Improving Our Worship 1

Introduction 2 To worship God acceptably and to improve our worship we must recognize that God is high and holy We must also consider that he is worthy of our praise and adoration

Ps. 104:1 Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. 3

Ps. 104:24 O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. 4

Ps. 104:31 The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works 5

Ps. 104:33 I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. 6

Ps. 104:34 Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD. 7

1. Prepare for worship John the Baptist was sent to prepare the way for Christ 8

Lk. 3:4 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; 9

Too often we do not make the proper preparation Saturday night? Prepare on Saturday night for worship on the first day of the week 10

2. Plan the worship 1 Cor. 14:33 “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” 11

This does not mean “shaking up the order” which might lead to chaos Plan the songs, prayers, sermons, giving, etc. Don’t let us worship by rote 12

Rote = doing it without understanding or thought 13

3. Participate in worship Planning is key to the effective work of the church There is also personal responsibility 14

1 Cor. 11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 15

We are used to being entertained in our society today We may tend to view worship in the same way We may become observers rather than participating as we should 16

Worship is not entertainment It is not a stage performance for the audience While the church must plan the worship – each Christian must take an active part 17

Worship was not designed to compete with television It is not a spectator sport 18

4. Know the purpose of worship Worship is to glorify God – to exalt God and to please him --- this is true but there is more WORSHIP IS DESIGNED TO BENEFIT THE WORSHIPER! 19

NOTE – We tend to become like what we admire Our goal as Christians should be to become more Godlike – more Christ like 20

This is what worship does – we learn to worship and to show reverence toward God – we become more godly 21

“It is not that God needs our worship, but rather that we need to worship God” 22

Ps. 50:12 If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. 23

We do not watch some else worship to become like God We do not perform to become like him We are not entertained to become like him 24

We only grow more like God as we are personally involved in singing, praying, studying, eating the Lord’s supper and giving To know the purpose of worship shows us why we should not forsake the assembly 25

5. Create an appetite for worship Mt. 5:6 “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” 26

Ps. 117 O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD. 27

There are many opportunities for us to develop worldly habits Television, magazines, books, etc., constantly present to us the standards the world lives by 28

Conclusion Christians must not neglect the opportunities to develop our spiritual appetites One of these great opportunities is meeting together to worship God 29

References Article by Alan E. Highers, Spiritual Sword, 30