Worship

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Worship

• ICM Brussels
• 2007

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Definition

• Reverence offered to a divine being or
  supernatural power
• also an act of expressing such reverence
• To regard with great or extravagant respect,
  honor, or devotion
• Worship means to give worth or value to something

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Guess Who?
Brian and Bobbie Houston Pastors of Hillsong
church Australia
Darlene Zschech Worship leader at Hillsong church
Australia
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Worship can be

• Public
• Private
• With music
• Without music
• Use your gifts and talents
• Use your imagination

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God does not NEED our worship

• His existence and holiness do not depend on
  anything that we do or say
• We are giving Him an offering
• All that we have comes from Him
• The breath we sing with
• The body He created for us to dance with
• The minds He gave us to be creative with

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Our worship is pleasing to Him

• Arianas picture
• She uses the tools that I give her
• When she uses those things to do something to
  show me that she loves me I am eager to receive
  her gift.

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Why Worship?

• People have offered sacrifices and offerings to
  God from the beginning
• The first in the scripture is Cain and Able
• Offerings and sacrifices were often connected
  with covenants or promises God made with man

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• 2 Chronicles 714
• However, IF my people, who are called by my
  name, will humble themselves, pray, search for
  me, and turn from their evil ways,
• THEN I will hear their prayer from heaven,
  forgive their sins, and heal their country.
• Gods Word ,emphases added

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Genesis 9

• God promised Noah that He would never destroy the
  earth with water again
• Noah worshiped

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• In the Old Testament God prescribed many
  different offerings to be made
• Burnt offering
• Grain offering
• Fellowship offering
• Sin offering
• Guilt offering
• Drink offering
• Etc

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God desires us as the offering

• 1Sam 1522
• Then Samuel said, "Is the LORD as delighted with
  burnt offerings and sacrifices as he would be
  with your obedience? To follow instructions is
  better than to sacrifice. To obey is better than
  sacrificing the fat of rams.
• Gods Word

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• Psalm 5116-17
• You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would
  bring it you do not take pleasure in burnt
  offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken
  spirit a broken and contrite (repentant,
  apologetic) heart you will not despise.
• NIV, parentheses added

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How can we Worship?

• Public
• Private
• Loud and exuberant
• Soft and quite
• Silence can be an important part of worship
• Be still and know that I am God
• We are sometimes afraid of silence in our worship
  
• We can sometimes hear God more clearly when we
  are not distracted by what we are trying to do.

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John 421-24

• The woman at the well
• True worshipers will worship in spirit and in
  truth
• The place was no longer important
• The prescribed rituals were no longer important

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No Fast food Worship

• Always the same
• Always quick and easy
• Has little nutritional value

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Abraham and Isaac

• Genesis 22 1-19
• Isaac saw the wood and fire but no sacrifice
• We can have everything in place
  but without a sacrifice, there is
  something missing

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Our offering to God is valuable

• 2 Samuel 2424
• But the king replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on
  paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the
  LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me
  nothing.
• David refused to bring a sacrifice that was
  worthless

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We are the sacrifice

• Romans 121
• Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's
  mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices,
  holy and pleasing to Godthis is your spiritual
  act of worship.

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God is Spirit

• He created us with a spirit as well
• We are created in His image
• God desires us to focus our spirit on Him
• Not just go through motions
• Psalm 103 says praise the Lord o my soul, or
  spirit, all my inmost being, praise his holy
  name.

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We worship when we are focused on giving God
Praise

• Can be in group meetings
• Singing, dancing, clapping, etc.
• Can also be in our private prayer times
• Can be more free
• No one is watching you
• You can express your feelings to God the way that
  comes most naturally to you rather than following
  what everyone else is doing.

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Use the Psalms

• Every part of Gods word has been given to us
• This includes the Psalms
• These were written as songs and poems
• Read them with your heart, not just with your
  lips
• You can write your own songs or poems of praise.

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Dance before the Lord

• You can dance at during worship in a group
• You can dance at home on your private time with
  the Lord
• Many people do not feel free to dance in a group
  setting
• You are dancing before the Lord, not anyone else.

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Be Creative

• Use your gifts and talents to worship God
• Music, art, poetry, dance, etc.
• It is not just a form of Christian entertainment
• Set your heart on God
• God is interested in what
• is coming from your heart

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When do we Worship

• Should be part of our group meetings
• Psalm 3518 I will give you thanks in a large
  gathering. I will praise you in a crowd of
  worshipers.
• Should be part of our personal prayer
• Psalm 11962 In the middle of the night I wake up
  to praise you for your righteous judgments.

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Every time we pray

• Matthew 69
• Part of the Lords prayer
• Hallowed be your name
• This is how Jesus taught us to pray
• Including a time of worship

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It shouldnt depend on how we feel

• Worship comes much easier
• when we FEEL good
• Finding the strength and will to worship when
  things are less than perfect is much harder
• God is always worthy to be praised, no matter how
  bad things in our life may be
• Just ask Job

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We can look to the Psalms

• Many of them are full of complaints
• Being pursuit be enemies
• People lying about you
• Injustice in the world
• The wicked seem to be prospering while the
  righteous seem to suffer
• Many others
• But there is always praise
• For what God has done, is doing, and will do

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Count your blessings

• Think about what God has done for you in the past
• Think about what you have rather than what you
  dont
• Could think about how things could be worse

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What happens when we Worship

• Worship should involve all of you
• Body, mind, and spirit
• Worship should have some kind of result
• In the physical realm
• In the spirit realm

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• Seeing Gods greatness
• puts our problems in
• perspective.

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• Matthew 11 28-30
• Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,
  and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you
  and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in
  heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For
  my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
• NIV

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• Catalyst for victory
• 2 Chronicles 20
• King Jehoshaphat
• Acts 16
• Paul and Silas in prison

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Worship is an act of OBEDIENCE

• God is pleased by our obedience
• God will be praised
• Luke 1940
• I tell you, he replied, "if they keep quiet, the
  stones will cry out."
• If not by you, then who???

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