Inspiring Worship

Introduction: (Allan) What are our reasons for coming to church? Is it out of habit ? Been doing it for years? Take a pew and go through the motions sing a few songs fall asleep halfway through the seven week up for communion single a few more songs then have a chat and a cuppa and a biscuit is that how it's supposed to be? No!

Of course that's not how it is supposed to be. But we don't start with habit, or going through the motions. We may end up like that; but I believe most of us start with a desire to respond to God and to be “inspired”! But things can go pear-shaped quite easily and we end up swapping that sense of expectancy for one of habit. So how can we keep this things healthy and vibrant?

A number of years ago when I was in Gloucester, someone visited our Church and, on her way out said to me “I really enjoyed my worship this morning!” Now, as you know, I am very polite, so I bit my tongue. But what I wanted to say was “Well, it's nice to get a compliment, but we weren't actually worshipping you!”

So the first question I want to ask about worship actually is “Who are we worshipping?” It's important that our worship is focussed on God, not on our own needs or preferences; not on the needs or preferences of any group within the Church; and not even on the needs or preferences of outsiders or “seekers”. It's for God. To quote Mike Pilavachi, it's “For The Audience of One.”

Let's hear God's word.... Deut 6. 4-5, 13-15

Lomond Hill, Fife. Image by G Lilly

In its original context God's people Israel were living in an environment where many gods were worshipped; and as the Lord had revealed Himself to them the idea had slowly dawned in their minds that their god was different: he was the only god they should worship because he was really the only god. When Deut 6. 4 says “The Lord our God is One...” that “One” is important. It's almost like a name for God. He is “The One.” he is “Unique”. His name is Yahweh – the Eternal One, the one who was and is and is to come, the one who uniquely says “I am who I am!” Our first key word then, is The Eternal.

But still for Israel – as we as for us today – there was the constant pressure and temptation to take our minds off the Lord and worship other gods. We may not go down on our hands and knees in front of our computer screens, but it's easy for other things to become idols.

And that asks us – as it should do – a question that goes to the very core of our being. It's about more than “Who is A Church service for?” The Church by the simple fact of worshipping God, fires off this question to the whole of our society: “Who or what do you worship?”

Matt Redman's song says, “I'm coming back to the the heart of worship... and it's all about you, Jesus!”

That brings me to another question: What is worship?

Let's hear God's word again: Romans 12. 1-2

Bread and wine. Image by G Lilly

Remember what we learned last week: The wine is not the bottle. The ESSENCE of worship is not about singing or preaching or raising our hands or kneeling down. That's just the bottle. The wine, the essential core of worship is this: surrendering our lives to God, because of what he has done for us in Christ. The words sacrifice, offer, holy and acceptable (in Romans 12. 1-2) are technical religious words. Literally the Greek means “Present your lives to God, as a living, holy and acceptable sacrifice.”

Worship is not just what happens in here at 11 a.m. it is about the whole of life. It is about our home life; it is about how we spend – and earn – our money; it is about our sexuality, about health, about relationships, about forgiveness, generosity, balancing work and rest. It's about everything. To be a worshipper means that in everything, I give myself to God; in everything I am not accepting conformity to the world but seeking to be transformed.

Present your bodies as a living sacrifice... And I believe that, if we could nail that, we would end the whole thing of “Worship wars” that has blighted the Western Church for decades.

So How do we worship? We look at the EXPRESSION of worship...

Let's hear God's Word: Revelation 4. 8-11; Revelation 5. 11-14.

That's a sneak preview of the worship of heaven – and it's pretty way out: it's vibrant, colourful, active, loud, thoughtful, truth-centred.

My Dictionary of bible themes lists the following as aspects of “worship” Adoration, Praise, prayer, asking, blessing, doxology, enquiring of God, lifting up hands, celebration, longing for god, waiting on God, magnifying God, meditation, remembering, study, thanksgiving... sacraments, singing, spiritual gifts. In these and maybe in ways we haven't even thought of we connect with and respond to Yahweh, to Jesus the lamb, to the present Holy Spirit.

There is a prayer – we used it last week – that says it is right that we should worship God “at all times and in all places.” We can worship here in Church – but we can worship in the street, in the park, in the café... And we worship, primarily because Jesus is worthy.

Why worship?

The effects of worship (according to my Dictionary of bible Themes) include: Blessing, Guidance, Joy, Sense of God's presence, Deeper sense of Jesus' Lordship. Boldness in witness: Conviction of sinners.

Let's hear what the Bible says: 2 Chron 5. 13f cf Acts 16. 25f;

That's pretty inspiring. If I were Paul or Silas, chained up in prison, after being whipped, I'm not sure I would feel like singing God's praises, but despite all they had been through, that's exactly what Paul and Silas were doing. When God's people connect with him in worship, somehow we release his power into our situations.

So, Inspiring worship? Do we worship to get inspired? No, we worship because Jesus is worthy, even if we are not. But in worship, in connecting with the Eternal God, and offering our lives to Him, something is going to happen to us, too. We can't worship god and not be changed.

As we worship, we connect with god; we become aware of our own sinfulness; we know God's power to clean us up and forgive us; and we are inspired to serve him in his world.

We finish with the story of how one man was changed and inspired as he connected with God.

Isa 6. 1-8

©Gilmour Lilly November 2015