Celebrative Worship
Notes
Transcript
A Psalm for Thanksgiving.
1 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing.
3 Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
5 For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.
Introduction:
How many of you know the history of modern missions? When England and the US began sending missionaries to other lands, like Africa, the missionaries tried to make the heathen masses worship the way they did back in their own country. It didn’t work so well. But, when the new converts began worshipping in their own cultural context and style the gospel began to spread.
This is what is happening now. The culture of this country has changed, the younger generations don’t want to worship the same way as 20, 30 and even 40 years ago. The younger generations want to worship in a different way. So, we have this tension between what is or was and what could be. We can be like the churches that successfully navigated the change or we can be one of those that doesn’t. Unfortunately those churches that don’t navigate the change or even try to change linger and slowly die, while those that manage to change general continue having a vibrant ministry in the community.
Why does this matter? The tension can create disunity and ill will. A good example just came to an end after 5 years. Here in the valley area a church that called a Pastor about five years ago. He wanted to change things. After 2.5 years the tension became to much and half the church left. Now at the end of five years the Pastor resigned. And the church is without a Pastor. It wasn’t like he was preaching heresy or something he simply wanted to change things. He wanted to simplify the service but the new idea was to much for that old church. What do they do now. Could this happen here? Can we successfully navigate change?
Transitional Sentence: If we can’t change the way we worship we will continue to linger and slowly come to an end like so many other churches because those who could come won’t.
So what is worship? Worship is showing regard with great respect, honor, or devotion. Psalm 100 A Psalm for Thanksgiving which was just read to us
has four good action verbs that show ways to worship the Lord.
1. Shout - Do I need to explain this one? Just life up your voice to Him.
2. Serve - Do something for Him. Do something that helps others. Do something that strengthens the church.
3. Sing - We can sing together here - corporate worship, you can sing in small groups, you can sing alone at home or any where you choose. Just do it for Him and His glory.
4. Praise - Praise, is to lift up your voice in admiration or approval for someone or something. In this case our Lord Jesus. Praise Him before everyone that His name would be glorified.
b. Our worship is not about us and what we should do. Our worship should be about Him and glorifying His name. Why should we spend time while we are here together doing things for ourselves, or things that point to us when we should be pointing to Him. Some of the things we do are just stuff stuck in tradition with no biblical example or command.
c. It’s all about Him! Our traditions and rituals get in the way of encountering Him. Jesus doesn’t want our sacrifice, He wants our hearts. Traditions and rituals are sacrifice. Let’s be the ones who worship in Spirit and in Truth.
2. With that, let’s take a look at our Service, our liturgy and ritual.
a. Is our service Inspirational? Does it help people encounter God? Does it make people want to get out of the house and come join together with others who know Him or who are looking for Him? You decide - are you inspired or do you come because that is what you always do?
If our service isn’t inspirational then is it a stumbling block? Do some of the things we do cause some to stumble? Does it send them away after one visit? I guess that depends on each person. Once again, you decide.
b. The things we do: Here’s the general order of service on most Sundays
Slide announcements with prelude… (Stick some in the slide show)
Opening Song… Should bring your thoughts to God and bring you into worship. Psalm 147:1
1 Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant and praise is becoming.
Greet each other… It’s great, but how many people is too many people?
Announcements… How many ways do we have to tell you? slides, bulletin, website, social media...
Mission Moment… Is it working? How many of you are compelled to give, pray, go or send? Maybe it needs to change to actually achieve it’s goal or to provide for the opportunity to present ministry needs within our own context too.
Offering introduction… How many times do we need to say it?
Offering… Is this biblical? Is it necessary?
Yes we can say giving is worship, but is it corporate worship? Are we doing so those who give can show off? I can pull money out of my pocket and worship any time. And how many of us worship when we pass the plate? I watch while I am standing up here and the plate is being passed. Less than half actually participate in worship during this time of worship. Yes we are told to give weekly and and to do it joyfully but is passing the plate a necessary way to do it? Is it even scriptural? What was necessary, passing the plate, just a few years ago, is no longer necessary now. We have on-line giving, you can mail a check in or put the money in the black box.
Speaking of the box, if you want a scripture example for giving the offering this is it.
9 But Jehoiada the priest took a chest and bored a hole in its lid and put it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of the Lord; and the priests who guarded the threshold put in it all the money which was brought into the house of the Lord.
41 And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums.
42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent.
43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury;
44 for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”
Doxology… Wonderful but ritualistic.
Pastoral Prayer… Necessary
Praise time with the team - 2 or 3 songs and maybe some scripture. Come before Him with joyful singing. Colossians 3:16
16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Message… Must teach! 1 Timothy 4:13
13 Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching.
The message should contain all three of these items, Reading of Scripture, exhortation and teaching.
Video song… Wrap it up, put the message into song.
Benediction… A final blessing.
c. Then and Now… (Old order of service - order of service now)
Now that we have looked at our normal service, let’s take a look at the past…
This particular service was August 18, 1996. Who was here then?
Prelude
Ministry opportunities - This may have become a missions moment?
Hymn
Hymn
Pastoral Prayer
Scripture Reading
Special Music
Hymn
Worship through giving
Sermon
Hymn
Benediction
Postlude
3. Here’s the problem
a. Nothing has really changed in a lot of years. We still do a lot of stuff. The constant changes breaks up the worship. The service needs to be simplified, there are two many moving parts. Look at it this way, are any of you the same as you were 30 years ago? I’m not, 30 years ago I was recently married -(describe changes)
b. So, is the idea of simplifying the service and ministries of the church a new one? Not really, it’s old but it just hasn’t happened here. The question is, how are you going to receive it? How many of you are upset right now because I am talking about changing your church?
Matthew 9:17 says:
17 “Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”
Which one are you? The dry brittle wineskin or a new soft wineskin. The idea of this is that a new idea will just pop the old wineskin. It can’t take the change, it can’t handle the pressure. Pop!!! But a fresh new wineskin is stretchy, it will handle the change well and expand to allow for the change to take place inside the space. The church can be old and brittle like the one that just lost its Pastor or it can be flexible and grow with the change. Your choice, expand or pop.
c. So, what am I talking about. Today’s service was more like what I am talking about. Simplified...
Prelude - get everyone in their seat
Ministry opportunities (missions) (one important announcement)
Pastoral Prayer
Praise - 3 or 4 songs
Message
Benediction
Of course this being the first Sunday of the month we came together to celebrate communion.
This is different. Today we had fewer traditional church service functions. It’s about coming before the Lord and worshipping.
Exit: The question is: how will you respond when things change? Will you fight against it or will you embrace it? Only God is immutable, or unchanging. The church is not God. The church is a collection of believers who gather together for a common purpose and mission. The purpose and mission hasn’t change but the way we complete it must. The church changes every time someone leaves and someone new comes. The change has to come in order for the church to adapt to the culture in which it ministers. You can fight against change to prevent it or you can embrace it and allow the change to be a blessing to you and to everyone who is a part of the church.
Today I have a challenge for you. If all you know of worship is this place for the last however many years then get out. I challenge you to go somewhere else and worship. See how other bodies of believers are doing it. But don’t go to a little church that is stuck in past and still doing church the way have always done church. Go to a bigger church. I recommend you go to Beartown Road Alliance church in Painted Post. They have two services of about 240 people each and are working on starting a third service. Sound familiar to anyone? That was this church back in the day.
But dwelling in the past doesn’t help us now or in the future. It’s up to you, will you be a dry old brittle wineskin and pop with the idea of change and doing a new thing? Or will you be a soft new wineskin that stretches and expands allowing the change in the church to change you?
Isaiah 43:18-19 says:
18 “Do not call to mind the former things, Or ponder things of the past.
19 “Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert.
God is doing a new thing in our midst. Let’s be aware of it and help it happen.
Pray!
Benediction! Numbers 6:24-26
24 The Lord bless you, and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you;
26 The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’
