Purpose to Love People Is Expressed Through Benevolence
Participating in God’s Work of Meeting People’s Needs
Worship is the logical response of the created toward the Creator.
The chief end of man and all heavenly host is to glorify God. Failure to do so yields grave consequences.
Worship must be done God’s way to be acceptable. It must flow from a heart that is humbled and bathed in His holiness. Outward expression means little if not founded upon one’s redemption, focused on the God of Scripture, and first felt in the heart.Worship is more than a service. What happens within the walls of a building is reflective of what is happening throughout the week in the lives of each member. And, what happens corporately fuels the individual’s everyday life.The style or form worship takes can be as varied as the number of believers who gather to worship. Personality, background, and cultural differences influence the way one is able to best express himself. Obviously, because “God is not a God of disorder but of peace” (1 Cor. 14:33), everyone cannot be doing what is right in their own eyes when the Body meets together. There must be a “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Eph. 5:21) as you “speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” and as you “sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks…” (Eph. 5:19-20).Fundamental to accepting our differences is the understanding that the process is merely the means of worship and not the worship itself. Music, whatever the style, is not worship. It is a vehicle or tool. Clapping, raising of hands, or whatever outward manifestation, is only a means of worshiping.What truly matters is not what we get out of the worship service but what we give to God. In worshiping, self needs to be put on the altar. Being blessed is a by-product, not the motivation for worship.When the church grasps ahold of the on-going, all-encompassing nature of worship, and emphasizes God Himself more than the means and place of worship, people will see themselves for who they are. Like Isaiah we will cry out “Woe to me! …. |
The Priority
The Program
The Process
The Product
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I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips …” Humbled, we will begin to understand the grace and forgiveness of the Lord. We will respond “Here am I. Send me!” (Isa. 6:1-8) People will see our good deeds and praise and glorify our Father in heaven. (Matt. 5:16)