Experiencing the True Essence of God Through Praise and Worship
Giving Honor to God, To all Pastors, Ministers of the Gospel, The National Baptist Convention of America International President, the National Baptist Convention of America Brotherhood President , Region #1 Presidents ,and Vice Presidents , Chairman Sparks and visitors ,members and friends. I am charged to explore our Theme : “Experiencing The True Essence of God,Through Praise and Worship” today .
Our scripture reference : is and John 4:24.
What is Worship:
Why do we Worship?
Reality of Worship:
W. T. Conner states, “ The first business of the church is not evangelism,nor missions, nor benevolence; it is Worship. The worship of God in Christ should be at the center of all else that the church does. It is the main spring of all the activities of the church.
Theology Of Worship:
Theology Of Worship
As we believe, so we worship.
As
PRAISE:
Expression of thankfulness to God; the privilege and responsibility of the believer-priest; .” By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name”.
is a Psalm of praise.
is a Psalm of praise.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
First Summons to Praise (with Motivation) 100:1–3
Imperative verbs invite adoration of the LORD by all the earth: Make a joyful noise, worship, come! The word worship can also be translated serve (v. 2 NIV; ‘ābad). It is used in Deuteronomy to mean walking in the LORD’s way, loving him, and keeping his commandments (Deut 6:13; 10:12).
The fourth imperative verb, know (v. 3), states the reason for worship. Know that the LORD is God takes on additional meaning when the title LORD is understood from the Hebrew to be a name (Yahweh) with the connotation “present to act in salvation.” Older versions, such as KJV, read verse 3b following one ancient text (MT): It is he that hath made us, and not [lō’] we ourselves. The preferred text, following other ancient manuscripts, renders the last phrase and we are his [lō’] (NRSV, NIV, NJPS). Though only a brief summary of Israel’s faith, Psalm 100 is a gem in its succinct expression of the creed: the LORD is God (cf. Deut 6:4); he is our creator, we are his people, the LORD is good, his steadfast love is everlasting, his faithfulness endures to all generations. Many other passages cite this covenant faith (Deut 4:35, 39; Josh 24:17; 1 Kings 18:39) and affirm that the LORD created Israel (Deut 32:6, 15; Isa 43:1, 21; 44:2). God’s covenant people are the flock of God’s pasture (Pss 23; 74:1; 79:13; 95:7).
Second Summons to Praise (with Motivation) 100:4–5
With thanksgiving and with praise the people are to honor and exalt the God of Israel (v. 4). The motivation is steadfast love and faithfulness characteristics that make God the good (v. 5; 106:1; 118:1; 136:1) to be celebrated with joy (34:8). Steadfast love (ḥesed) is love that loves no matter what [Steadfast]. To speak of God as good is to affirm that the LORD of Israel is the source of all that makes life possible and worthwhile, often experienced specifically in God’s deliverance of persons from distress (Miller, 1986:71).
THE TEXT IN THE BIBLICAL CONTEXT AND LIFE OF THE CHURCH
Call to Worship and to Witness
The opening invitation to all the earth to join in praise of God reminds us of the missionary purpose in some of these psalms (66:1; 67:2–3; 98:4). If God is God of all the world, then to him is due the praise of all lands. God’s people are called to worship and also to witness.
Herein lies the claim of Psalm 100. When the community praises, it submits and reorders life. When the Hebrews proclaimed that the LORD is God (v. 3), they asserted that the God of the exodus is the sovereign of all of life. That is a broad claim, encompassing all peoples.
The other dimension of such a claim is personal. To submit to God as Lord means that a person no longer grounds life in oneself. Rather, life is rooted in the steadfast love and faithfulness of God. Even more, God is our God (99:5, 8, 9) and we are his people (v. 3), a belonging together in covenant relationship (Jer 31:33, a verse later quoted in Heb 8:10 to affirm the fulfillment and superiority of the new covenant). In summary, God rules the world, and we belong to God.
The NT echoes of Psalm 100 are many (Eph 2:10; Phil 4:4–7; Col 3:16–17). At Lystra, Paul and Barnabas refer to God “doing good,” reject worship of themselves, and exalt the living God (Acts 14:15–17).
Through the centuries, Jewish and Christian liturgies have used Psalm 100 as a call to worship, carrying the thanksgiving of God’s people. As a psalm for the thank offering (Lev 7:11–20), it is appropriate for the communion service.
Well-known hymns are based on Psalm 100. William Kethe’s “All people that on earth do dwell” has been sung to L. Bourgeois’ tune “Old Hundredth” since 1561. Isaac Watts’ “Before Jehovah’s aweful throne” (1719) is a free paraphrase. A more recent musical setting of the text, “Jubilate Deo omnis terra” (“Rejoice in the Lord, all lands. Serve the Lord with gladness”), is in Jacques Berthier’s canon (1980), as sung by the Taizé community in France.
Praise as the Enjoyment of God
From human experience we discover that what is admirable is deserving of praise. The enjoyment of anything spills over into praise—praise of people, favorite books, favorite games, “praise of weather, dishes, actors, motors, horses, colleges, countries, historical personages, children, flowers, mountains, rare stamps, rare beetles, even sometimes politicians or scholars” (C. S. Lewis, 1961:80).
The psalmists, in telling everyone to praise God, are doing what people do when they speak of what they care about. God is the Object to admire, to appreciate, to receive, and to enjoy. Older catechisms stated that the chief purpose for people is “to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever” (Westminster Shorter Catechism, 1). This call to praise invites us to enjoy God!
Psalm 101