

Isaiah 61:1-4 (NIV) The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. 4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.

Let’s Make Praise Practical:

7 Words of Praise:

1.) Halal: To boast foolishly, to make a show of it. (Psalm 35:18, 48:1, 69:34, 115:17, 119:175)

Psalms 22:2 (NLT) 22 I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters. I will praise you among your assembled people.

2.) Tehillah: To praise vocally in song or shout. (Psalm 9:14, 34:1, 51:51, 66:2, 106:2)

Psalm 100:4 (ESV) 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!

3.) Zamar: To praise with instruments, alone or with voices. (Psalm 21:13, 68:32, 92:1, 108:1, 146:2)

Psalm 33:2-3 (NIV) Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. 3 Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.

4.) Hallelujah: A shouting call for corporate praise. (Psalm 105:45, 106:1, 111:1, 115:18, 147:1)

Psalm 111:1 (ESV) Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.

5.) Yadah: To lift or throw arms upward in praise and surrender. (Psalm 30:9, 43:4, 71:22, 89:5)

Psalm 42:5-6 (ESV) 5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

6.) Towdah: To express visible thanks or adoration to God by extending the hands to God in reverence, coupled with offering a sacrifice of praise to God through audible confessions of thanks. (Psalm 42:2, 50:23, 56:12, Jeremiah 33:11)

Jeremiah 17:26 (NKJV) 26 And they shall come from the cities of Judah and from the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin and from the lowland, from the mountains and from the South, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, bringing sacrifices of praise to the house of the Lord.

7.) Sabah: Reach out with affection for God, to feel His hold on us. (Psalm 145:4, 147:12)

Psalm 63:3 (ESV) 3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.

SOUL TATTOO: Worship is a passion for God’s presence. Praise is calling attention to God’s glory.

3 Roadblocks of Praise:

  • Discontent:

Philippians 4:11-13 (NLT) 11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

  • Neglect:

Nehemiah 8:10b (ESV) 10b And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Ephesians 5:18 (NLT) 18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit…

  • Sin:

Hebrews 1:9 (ESV) 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”

Psalm 51:10-12 (NIV) 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.

SOUL TATTOO: Worship is a passion for God’s presence. Praise is calling attention to God’s glory.