What's Hindering You?
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Hebrews 12:1 (KJV)
You've seen devotionals from me that deal specifically with the varying reasons we do (or should) praise and worship God, but I thought it fitting to start off the year with a series of meditations about why we don't.
In his lifetime, Bro. Glen Burleigh shared with us all of the God-given musical genius that God would allow while he lived with us in time. One of the products of that genius was a song he composed entitled, "Lay Aside Every Weight", based upon today's passage, and others. A portion of the lyrics of that song went like this: "whatever it is that's keeping you from serving Jesus put it off. . .". What's keeping you from serving Jesus in continuous praise and habitual worship? Countless people sit in church Sunday after Sunday and miss worship for a variety of reasons. I don't want you to be one of them.
God has never requested praise or worship from us; He has always commanded both. Yes, God is a God of freedom; He loves us in freedom, and He leaves us free to choose whether to love Him in return. He bestows on us the freedom to choose whether to serve Him in our praise and daily worship. In this series we're going to look at the various reasons believers miss worship on Sunday, and why we may not engage in praise or worship on a daily basis. Some of us may not even realize that the things we carry within us are hindering our praise, and stifling our worship. But I hope during this series of coming devotionals, through the power of the Holy Spirit, that I will perhaps "bowl down your alley" and you experience the freedom to lay aside whatever is hindering you from praising and worshiping God the way He intended.
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.
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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.