This morning I was exhausted and did not look forward to dragging my lifeless body out of the bed... BUT- by the grace of God I was able to do so... and I must say... it paid dividends!
Our Pastor today delivered a service that really struck home to me. Perhaps, it was not only the service but the music of worship that led up to Pastor Dennis' message for us today. We slipped into the service as the music had already begun... but, I noticed one thing right away. The music leader was a young teenage boy with the most amazing voice I have ever heard. As he lifted his voice up to God in worship I teared up. At first I dismissed it as the hormones from pregnancy... but, the more I listened to him I realized it was because I was moved by such a young boy praising his Heavenly Father very publicly despite all the pressure I am sure he faces as a teenage boy in today’s society.
The odd thing was that the sermon we were blessed with today was about how we worship as individuals. Dennis opened with this..... "Don't come to worship... come worshiping" In other words... worship is not something you go to church to do once a week it should be something you are already doing as Sunday approaches.
As most of us know... worship is our response to God for who He is and for what He has done by the words we say, the things we do, and the passion of our heart.
We read in the book of 2 Samuel today about King David bringing the ark of the Lord into the city of David. Chapter 6 verse 14 speaks of King David publicly praising God for the blessings bestowed upon him... It reads: "David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the Lord with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets." This may sound very normal to most of you reading this... but, read it again... the verse states that he (King David) was dancing in his linen ephod, which is essentially his underwear! Can you imagine this? That would be equivalent to our President dancing through the streets of Washington D.C. praising God! Most people would say he was insane! Which if you continue reading the next verse in 2 Samuel, David's wife pretty much does say that. The verse states that his wife, Michal, was watching from a window and when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart. As the chapter continues it talks about King David returning home to bless his household only to be met outside by his wife whom criticizes him by saying "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!" David replies by saying "It was before the Lord, who chose me...I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor."
Now, I am not encouraging anyone to go into the streets and praise the Lord in their tighty whities by any means. What I am challenging us to do is to abandon our worship comfort zone. We could do this a number of ways... such as: instead of lip synching in church I challenge us to bust out in song of worship. Who cares if you have a bad voice? God undoubtedly does not. Another way to step outside of our comfort zone could be by joining together with as a family next time we are eating in public and say a blessing for the food. Who cares if the person next to you looks at you like you're crazy? God certainly does not think you're crazy for thanking Him.
God seeks two types of people: the lost and true worshipers. In order to truly worship God we must do two things: worship with awe and abandonment. We must be in awe of God to worship Him and we must abandon all our reservations of how people perceive us to truly worship with all of our heart.
So, once again I propose a challenge to all of us to step outside of our comfort zone and fully worship Him.... shout to God. Dance before Him. Bow down. Tell of his might. Meditate on His truth. Run to Him. Sing a new song. Clap your hands. Lift your heads. Stand in awe. Tell the nations. Seek His face. Walk in His ways.
I will leave you with this because this post is long enough. As I was listening to Pastor Dennis today I thought of something... Why is it that in today's society (wo)man can openly worship a sports team or a celebrity easier than they can our Heavenly Father? Does anyone else see anything wrong with this picture?
btw- we will be having Gavin's dedication soon. I will keep you guys updated on this.
Our Pastor today delivered a service that really struck home to me. Perhaps, it was not only the service but the music of worship that led up to Pastor Dennis' message for us today. We slipped into the service as the music had already begun... but, I noticed one thing right away. The music leader was a young teenage boy with the most amazing voice I have ever heard. As he lifted his voice up to God in worship I teared up. At first I dismissed it as the hormones from pregnancy... but, the more I listened to him I realized it was because I was moved by such a young boy praising his Heavenly Father very publicly despite all the pressure I am sure he faces as a teenage boy in today’s society.
The odd thing was that the sermon we were blessed with today was about how we worship as individuals. Dennis opened with this..... "Don't come to worship... come worshiping" In other words... worship is not something you go to church to do once a week it should be something you are already doing as Sunday approaches.
As most of us know... worship is our response to God for who He is and for what He has done by the words we say, the things we do, and the passion of our heart.
We read in the book of 2 Samuel today about King David bringing the ark of the Lord into the city of David. Chapter 6 verse 14 speaks of King David publicly praising God for the blessings bestowed upon him... It reads: "David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the Lord with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets." This may sound very normal to most of you reading this... but, read it again... the verse states that he (King David) was dancing in his linen ephod, which is essentially his underwear! Can you imagine this? That would be equivalent to our President dancing through the streets of Washington D.C. praising God! Most people would say he was insane! Which if you continue reading the next verse in 2 Samuel, David's wife pretty much does say that. The verse states that his wife, Michal, was watching from a window and when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart. As the chapter continues it talks about King David returning home to bless his household only to be met outside by his wife whom criticizes him by saying "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!" David replies by saying "It was before the Lord, who chose me...I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor."
Now, I am not encouraging anyone to go into the streets and praise the Lord in their tighty whities by any means. What I am challenging us to do is to abandon our worship comfort zone. We could do this a number of ways... such as: instead of lip synching in church I challenge us to bust out in song of worship. Who cares if you have a bad voice? God undoubtedly does not. Another way to step outside of our comfort zone could be by joining together with as a family next time we are eating in public and say a blessing for the food. Who cares if the person next to you looks at you like you're crazy? God certainly does not think you're crazy for thanking Him.
God seeks two types of people: the lost and true worshipers. In order to truly worship God we must do two things: worship with awe and abandonment. We must be in awe of God to worship Him and we must abandon all our reservations of how people perceive us to truly worship with all of our heart.
So, once again I propose a challenge to all of us to step outside of our comfort zone and fully worship Him.... shout to God. Dance before Him. Bow down. Tell of his might. Meditate on His truth. Run to Him. Sing a new song. Clap your hands. Lift your heads. Stand in awe. Tell the nations. Seek His face. Walk in His ways.
I will leave you with this because this post is long enough. As I was listening to Pastor Dennis today I thought of something... Why is it that in today's society (wo)man can openly worship a sports team or a celebrity easier than they can our Heavenly Father? Does anyone else see anything wrong with this picture?
btw- we will be having Gavin's dedication soon. I will keep you guys updated on this.
love-Ash
1 comment:
I LOVE this. I've thought about it all week. Thanks for the inspiration!!
I tagged you on my blog.. will you come play along?
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