Introduction: What does it mean to worship God? Is it a state of
mind? Is it a physical expression? Can we get too “carried away” with
worship? What motivates us to worship? Worship styles have been
terribly divisive in some churches. Is it a sin to criticize the
worship style of others? Let’s leap into our study of the Bible and
find the answers to these questions!
- Reasons to Worship
- Read Exodus 20:4-6. How important is worship? (Both the
first and second of the Ten Commandments involve worship
of God.) - What reasons does God give here to worship Him? (God
appears to say that there are two types of people.
Those who hate Him and those who love Him. God links
worship to our love for Him. Loving God is a
reciprocal thing: God loves you and you love Him. If
God’s love for you results in your love and obedience
towards Him, God will love you and your descendants.) - Read Psalms 95:6-7. The Psalmist tells us that a motive to
worship our God is that we are “the people of His
pasture.” What does it mean to be pasture people? Is this
like the phrase “being put out to pasture?” (When you put
a flock into a pasture, you put them in a safe place where
there is food and water. “Pasture people” are people under
the care of God. One reason we worship God is because of
His care for us.) - Read Revelation 4:10-11. This is a scene of worship in
heaven. What reasons to worship God are given here? (Not
only did God create us, but He continues to sustain our
life.) - Read Revelation 5:11-12. Here is another heavenly scene.
What additional reasons do we have to worship God? (He
lived a perfect life, and died in our place, thus giving
us the opportunity for eternal life and heaven. What a
powerful reason to praise and worship Jesus!) - Read Revelation 14:6-7. What is the eternal gospel?
(Worshiping God is part of the eternal gospel. This is not
something that is an “old covenant” thing that God no
longer expects. God again gives His authority as the
Creator as a reason for worship.) - God gives us many reasons to worship Him. Would He have to
give us any reasons to worship Him? - If not, why does He do it? (God could just say I
demand worship, but He does not. It reflects God’s
love and care for us that He explains to us the
reasons to worship Him.) - Time to Worship
- Read Exodus 20:8-11. What reason does God give us to keep
His Sabbath holy? (That He created the world in six days
and rested on the seventh day.) - Review again Revelation 14:7. How does the “eternal
gospel” that we are to worship God relate to the
Sabbath? (The two hinge on the common ground that God
is our Creator. Sabbath is a special worship time to
remember God as our Creator.) - A few days ago I read (yet another) attack on Sabbath-keeping. The article frankly admitted that the Bible
contained no command to worship on any other day than the
Sabbath. It admitted that the church did not have the
authority to change a command of God. The new argument was
that under the new covenant we now are living in the
“Sabbath” time and we are now free to pick any day that we
want to worship. Let’s assume for a minute that all of
this is true. Given the nature of worship, what day would
you choose to set aside to especially honor God? (The
nature of worship is to exalt God and not me. With that in
mind, I would pick the day He suggested I should worship,
the day which reflects His authority as my Creator!
Picking any other day seems counter-intuitive for the
worship of our Creator.) - Way to Worship
- Read John 4:23-24. What does it mean to worship God “in
truth?” (Read John 14:6. Jesus tells us that He is the
truth. The time “has now come” when our worship is
centered on Jesus instead of the sacrificial system of the
sanctuary in Jerusalem which merely pointed to a coming
Messiah.) - What does this suggest about the philosophy that all
paths lead to heaven? All sincerely held views are
equally acceptable in the eyes of God? (God tells us
that “truth” is an essential part of worship.) - Look again at John 4:23-24. What does it mean to worship
God in “spirit?” (Read John 16:13-15. Jesus is at least
referring to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit helps us in
our worship to better understand God and His will for us.) - What about your worship: Is it Christ-centered and Spirit-filled?
- My sense is that a “Spirit-filled” worship means that the
Holy Spirit is leading our minds to a better understanding
of God. For some, a “Spirit-filled” worship means getting
rowdy in a way that others find unacceptable for worship.
Is there an acceptable and unacceptable style of worship? - Read 2 Samuel 6:13-16. King David is bringing the Ark of
God (the symbol of God’s presence) to Jerusalem. The
people are worshiping God by continually sacrificing
animals (every six steps) while the King is worshiping by
dancing “before the Lord with all his might” and “leaping
and dancing before the Lord.” Have you seen any worship
more rowdy than that? - Read 2 Samuel 6:20. Michal is King David’s wife. My wife
regularly gives me feed-back on my sermons and she
generally has excellent thoughts. It appears that in all
of David’s leaping, Michal thought that David’s leaping
and dancing in his “linen ephod”( 2 Samuel 6:14)was too
vulgar for kingly worship. Would you agree? - Read 2 Samuel 6:21-22. What does King David teach us about
the issue of whether worship must be dignified? (It seems
our dignity is not an issue which should concern us.) - Read 2 Samuel 6:23. What results from Michal’s criticism
of David’s undignified style of worship? (She never has
any children. She was the daughter of former King Saul and
now the first wife of David. If she had a son, he would
have had a good claim to the throne – which would have
increased her importance.) - What does this teach us about being critical of
certain styles of worship? (I think Michal being
barren symbolizes the barrenness of Spirit of those
critical of enthusiastic styles of worship. Those
critical of exuberant worship should beware.) - Read Psalms 150. Compare the praise and worship depicted
here with the praise and worship in your church. How do
they compare? - Friend, God has given us every reason to worship Him. He
expects us to worship in Spirit and in truth. Will you
open your heart to the joy of true worship? - Next week: Lord of Our Service.
