This week I’ve posted three foundational points that are basic to my understanding of worship. They were: 1. Worship is based on our redemption in Christ. (Exodus 20:1-2) 2. God identifies himself as the exclusive object of our worship. (Exodus 20:3) 3. We must guard our hearts against idolatry. (Exodus 20:4-6) The fourth basic concerning…
Category: Worship
Worship 101
Our worship is based on our redemption in Christ. Unless we see that clearly, much of our “worship” will be conducted in vanity and will be for the most part self serving. Continuing in Exodus 20 we find the first commandment where God identifies himself as the exclusive object of worship. “You must not have…
Worship 101
Yesterday I began a four week series at First Baptist Church on the subject of worship. In my preparation, I was reminded of Elmer Towns’ famous observation that the first murder in the Bible occurred over a dispute concerning worship (cf. Genesis 4:1-9). As I reflected on the story of Cain and Abel, I thought…
The Gardens of God
On Sunday I will begin a new sermon series on the five major gardens found in Scripture. The series is based on a book by Murray Andrew Pura titled, Rooted: Reflections on the Gardens in Scripture. Here’s my speaking schedule: March 10: Eden: The Garden of Birth March 17: En Gedi: The Garden of Love…
Mighty River, Mighty Fire
Spirit of God, mighty river, flow over me, flow in me, flow through me. Spirit of God, cleanse me, purify the channels of my heart. Spirit of God, bear me along with thy flood of life giving service. Spirit of God, mighty river, bear me down to the ocean of your love. Spirit of God,…
Go to Meeting:: 4
My final observation from Paul’s classic text in Romans 12 was that worship results in a life that is re-oriented and re-directed to the will of God. In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus published his final work, titled, On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres. His supposition displaced planet Earth as the center of the universe and…
Go to Meeting:: 3
This week I’ve been posting about worship from Romans 12:1-2. The third observation I want to make is that worship involves your total being. In the text, worship involves the presentation of our bodies and the transformation of our minds. Simply stated, worship involves both our thinking and our behaving. Allow me to unpack this…
Do Mega Church Worship Services Create a “High?”
Here’s an interesting piece of research coming out of the University of Washington on the emotional impact of mega church worship services. This report, published by Huffington Post, can be viewed HERE. The research attempts to link the emotional experience with the success of mega churches in America. What do you think?
Go to Meeting:: 2
Worship is my appropriate response to the self disclosure of God. While worship may have private and personal expressions, it is also a corporate experience. There are a myriad of ways people feel most connected to God in personal worship. Some connect through a daily devotional exercise. Others through music or nature. There are those…
Training Camp: Go to Meeting:: 1
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice–the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but…