Review
• Why This series? Abiding and worship sets the stage for our year
• Defining worth-ship
• Definition of “Worship” English – The letters “Wor” come from the root of the word worth, and the letters “Ship” is a suffix used to communicate “the state or condition” (of the word preceding it). Therefore, “Worship” is “the condition or state of being worthy.” When used as a verb, the word worship has the sense of ascribing worth to a being or object.
• Two aspects –personal and corporate –they feed into each other
• Worship is multi faceted and not self centered

1st God commands it and defines it
• The basis in the Old Testament
• Its commanded – but what did it mean—in what way do we worship?
• Personal and corporate – many of the passages describe what happened together at the temple
• They were together worship passages

Old Testament Examples
• Psalm 149:1 “Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly!”
• Psalm 34:3 “O Come, Magnify the Lord with Me, let us exalt his name together”
• Psalm 9:11 “Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion! Tell among the peoples his deeds!”
• Psalm 18: 49 “For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing to your name.”
• Psalm 21:13 “Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.”
• Psalm 57:9 “I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.”
• Psalm 95:1 “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise together to rock of our salvation!”

New Testament Examples
• Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
• Ephesians 5:18 “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ
• Hebrews 13:15–16 (NIV) — 15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
• There are over 400 references to singing, 50 direct commands to sing in scripture

2ndWe see Jesus’ church in the New Testament live out Gods version
• Scripture that is often misunderstood –some use scriptures like scripture below to shape Christian life
• History reveals what it looked like
John 4:19–24 (NIV) — 19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
The early churches view of worship together
Acts 2:42–47 (NIV) — 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Hebrews 10:22–25 (NIV) — 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
1 Corinthians 14:26 (NIV) — 26 What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.

The Early churches example
Pliny the Younger (61-113)
• Explanation of how he handled Christians
They affirmed, however, that the whole of their guilt, or their error, was that they were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to perform any wicked deed, never to commit any fraud, theft of adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to make it good; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food – but food of an ordinary and innocent kind…

Why does God command worship? The blessings of worship together …. Why did the early church meet? Why should we?
• It blesses God (we want to bless Him) a personal being – a relational being
• It recalibrates our value system
• It humbles us
• It protects us
• It prioritizes our values and life styles
• It is an action that leads to Gods answers and directions
Romans 12:1–2 (NIV) — 1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
3rd Our worship is a model and an example to a world confused about worship
Acts 16:25–30 (ESV) — 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” 29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

C.S. Lewis Quote
“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”

Conclusion —What are we asking you to commit to in this next year?
Obey God and Worship Him personally and corporately –as He defines it
• AS you spend time in personal worship and with believers your view of the time with the believers’ changes –God and other centered
• I come ready to receive help and give it
• Commit to personal and corporate worship this year (defined as personal –life group and weekend services)
• Come ready to encourage
• Come ready to serve
• Come ready to declare your devotion to all you do life with
• Come ready to be shaped
How should we attempt to approach Him when we worship as a congregation?
• We know we can “approach His throne of grace boldly” (Hebrews 4:16), but we are also advised to “Guard [y]our steps when you go to the house of God…” (Ecclesiastes 5:1)
• We should always seek to honor our God who is Savior and Lord, full of Grace and Truth, (John 1:14) –
• The Lord doesn’t desire obligatory worship, but sacrifice from willing hearts (Exodus 35:21, Malachi 1, Matthew 7:21)
• Consistency at engaged in worship services (on time and in the worship space)
• Staying through the conclusion of the worship service
• Doing so with a heart to bless the Lord, regardless of the personal benefit