1 Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord; praise the name of the Lord. 2 Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time on and forevermore. 3 From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised. 4 The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. 5 Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, 6 who looks far down on the heavens and the earth? 7 He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap, 8 to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people. 9 He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord! [NRSV]
Praise the Lord!
Call to the crowd, now is the time to praise.
Bless the Name, now and always
Start at sun up until you sleep
God is AUTHOR and all authority,
In Heaven and on earth
Cheer: Who is like our God, who is at the highest high?
Response: God who is way up there raises the poor from the dust,
Lifts the needy from the ash heap
Makes them sit with princes and kings
He gives life and make our hearts and homes fruitful and meaningful
I introduce to you a topic we will study and practice for years to come:
Passionate Worship
Worship too often is twisted around 180 degrees.
If you every hear someone say, “I just didn’t get anything out of worship.”
If you every hear someone say, “ I didn’t care for the music or the sermon.”
If you every hear someone say, “I need to find worship that makes me feel good or even my toes stepped upon.”
These are examples that worship has been flipped upside down and backwards.
Worship is not about the preacher, its not about the musicians, it is not about the congregation.
Worship is about God.
It is both a time and a place to direct ourselves toward God
It is a time to gather for God’s benefit and not our own.
Worship is putting the REALITY of our hearts into the hands and heart of God.
Sometimes we bring to God our poverty, brokenness and weakness.
Sometimes we bring to God our celebration, love and devotion.
Always it is God’s people coming to connect and give ourselves, our gifts and our futures to God.
Passionate Worship
Is placing our hearts, empty or full on the alter of God and becoming a living sacrifice through Jesus Christ.
Passionate Worship
Is coming together as unique individuals with differing depths of relationship to God and sitting together as fellow heirs in the court, together as son and daughters of the God.
Passionate Worship
Is putting our life on the line each time we gather in this place to be both strong and vulnerable. Bringing our faithfulness and our failures. Offering out sweat-equity and in-equities to be used through God’s Spirit in this world.
Now if you come to Sunday school or Bible study or small group and you don’t connect you can say, “I didn’t get anything out of it,” but that is different than worship.
Worship the primary way we show our praise of God
Passionate Worship
Is putting our hearts on the line, that God and God’s people in trust and with integrity.
Passionate Worship is doing the Spiritual HokyPoky and putting our whole self in God’s hand…
Passionate Worship is not counting the minutes until we are done, rather counting the minutes until we are here again.
Is our Worship Passionate?
This is our home work.. Tell one person this week, Name one thing you bring to worship that pleases God, and explain why.
