Worship

INTRO. Welcome to Wednesdays! You might have noticed that today is a little different. We’ve been talking about why we do what we do as a church, and today we’re going to talk about worship before we worship. So those of you that love worship, you can take a deep breath, we are going to worship today 😊.

I want to start by reading a passage of Scripture from Ephesians together. This is out of Ephesians 5:18-20, we’re going to read this out loud together. Read with me:

Ephesians 5:18–20 NIV

18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Y’all did great 😊. Tonight we’re talking about worship because every once in a while I think it’s important for us to take a closer look at some of the things that we take for granted. From this passage of Scripture we see that the Bible actually commands the church to respond to God from our hearts through song. That’s why we sing every week.

TENSION.

Misunderstood. But worship is one of the most misunderstood aspects of what we do at church, especially if you’re new to church. In fact I would argue it’s the only thing we do that doesn’t really have a close parallel outside of the church. You go to school and sit under teaching just about every day. You circle up and talk with friends, some of you have mentors and coaches in your life, but worship feels different.

Problems. For some of you, let’s be honest, worship is a little weird! It’s like an awkward concert that other people seem way too into haha. Everybody’s singing a bunch of songs you don’t know, and you’re a terrible singer anyways, so you have no clue what to do haha.

For some of you, worship is EVERYTHING. You sit in the front row every week, not because you’re that into the teaching or the announcements, but you want to be ready to SPRINT up here so you’re front row for worship. Don’t think I don’t see you 😊.

Tonight— whether worship is your favorite or least favorite part of Wednesdays— we’re going to talk about how and why we worship every week, and this will help you whether you’re new or you’ve been a part of Wednesdays for a while. So here’s the question we’re going to talk about tonight: How do we connect with God in worship?

TRUTH

We’re going to start in the book of Hebrews 12:28-29, here’s what it says:

Hebrews 12:28–29 NIV

28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”

There is a way to worship that is acceptable to God, and a way of worship that is unacceptable to God. The worship that is acceptable to God is characterized by two things: Reverence and Awe. If we want to connect with God in worship, these two words are our guide. So let’s unpack them a bit, starting with reverence.

Our church is for everybody, and we have a lot of fun here don’t we? It’s why we do things like Family Dinner and Back to School Bash. It’s why we have fun games outside like 9 square and gaga ball and ping pong and foosball and basketball, you know a ton of churches don’t do things like that right? It’s why we sing some songs that are a lot of fun while they’re still worshipful too! Here’s something that’s true of our church family:

We don’t take ourselves too seriously. And I really love that about us, I wouldn’t have it any other way 😊. I think it’s what allows us to be a church for everybody! But there’s a flip side of the coin that is equally important. We don’t take ourselves too seriously, but we take God very seriously. Nobody here is a big deal, and we don’t treat ourselves like a big deal. But God is not like us. He is all loving, all good, but he is all powerful, infinite, worthy of worship, and here we treat Him like He’s a REALLY big deal.

In fact that’s what the word Reverence means, to take something with the utmost seriousness. This word in other places is translated as fear, even anxiety, like an anxious caution, approaching something intentionally, slowly, carefully. If you’re taking notes you can write this down, How we prepare for someone’s presence reveals our reverence for them.

[Communicator Note: share a time where you prepared for a meeting that was really important to you and what you did. Also helpful to have the contrast of someone who didn’t.]

When I had first started working at 12Stone I was in our ministry residency program like Jeff, Ben, and Hailey. My first week on the job I heard that we were going to get a meeting with our senior pastor at the time Kevin Myers, which was a HUGE deal to me, I look up to him a lot. You know what I did when I knew I was meeting PK? I listened to old sermons. I wore my best clothes, dressed as nice as I could. I had this weird mixture of nervousness and gratitude when I got to his office with the other residents. I was excited!

When I got there, not everyone did the same. Other residents made inappropriate jokes, didn’t take notes, and talked too much when they had the opportunity to ask questions. No lie, one even put his feet on the coffee table!!! I was aghast!!! Who raised you?!?! I had prepared and come ready, and this person came in like a bunch of barbarians!

You know what convicts me when I think back on that story? It’s how much and how seriously I prepared to be in the presence of a person, and how little and casually I prepare to be in the presence of God sometimes. Because here’s the truth:

How we prepare for God’s presence reveals our reverence for Him.

I think one of the reasons we miss out on God’s presence in worship is we approach Him without reverence, casually, like He’s not “a consuming fire,” like I’m approaching some soft, tame, pocket-sized God who I keep around and expect to make me feel good. We speak inappropriately, don’t put any forethought into it, and do the equivalent of putting our feet on the coffee table.

Church, I think we’ve lost our reverence for God. I think we’ve got a picture in our head of God that lets us treat Him however we want to, and I think at times it has made our worship unacceptable to Him.

Our Hebrews verse says that our God is a consuming fire. That’s referencing a story where two priests brought and burned incense before God that they weren’t supposed to bring. They approached His presence casually, and did not prepare the way He asked. Scripture says that a consuming fire came from the presence of God and destroyed them.

Some of you haven’t been feeling or experiencing God’s presence with you when we gather. There could be a hundred reasons for that, but what I want you to ask yourself is how’s your reverence for Him? Because the kindest thing a God who is a consuming fire could do to someone worshiping Him without reverence is withdraw from them. How do you prepare for God’s presence?

PRODUCTION NOTE: KEYS LOAD

In those days, before the priest could approach God, a bull had to be sacrificed as an offering for sin. The blood was put on the altar, and they were marked on the right ear lobe, the right thumb, and the right big toe with it, then what wasn’t used for meat was burned outside of the camp as a sin offering. They had these visceral reminders, the feel of blood, the smell of blood and smoke, to remind them there was a steep cost to entering the presence of a holy God. That the payment for their sin is death.

After that the priest would be fully immersed in water at the tent of meeting, washing their body ceremonially to cleanse them. Next they put on their priestly robes and were anointed with oil to set them apart for their work.

Did you know that all of those things are still necessary for you to approach God’s presence today? Did you know that to experience God’s presence at all, a sacrifice still has to be made for your sin? That you still need to be washed and made clean, because He is holy and we are not? That you need an anointing to be set apart for Him? Those are still the requirements.

The only difference is that all of those things were done for you by Jesus. God Himself provided the sacrifice for our sins in Jesus. He gave us a baptism by His Spirit water baptism that cleanses our conscience before God, and sent the Holy Spirit to set apart and make new those who follow Him. If you are a follower of Jesus, He has prepared you for the presence of God! Check it out:

PRODUCTION NOTE: KEYS BEGIN PADDING

Hebrews 10:19–22 NIV

19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 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.

Praise God!!! If you’re new to church or not a Christian we want you to know, we are SO glad that you’re here with us for worship. Honestly, worship will probably always be kind of weird for you unless you believe what we believe, but you still belong here, and truly I think God wants to meet you here.

If you are a follower of Jesus, aren’t you so grateful that He has done everything necessary for you to stand in the presence of God unashamed?! Amen.

But there’s one more thing that happened every time the priests approached. After they offered the sacrifice, immersed in water, put on the robes. They had this bronze basin that was right inside the doors of their worship center. And here’s what it says:

Exodus 30:19–21 NIV

19 Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet with water from it. 20 Whenever they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister by presenting a food offering to the Lord, 21 they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come.”

In other words, though they’ve already been covered and set apart, they still prepared by a washing of the hands as a reminder of who they were worshiping. They showed reverence by how they prepared to enter Gods presence.

Church if I could, I would ask that we make our own “lasting ordinance”, of worship. Whether you follow Jesus or not, as your pastor, I’d love for you to consider preparing your heart for worship every week. Maybe that literally means going to wash your hands symbolically as a reminder of what Christ has done for you before you come into the worship center. Maybe it means opening up one of the Bibles under your chair and reading a chapter out of the book of Psalms to open your heart to God.

Maybe for you, reverence looks like sitting in or standing at your chair in worship instead of coming up to the front. You love being here, but worship isn’t your thing, so you get distracted and end up talking and joking with others during worship. You are more than welcome to be here and not participate in worship. I’d just ask that you’re respectful of those who do and practice reverence, and consider observing and reading the lyrics from your seat.

So before we worship, we are going to practice reverence by how we prepare. Reverence- Prepare yourself for God’s presence.

Hailey and Deidrick are going to play some music, and we’re going to get our hearts right. There are some Bibles under the seats in front of you, I’d encourage you to pick one up and open it to the book of Psalms and read a couple.

Psalm 130 (To fix your attention on God and choose reverence)

Psalm 32 (To remember the blessing of confessing sin to God)

Psalm 13 (If you’re walking through sadness or depression)

Psalm 8 (To reflect on the greatness and power of God)

Psalm 51 (To prepare your heart for God’s presence)

Maybe you need to journal and get your thoughts straight for a second. Maybe you just need to sit and let the words wash over you. Whatever you do, my ask is that we lean in and practice reverence. No joking for just a few minutes, no putting your feet on the coffee table, let’s direct our attention to God.

ACOUSTIC STRIPPED DOWN: NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD OF JESUS [Note: Begin with just instrumental for a few passes, then move into chorus and verses. The goal of this song is to be the backdrop of reflection for a couple minutes.]

NOTHING ELSE [Note: Transition directly into the song]

[Communicator Note: Try to be quick here, the goal is to embody awe towards God and preach up the room a little bit.]

We show reverence by how we prepare for God’s presence and by taking Him seriously. But there was another word that characterizes acceptable worship of God, does anybody remember? Awe. It is impossible to truly approach God, be with Him, and not be struck with awe. If reverence has to do with how we prepare, awe has to do with how we approach. So we’re going to do that now, we’re going to practice Awe by approaching the throne of God.

Awe- Approach God’s throne.

It’s easy to lose our awe of God when we get familiar with the habit of worship. It’s hard to grasp what we’re really doing, because it seems like we’re just getting in a room together to sing some songs. But that’s not the picture we get into the New Testament. No right now we are joining with the courts of heaven in praising God, with thousands and tens of thousands of churches gathering this very night across the world singing the same praises, with generations of Christians who have gone before praising the same God we worship. Here’s how Hebrews describes what we’re doing:

Hebrews 12:22–24 NIV

22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Church, you haven’t come to an empty building, you have come to the very presence of God, and that is where we stand right now, let’s worship like we believe that.