|
|
Is Our Worship
True Worship?
“Worship” is a concept which must be understood by every
faithful Christian. God both expects and deserves our “true worship.” “But the
hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in
spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit,
and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24) We
could all profit from a serious study of the question, “Is our worship true
worship?” There is a worship that is true and there is a worship that is vain.
“These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And
honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they
worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” (Matthew 15:8-9)
Let us observe true worship…
What do you meditate upon before our worship:
Jesus Himself said, “Away with you, Satan! For it is
written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.”
(Matthew 4:10) It is not only our duty but our precious privilege to worship
our Divine Savior. Meditating upon God, spiritual things and true worship helps
prepare our heart for acceptable worship to God. True worshippers must meditate
and be sure that: (1) they know that they
believe, (2) they know that they are penitent of all
wrongs, and (3) they know that they love God completely and want to honor Him.
Where your heart is during worship: Our minds
must be centered on Jesus. The cares and pleasures of the world must not be allowed
to crowd out our true worship. Worship is not the time for writing notes,
playing, talking, and walking in and out and in general being a disturbance to
other worshippers. Our worship must be characterized by “reverence and Godly
fear.” “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let
us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly
fear. For our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:28-29) The true worshipper
is the person that is controlled by Christ’s will both in mind and in life.
True worship is from within to without.
What you do while worshipping: Worship is true
worship only if we do the right things while we are there. In all acts of
worship we must do only what is prescribed in the New Testament, or what is
done by Divine approval. Our attitude should show a willingness to accept the
challenge of Psalm 95:6-7. “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel
before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, And we
are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will
hear His voice:”
In no age, place or time has God ever told man to worship but
failed to describe how the worship is to be done. In the New Testament there
are five channels through which our worship flows upward to God.
The Bible tells us that the early church worshipped God through
preaching His word. “Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came
together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and
continued his message until midnight.” (Acts 20:7) At Troas Paul preached to
the church as a part of their first day of the week worship.
The Bible tells us that the early church worshipped God by
singing songs of praise to His honor. “Speaking to one
another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in
your heart to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:19) During the first 600 years
after the church was established there was not anything but vocal music used in
the worship of the church.
The Bible tells us that the early church worshipped God by
partaking of the Lord’s Supper every Sunday. “Now on the first day of the week,
when the disciples came together to break bread…” (Acts 20:7) The Lord’s Supper
was observed every Sunday by the church from its beginning.
The Bible tells us that the early church worshipped God by
offering fervent prayers to God. “And they continued steadfastly in the
apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.”
(Acts
The Bible tells us that the early church worshipped God by
giving. “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders
to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: On the first day of the week
let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that
there be no collections when I come.” (I Corinthians 16:1-2) Giving is a way we
express our love to God each week.
I know you can attend and do these things from your heart each
week. If your heart is not right your worship is worth nothing at all. And for
worship to be acceptable it must not only come from the heart it must be the
worship God has described.
Where you life leads after worship: Your life
should lead you to faithful service to God and man. “…Be faithful until, and I
will give you the crown of life.” (Revelation 2:10.) Faithfulness in Lord’s Day
worship should prompt an even greater faithfulness in coming weeks.
Many things prove our faithfulness to God. For example, some
need to commune on Sunday night. The evening communion is for those that had
sickness, death or other circumstances over which they had no control. There
are, however, brethren that abuse this opportunity. They visit, sleep, fish,
hunt, vacation, go to races or other sporting events and do all kinds of things
and then say, “I’ll do this because I can take the Lord’s Supper tonight.”
Common sense should tell us that such abuse is repulsive to God!
God deserves our faithful worship and service. “Bless
the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless
his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” (Psalm
103:1-2) Only the faithful have the privilege of acceptable worship.
God has not given any specific order of worship nor the amount
of time to be allotted to each item. But He has specified that we must: (1)
pray to God the Father in the name of Jesus (Colossians 3:17), (2) praise God
in song with the fruit of our lips (Hebrews 12:15), (3) preach or teach the New
Testament of Jesus (Acts 2:42), (4) give as God has prospered us on the first
day of the week (1 Corinthians 16:2), and (5) break bread in memory of our
Lord’s sacrificial death. (Acts 20:7)
Before we can participate in true worship we must be a
Christian. You must obey the first principles of the gospel of Christ to be His
child. These first principles include faith, repentance, confession, and
baptism. (Mark
- - - - Charles Box
News
& Notes
1. Prayer List:
In Need Of Prayers:
Jimmy
Allen, Mae Beverly, Billy Wayne Conway, Ann Dean (aunt of Cheryl Pierce), Brenda
Donaldson, Roy Goodwin, Judy Green, Evan Hartsell, Dianne
Hoffman (aunt of Steve Hoffman), Linda Holley, Mary Lawrence, Abby Lee, Shaunnie McGough, Reba Miller (mother of Pam Till), Jo Ann Moorer, Curtis Newton, Vela Pugh (mother of Janice Cole), Mary Powell, Linda
Sexton, Don Shirley, Austin Shows, Gene Skipper, Vickie Starkie,
Louise Walters, Richard Watts, Donald Williams, and Mary Williams. Crowne Health Care: Mary
Alexander, James Alford, Gladys Childs, Kathy Johnson, Wallace Murry, and Myrtle Perdue. Pine Needle: Mary
Lou Phelps. Georgiana Nursing Facility: Helen Autrey,
and Doris Pierce. Shut-Ins: Emma Lee Gafford,
Jean Hayes, and Doris Taylor.
2. Baptized Into Christ: We rejoice that
Bobby Taylor (father of Stuart Taylor) was baptized into Christ. We are happy
to have Bobby (April 12th) and Sylvia (September 20th)
with us at
3. Sympathy Expressed: Our love and sympathy is
expressed to the family of Betty Taylor, niece of Virginia Lowery.
4. Please Pray For:
The following people are serving in
5. Birthdays:
Celebrating birthdays this week are: May 1st
Clay Newton and May 2nd Daie Johnson.
6. Ladies
Night Out: There will be a
ladies night out here at the building on May 12th at
7. Thank You: (a) There was a work day at the building last Saturday. Bobby
Terrell prepared breakfast before the work began. Thanks Bobby for a wonderful
breakfast and a special “Thank you” to all those that worked. (b) Thanks to all our young people that
walked in the Backwoods’ Christian Camp Walk-A-Thon, to those that sponsored
them and for the work of Darrell and Jamie Powell with this project. (c) Much work is being done to
prepare for Vacation Bible School Thanks to all of you that have volunteered to
help and for all the work that has already been done. This should be our best
VBS ever! Please pray that God will
bless this good work.
8. Shoe Boxes: There is a need for shoe boxes for a craft for
9. Put
These Dates On Your Calendar: (a) April
27th-30th –Luverne Church of
Christ – Gospel meeting -- Speakers: Sunday Kyle Butts, Monday Charles Box,
Tuesday Philip Box, Wednesday Jeff Grimes – week nights at
10.
A Look In The
Mirror
Our society is addicted to
“reality.” I guess it started a good
while back with crime shows like Cops
and Real TV. Then we made the switch to relationship shows
like The Bachelor(ette)
and Survivor. It seems that nothing is too sacred or
outlandish for people to make a reality television show about. There is even one now that consists of two
families swapping mothers/wives for a week (if this isn’t evidence that our
nation’s family values are out of whack, I don’t know what is). The lure of these shows is the fascination we
have with seeing “real” people in “real” situations…seeing who they REALLY
are! Yeah right! With cameras in their face and the world
watching, how real do you think these people are being? Reality or not, the key word is “show.” Do we ever put on a show for others? What is the truth about who you are? What if everyone you know was able to look in
your mirror and see exactly what you see…who you really are? (James 1:23-25).
How would your friends react? Would your Christian friends be shocked at
the person you are in secret? Would your
non-Christian friends be shocked to find that you are a Christian at all? Are you the kind of person who “observes
himself [in the mirror], goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he
was”? (James 1:24).
Most importantly, what do you see
when you look in the mirror of truth?
Perhaps you yourself are fooled into seeing something that’s not true
(II Thessalonians
The REAL you peeks out when no one is looking (Mama always said). And the REAL you is determined by your actions…not by your intentions. Make your reality pleasing to God by obeying His will.
----Darrell Powell
Do not allow life’s stresses to keep you from
fulfilling you God given mission.
Don’t just own a Bible; read it!
(334-382-3001)