Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

Each of you has a bulletin with you, hopefully.

If not I’ll have deacons or jr.

Deacons ready to give you a scrap sheet of paper.

Also if you need something to write with, please raise your hand and someone will assist you.

What I’d like you to do is first write down 4 words, What, Where, When, Why?

These words are in reference to the word we will be discussing today, and that word is “Reverence.”

Specifically reverence is as pertains to worship.

I’d like to preface this by admitting, when talking about reverence in worship to God, we are often tempted to say what reverence is not....fight that temptation for now and focus on what reverence is.

What is Reverence?

Genuine honor, respect and worship to God, which fears Him, and is about Him

Where should we be reverent?

Reverence to God seeps into all avenues of our life, thus is a lifestyle, not a once a week thing.

When should we be reverent?

If Reverence to God is a lifestyle, than all my actions should be predicated around honoring our savior.

Why should be we reverent?

Because He is worthy

Once you have answered these: Lastly: Would you say Reverence is a tradition or a Lifestyle

Once you have written down the questions and your personal answers, discuss it with those around you, groups of 3-5.

I’m going to be calling on groups to answer the question.

Use the KISS principle…keep it simple, “student”

Today I am going to attempt to define what, where, when, why reverence is important to our own perosnal spiritual journey and our relationship to the God we come to honor and give praise.

I have one principle, I would like us to follow.

Let’s let pre-concieved notions hang outside for a little while, and allow scripture to be our guide today.

Before we go further, lets take time to pray.

Body

I want to go on record that I believe whole heartedly in a spiritual core principle found in , found in verse 1-2.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

All of our beliefs and values as Seventh-Day Adventist Christians must be founded and practiced from our belief in Jesus Christ.

Our thoughts on practicing reverence should be no different.

What is being written here in these opening verses reminds the people, there is a cloud of people watching.

As a pastors kid, growing up, I was raised with this in mind.

Seriously, looking back, I think its unfair to expect pastors kids, to be expected to be different than any other kids.

I got into trouble just like any other kids in school, and church, but I also knew going to places like camp meeting or church events I represented my family.

I’m sure I embarrassed my parents countless times with my shenanigans…sneaking away from my mothers grasp and crawling under pews, while my father preached.

Saying outloud, loud enough for the next 3 rows to hear, “dad has been preaching forever! when is he going be to done??” Probably most people wouldn’t say, I was irreverent, I was just being a kid.

It was at home talking to my parents, it was at adventurers and pathfinders, it was in church school that I began to produce a picture of what reverence looked like.

But I also don’t believe I got the full picture.

I associated reverence only with church.

I also associated reverence with only music, and the pathfinder Law, “Walk softly in the sanctuary.”

Two great examples of ways in practicing reverence.

But with no understanding of purpose, reverence only becomes tradition without any natural spiritual attachment or worship in any way.

So, lets today start with “What?”

What is reverence?

It says in verse 28, “Let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and Awe.

Scripture is clear, in worship, we are to show reverence.

How does the Bible define reverence?

In the Old Testament, it was used in reference to approaching to the sanctuary.

Having Godly Fear and Respect.

In the New Testament, we find the word reverence used mostly within a marital relationship.

Showing respect and being courteous for your husband and for your wife.

Funny how the use of a word extends beyond the borders we place on them.

We think of reverence as being simply as practicing a behavior when we find ourselves in the worship room, in a sanctuary of God, but scripture points to reverence as a lifestyle.

One that invades our family life.

I would add that it extends all of those in our lives.

We are to be reverent (respectful and courteous) even to those we have disagreements with.

How we carry ourselves in the sanctuary, carries into our daily lives as well.

“We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.”

Sure theses witnesses are right here in church, but these witnesses are in far greater number outside these walls.

Many of you hear either own or work in a small business, is your fear and love for God evident in the way you treat your employees, or your clientele?

Is it clear to the people that you are a man or woman of Godly-reverence?

12 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.

14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled

Reverence is a way of communicating to others the victory of Christ in our lives.

This is especially true when we come to worship God.

We do so with a Godly respect a reverence that we have entered His house for worship.

That should be something that comes out naturally.

To often though its out of our own self-righteous indignation that we look around and when we see others not converted to our own appeal of reverence do we lose our own grace-filled reverence.

I hope, as you hear me say that, you will know, I am preaching to myself more than anyone.

I don’t have a high enough tolerance than I should.

While I don’t measure reverence simply by how we witness other religions practice reverence, because God does want us to be a special people.

I have witnessed other religious groups practice worship outside of Christianity, and I have to say, sometimes they have us beat when it comes to sincere reverent worship.

While in seminary, for a class that was educating us on other religions, we went to Mosque to observe an Islamic worship service.

Our next class period, where we debriefed what we had just witnessed, the words sincere, geniune, and reverent were used very frequently.

When I was in Israel, back in 2010, our group went to see the Western Wall, otherwise known as the wailing wall.

This is what is left of Herod’s temple of Jerusalem.

Every friday night, Jews come from all over to mourn, and pray at this site.

After observing, many of us talked about what we had witnessed.

“They were so sincere and reverent.”

If someone observes us worshipping, in prayer, in song, or even in mourning.

I hope that observer would say, so sincere and reverent.

You know they really believe.

Now I want to quote Pastor Leclaire Litchfield, if you have ever heard him preach before, you almost assuredly would have heard him, say: Reverence does not equal silence.

Folks a totally silent and quiet worship service is not one that is honorable to God.

I’ll let others argue about appropriate worship music and such, but I will say this, whether you are singing a contemporary praise song, or a song from your hymnal, let Heaven hear your mouths singing praise to your King!

Your neighbors may care, but I don’t care if you can’t hold a tune, sing Praise to your King! Worshipping God in song, and prayer, and in attention to Him, is reverent.

But it has to be about Him and not the “worhsipper himself or herself.”

Reverence is a discipline we must all be willing learn.

Reverence takes accountability sometimes.

Loving accountability, and not oppressive accountability.

Coming back to our question, What is reverence?

Genuine honor, respect and worship to God, which fears Him, and is about Him

7 It is for discipline that you have to endure.

God is treating you as sons.

For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Coming back to our question, What is reverence?

Genuine honor, respect and worship to God, which fears Him, and is about Him.

Reverence is pleasing to God.