Worship - Sermon Series
Worship Leaders
by EXW Staff
August 28, 2009
by Craig Simonian
When Peter saw that it was Jesus who caused them to catch the multitude of fish in Luke 5:8, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!"
When John receives his vision of the angelic hosts worshipping Jesus, he falls to the floor in worship.
DAVID UNDERSTOOD that our knowing who God is, in relation to who we are, will cause us to worship and adore Him.
The last segment of Psalm 95 is an Invitation to Dedication, v 7c-11.
- Whereas the first two sections read like a beautiful song, this last section, reads like a solemn warning...
- But actually its message fits in so well...
o whereas true worship comes from the heart, the opposite would then be a hardening of the heart.
o This last section warns us against a hardened heart and invites us to rededicate ourselves to authentic worship.
READ verses 7c-11. David is referring to a specific event in Exodus 17:1
- The whole Israelite community set out... but there was no water for people to drink... so they quarreled with Moses... give us water.
- Why did you bring us out of Egypt so that we could die of thirst.
o God tells Moses to go and take some elders to the rock of horeb...
strike the rock and water will come out for people to drink.
o That place was called Masa and Meraba (testing/quaralling)... b/c they tested the Lord and questioned whether He had abandoned them or not. (we ask the same thing)
- Then, in v 8, the Lord says to us, "Do not harden your hearts like at Meribah."
o "They were a people whose hearts always went astray." Vs 10.
o When we allow our hearts to grow hard... worship will end and we will have cut off the intimacy the God so passionately desires to lavish on us.
Rom 12:1-2 Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, surrendered to God... this is your spiritual act of worship. We surrender day after day to be worshippers.
- God is calling us to worship Him...
o In Celebration for all He has done
o In Adoration, for all He is
o In Dedication, so we can walk together with Him in intimacy
Some of you are facing difficult times right now... with your job, finances, relationships, health, plain old tiredness...
- giving God your worship, your heart, may seem so difficult.
- I remember reading an article about 15 years ago written by a Russian pastor who was half way thru a very long and difficult prison term for teaching his children about Jesus in the Soviet Union.
o He said that he was praying for God's children in American... for you and me. He said that America must be the hardest place in the world to worship Jesus... b/c of all the distractions.
o In a way, He is right... there is so much in our lives, which compete for that place of being most values, most esteemed and worthy.
- Let's choose together, as a spiritual family, to make our Jesus, the object of our worship.
- It starts in surrender with those simple words, "I'm yours".
In the very next Psalm, Psalm 96, David writes, "Sing to the Lord a new song..."
- God doesn't want our worship to become stale... but new every morning.
If something else or someone else has taken first place in your heart... then bring that to the Lord.
Used by churches all over the world to help teach worship, the Experiencing Worship study can help your worship team too.
Your team will learn why we worship and gain a better understanding of how to worship.
One user said..."Your 5 week study course has made a tremendous impact on my life in the study of worship... I would like to express my thanks for a well written study course that leads into a higher realm of praise and worship."
This is the debut album by EXW friend Paul Langford. Paul is a Chicago based singer, arranger, keyboardist, producer and conductor. Paul has a career that spans 14 years. Paul's work includes arranging for groups like GLAD, Voices of Liberty, VoiceTrek, The Chicago based "Caroling Party" and Day of Discovery Singers. His arranging has appeared on recordings side by side with greats like Gene Puerling and David Maddux, and he has sung with Don Shelton, Bonnie Herman and Bob Bowker, among others.
