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Psalm 29
We invite you to join us for worship each Sunday morning at 9:30. You can download our service on iTunes or tune in for “The Good Word” each day on AM 1230 WSAL or on Hoosier Country 103.7 FM just after 8am. We began our series on worship by studying from Psalm 84 learning how to have a proper attitude in worship. Then we looked at some things that can hinder our worship. Today I would like for us to look at some elements for proper worship. If you study worship in the O.T., you will discover that it was a lot of work! Folks had to do a lot more than just get up shower and get dressed, eat and come to church. The longer Christ tarries in His return for us, true worship is often exchanged for easy believism, entertainment, feel-good theology, and a 5 or 10 minute speech that’s more focused on telling people what their itching ears want to hear so it suits their own passions – rather than preaching the inspired, inerrant, infallible, Word of God to reprove, rebuke, and exhort through the sound teaching of Biblical doctrine. Now, here is one of the great truths about a salvation relationship with Christ: it is never too late to start being pure, and you can start right now! Here is another truth that ought to encourage you: when you begin to increase your desire for godliness, God then begins to help you decrease your desire for ungodliness. So let’s consider some elements that are important to proper worship. Let’s begin with:
- AWE. Read Dt. 10:12, 13; Ps. 68:35; Eccl. 5:1 and you will see in general, Awe = the fear of God. Awe is dreadful fright or fear, the kind of fear that stops you in your tracks and he immediately floods your system with adrenaline making you think your heart is going to jump out of your chest! It is not wrong to say such fear is designed to stop us in our tracks. No matter the reason or cause of the fear, it is for the purpose of causing us to change our current course of action. And almost always that change in action is to protect or preserve us in some way. Did you know proper worship must include:
- TRUST? Read Ps. 4:5; Ps. 37:7; Heb. 11:6. Do you know one of the easiest ways to determine your level of trust in God? It’s really very simple! Think about all of your life and everything about you – got it? Now, imagine a piece of paper with a line drawn down the middle; one side is entitled, “those areas where I trust God without question to handle everything about my life.” And the other side is entitled, “those areas of my life where I have trouble, or just don’t trust God to handle them without some help from me.” Now, which side of the paper has the longer list? Worship also includes:
- PRAISE! Read Neh. 9: 5, 6; Heb. 2:12; Rev. 7:11, 12. A true man or woman of God lives with a proper fear of God, and knows by personal experience that God can be trusted to provide the highest quality of life at all times – because they have learned to properly fear and trust God, they are able to praise Him even when life is difficult, painful, unpleasant, and makes no sense. When we consider proper worship in an attitude of awe, trust, and praise proper worship will also include:
- THANKSGIVING. Read Ps. 100:4; Eph. 5:19, 20; Rev. 11:16, 17. Baker’s Encyclopedia of the Bible defines Thanksgiving, in part, this way: “gratitude is not a tool used to manipulate the will of God – it is a joyful commitment of one’s personality to God.” These four elements are essential for proper worship. Without them worship is empty. Next week we will look at why that is true.
If we can help you answer your spiritual questions, call us at (574) 643-9419.
