Hebrews 13:15

Praise should be apart of our everyday lives. A friend of mine said King I;m not seeing the blessings that you are. Anybody that doesn’t have nothing but praise to the Lord, is not following close enough and in obedience.

Most people Won’t get to church in time for praise. What time does church start? I think people get up in the morning when they feel like it. No! we are going to worship to meet God. I have to be here at 9am 1 hour drive. That means i should leave between 7:30am and 7:45am.

Praise should not be a performance by those who are singing. They are to lead the congregation into corporate praise. we can’t do that if your’e not here on time.

There was a time when people ran to church just to get into the praise. we are going to get back to that.

the sacrifice of praise to God- Not always conveient but nessecary. Romans 12:1 Living sacrifce.

that is, the fruit of our lips, Fruit will tell what the seed is. Always complaining. umm! should be expressed on your lips.

Because we do have an altar (the cross) and we do have a High Priest (Jesus), we should always offer sacrifices. Yet they are not the bloody sacrifices of the old covenant but the sacrifice of praise, the fruit of our lips.

The writer to the Hebrews explains several essentials for proper praise.

· Praise that pleases God is offered by Him, that is by Jesus Christ, on the ground of His righteousness and pleasing God.

· Praise that pleases God is offered continually, so that we are always praising Him.

· Praise that pleases God is a sacrifice of praise, in that it may be costly or inconvenient.

· Praise that pleases God is the fruit of our lips, more than just thoughts directed towards God. It is spoken out unto the Lord, either in prose or in song. “What proceeds from the lips is regarded as fruit, which reveals the character of its source, as the fruit of a tree reveals the nature of the tree.” (Guthrie)

(17) Follow your leaders.

Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive: We are to be submissive to the leaders God gives us (assuming they have the character mentioned in Hebrews 13:7). We are simply told to obey those who rule over us. When speaking on the authority of God’s Word, leaders do have a right to tell us how to live and walk after God.

i. Sadly, some take the idea of submission to leaders in the church much too far. The “Shepherding Movement” was a clear example of this kind of abuse (which many seem to welcome, wanting someone else to be responsible for their lives). “A teacher should teach us to submit to God, not to himself.” (Chuck Smith

Heb 13:7 NKJV - 7 Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of [their] conduct.

As those who must give account: We obey and submit to our leaders because God put them in a place of responsibility and accountability over us. Of course, this does not relieve individual responsibility but it puts an additional accountability and responsibility upon leaders.

Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you: Cooperative conduct is not only a joy to leaders, but it is profitable for the whole body. It is for our own sake that we should obey and submit to God-appointed leaders.

Concluding remarks.

1. (18-19) A request for prayer.