Living Sacrifice

Worship Service in the Early Church

They were distinguished from the Greek and Roman cults because a temple was ordinarily intended not as a meeting place for the faithful but rather as a house for the god where the statue or image was placed.

3 points of emphasis on why the early church gathered:

1. The teaching of the apostles was central

2. The exercise of prophetic gifts

3. The breaking of bread - sacred meal (eucharist)

Time of meeting was most likely Sunday evening until the 2nd century was moved to Sunday morning before dawn. The inhabitants of the Roman empire worked during daylight on Sundays.

Also, the resuscitation of Eutychus by Paul may reflect the practice of performing miracles of healing during the worship service.

There is a remarkable difference between the early church and today. The early church had the gathering as central to their lives and today it has become both optional and a part of our lives.

What made up the Worship Service?

The primarily verbal character of Christian worship was expressed in hymns and prayers which say things about God which were well known.

Prayers

Specifically the Lord’s Prayer

Creeds and Confessions

Brief formulas summarizing the essentials of the Christian faith.

Doxologies

A short liturgical formula which ascribes glory to God

Hymns of praise

Psalms, hymns, and songs inspired by the Spirit

Prophecy

Sermons

Scripture Reading

Eucharist

Baptism

Rituals

Bowing down

Kiss of Peace, by the middle of the 2nd century it was used to mark the conclusion of the service that preceded the eucharist

Anointing with oil

Laying on of Hands

Biblical worship doesn’t take place just on a Sunday, it’s a lifestyle.

A Living Sacrifice

The theme of my messages on “The Power of Worship” is “Giving God All He is Worth”

The word ‘worship’ means, literally, ‘worth-ship’: to accord worth, true value, to something, to recognize and respect it for the true worth it has.

What is God worth to you? What is His value? Is the knowledge of the Triune God the most prized possession you have?

Why talk about Worship?

Worship isn’t just a topic, it’s the reason we exist, it’s the chief purpose of mankind. Our worship of Him is what makes us human.

Because worship will never end. Buildings will crumble, ideas, strategies, methods, governments will all fade but worship will remain.

In the book of Revelation, the innumerable multitude isn’t playing football, they aren’t going shopping, counting their successes, they are worshipping. Giving God all He is worth.

Deuteronomy 6:13-15 “Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land.”

God isn’t like a jealous girlfriend where he is narcissist, but rather worship molds us into the image we worship. We were made to worship God, we are imagers of God.

Luke 4:5-8 “The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’””

The enemy is after your worship. God is after your worship.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”

Worship is also the key.

Isaiah 33:5-6, 17a “The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness. He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure… Your eyes will see the King in his beauty”

Worship is the key to knowledge of God and the more we grow in knowledge of God...

The closer you get to the truth, the clearer becomes the beauty, and the more you will find worship welling up within you. That’s why theology (what you think about God) and worship (Giving God all He is worth) belong together.

The fear of the Lord comes from “seeing” the Lord.

Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

(Read a whole book in one sitting)

Presuppositions -

- Everyone is a worshipper

- Everyone worships something

- Everyone sacrifices at an altar

- Romans 1:20-25

- What is your ultimate thing?

3 points to bring out from this to stir your passion to live a life of worship to God.

1. Therefore in view of Gods mercy

2. Rational Response

3. Minds Need Renewing

These points will help you get back to a life of worship. Some of you have lost your worship. Things / idols have crept in and Jesus has taken a back seat. That’s what this series is all about.

1. Therefore… In View of God’s Mercy… be a living sacrifice.

- This is not an essay on abstract ethics but rather that our conduct must be in light of what God has done (Previous 11 chapters)

- Our conduct and lifestyles are to reflect what God has done. There is a new world. A new reality. And I ought to live in that reality while I live in this world.

- Christians need to display the reality of God in a new way of living

- Paul uses the verb “urge” rather than command, indicating that the surrender to God must be completely willing, not forced.

- We are not to think of God’s mercy in general, but his specific acts and deeds—supremely, to look back at the cross.

If we lack a passion or interest in living a life of worship - aka, holy life, it comes from a failure to contemplate God’s mercies toward us and who He is. Remember - as we draw near to truth (Jesus) worship will grow within us. And what we need is:

What we need is a fresh view of God. Get a fresh view, open your mind wider.

- For that, we are visiting a chapter in the book of Isaiah, where the people of Israel needed a fresh view of God because:

- The people Isaiah is addressing have scaled down their god to fit their own stunted imagination. So as we will see he starts with their world - geography, politics, religion, astronomy and sketches God on the same scale… You can’t measure God.

- God isn’t simply just bigger or the most important being in a sequence of beings.

- Isaiah 40:12-18 “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord, or instruct the Lord as his counselor? Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge, or showed him the path of understanding? Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust. Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires, nor its animals enough for burnt offerings. Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing. With whom, then, will you compare God? To what image will you liken him?”

- He writes them not just to correct but to lift their hopes. To comfort them

- We can conclude that God is greater than our stunted imagination.

God’s greatness does not mean he is detached from them.

- The chapter is written not just to correct their limited view but also to lift their hopes. This chapter is sandwiched with comfort and strength

- Isaiah 40:1-2 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

- Isaiah 40:11 “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.”

- Isaiah 40:29-31 “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

- He is close enough to comfort

- Gentle enough to be their shepherd

- Strong enough to give them strength

There is no way to sustain a pattern of holiness in Christian living without a kindling of our hearts by deep meditation on God’s mercy and grace; we need to begin reflecting on the mercies of God.

In light of who the Triune God is and what He has done in/through Jesus, worship is the only acceptable and logical response.

2. True and Proper Worship

This is the logical response to God’s mercy

3. Remember that our minds need renewing

The good news of Jesus Christ is intended to transform a person’s life. Until individual Christians own and live out the theology, the gospel has not accomplished its purpose.

Doctrine is never taught to simply be known, it is taught in order that it may be translated into practice.