A Servant's Call to Worship
Traditionally, we have used the phrase "go to church" rather loosely; as we have the phrase "morning worship". What do those phrases mean anyway? The Word of God says that we are the temple of the Holy Ghost (I Corinthians 6:19). The church lies within each of us by reason of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; not within our structures made of bricks and concrete.
Without getting into a broad theological discussion about the inner workings of the church body, when we speak of the church worship service, I am reminded of three things. First, the church is within us; second, worship is an encounter with almighty God, and third, service is the attitude of being a servant. So when we attend our church worship services, perhaps we should ask ourselves first, were we present in the "building", but absent from the temple? Did we really meet God in a true worship encounter? Were we challenged to serve?
Oftentimes we use the phrase "morning worship" and "church service" synonymously. When we say we attended "morning worship", does it mean we worshiped? Or does it just mean we "went to church"? Our presence in the church building at a certain hour on Sunday morning amongst other believers doesn't necessarily mean we worshiped. Being in church every Sunday doesn't make you a worshiper any more than attending the opera makes you an opera singer. Both take time, discipline, and sacrifice. Worship is an encounter; it is a sincere heart lifted toward a holy God. If our hearts are lifted, it is probable that our hands will be lifted also. If our hearts are bowed low in humble submission before God, then our bodies may well follow suit. We read in Revelation 4:10 that the elders "fall down before him. . .and worship him". . . In verses 8 and 14 of Chapter 5 we see a similar scenario:
8. And when he He had taken the book, the four living creatures and
the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. . ."
14.And the four living creatures kept saying, "Amen." And the elders fell down and worshiped.
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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.