Worship

This one was a two part lesson so it's going to be longer.

Worship
by Alin

Worship is a lifestyle.

God has so many names because he has so many attributes.

Skills in music are important, but not that important.

God's presence can be in all worship forms.

As many people as there are in the world, there are that many ways to worship.

God values an honest heart.

Praise - What is it?

Surrender, excitement, giving God glory, appreciation.

It needs to be a part of us, and something we're used to.

Encourage one another, don't keep it to yourself.

Definition - to speak highly of someone/something, express agreement, give glory through song.

Praise can be direct (praise, sing, pray to God), and indirect (talk to others about God).

Praise god for who He is and not only for what He's done.

Praise Him in your own way out of an honest heart.

Don't push or force anyone to praise in a certain way.

Why Praise God?

We are commanded to.

Psalm 150

Psalm 22

God loves our praise so much that He surrounds Himself with it.

They conquered Jericho through praise.

Paul and Silas were in jail, and they praised God, and then the chains broke free.

Take your eyes off the problem and focus on God.

Praise God because He is beautiful

Psalm 92

Psalm 135

And because He is worthy.

What is the right time for praise?

There are only two times you need to praise God: When you feel like it and when you don't.

Psalm 57: Praise at dawn (other times work too)

Hebrews 13-15

1 Peter 2:5

Psalm (I didn't get the chapter, so I think he was referencing all of the Psalms as types of praise.)

Do not give God something that cost you nothing.

You can offer your belongings to God as an act of praise.

Give your first fruits, your best, when giving to God.

Habbakuk 3:17-18 Yet I will praise Him.

It's not hypocritical to praise God in hard times.

1 John 4:20 You can't say you love God if you hate your brother.

Eph 5:19

Col 3:16

God speaks in the Bible, but He can also speak in visions in revelations

God's presence is the most real thing in our life.

Don't study the Bible without the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 25:14 The secret of the Lord is with those who fear God.

Jeremiah 33:3

Take the word of God and sing it back to Him

Repeat God's word until is is planted deep into you, and then it becomes real.

We praise God together so we can build our faith.

We talk to God with one another so that we can be comfortable talking with others about God.

Evangelism - Telling others about God.

The more you practice it the better you become.

But we are not called to convince people, that's God's job.

But we can still plant the seed and create an environment for God to work.

You are truly free when you can go into a bar and share God without shame.

God appreciates variety: praise standing, kneeling, dancing, painting, all for God's glory.

We shouldn't try to make everyone the same.

Part 2

Every nation will know of You, and of Your greatness.

Things God created for good, the devil perverts

The New Testament doesn't really talk that much about worship because they were already experts.

They didn't need to hear those messages.

God values an honest heart, if you feel lead to dance then do it.

Forms of worhship: painting, singing, dancing. None of these should be more important than God.

Worship is a little harder to define than praise.

It's:
A conversation with God
A permanent dialogue
Giving yourself to God (we offer our lives as a living sacrifice)
It's an affirmative answer to God's revelation
It should be a fellowship with those who love Him.

shachah - Hebrew - to bow
proskuneo - Greek - to kiss the dirt / bow
latreuo - Greek - to serve / minister
leitourgous - Greek - priestly ministry / a divine service

Differences between praise and worship:

John 4:23 worship in spirit and in truth

God seeks for eager worshipers like in John 4:23

Praise can be distant. We don't have to be in His presence to say "God is good."

Worship is close. You draw close to His heart.

A non-Christian can praise God, but cannot worship Him.

Praise is always seen or heard, but worship is less obvious.

It's in the heart, and we can't judge what's in the heart. Only God can, so don't judge people.

Sometimes we need to be agressive in our praise.

But worship is softer and can even be silent.

Should there be an order between praise and worship? Not necessarily.

There are some bad attitudes we can have when we worship: anger, envy, frustration, pride, and we need to deal with them.

Pride can lead you to be more conservative. (Example: You don't want to sound weird so you sing quietly.)

This robs us of Joy.

We can't assume that we can just enter into God's presence after being away from Him for so long if we don't maintain our relationship with Him.

God honors faithfulness.

Another bad attitude is to be a spectator. We are called to participate.

Sentamentalism can confuse worship time. Instead focus on the message.

There can be fear of being manipulated by the worship leader. ("Should I lift up my hands.")

The worship leader leads by the Spirit. It's not because they are manipulating.

Worship should be the center of the Church.

It's our relationship with God and our highest calling.

Luke 7:36-50

The disciples didn't understand worship like the woman in this passage.

Worshipers need to give themselves to God like this woman.

She gave everything. She might not have eaten the next day beause she gave her valuable perfume to God instead of selling it so she could buy food.

Ps 96:8 Give to the Lord the glory due His name

Don't show up with yoru leftovers.

The same with donating to charity, give good things, not trashy things.

The lady in Luke was crying. She was so eager to know God. She didn't hold anything back.

Tears can be signs of a broken heart and God appreciates a broken heart.

A clay pot first needs to be broken down before it is made new.

She kissed His feet and honored Him and wiped his feet with her hair.

The sign that a prostitute wanted to sleep with someone was wiping feet with their hair. This probably freaked the disciples out.

We are called to worship God.

When the lady put ther perfume on Jesus, it probably got on her as well.

Likewise, when we worship Jesus, we can begin to "smell" like Him. So much that people notice.

2 Cor 2: 15-16

Steps to get into God's presence:

Tell God (and others) that you love them.

Start at home or in your room.

Deal with the attitudes that you may have.

Pray for the pastor and worship leaders and staff. They have a huge responsibility and sometimes they may feel alone if people aren't engaging. So pray.

Enter into God's courts with shouts of praise.

Be extroverted.

These steps are similar to the whole church service in the Old Testament and today.

We get closer and closer to the Holy of Holies.

Many people are afraid of entering the Holy of Holies. Don't be afraid.

If you are close to God's heart, you can hear His whispers.

2 Cor 3:7-18

Try to make the Holy of Holies your living room. :)

Being saved doesn't mean you have a relationship with God.

Song of Solomon 2:8-14

"Rise up my love" God is calling us
"and come away" out into the world
"The winter is gone and flowers appear on the earth" Now is the time of the harvest.
"Let me see your face" Draw near to God
"let me hear your voice" and speak the words He gives you
"For your voice is sweet and your face is lovely"

1 Peter 2:5-9 We are called to be a royal priesthood.