The Gift of Worship

Worship

Worship s a huge thing.

We look forward to worship every week.

When the music includes one of our favorites, we say, “The worship was great!”

When the music stinks, we yawn and wonder why the worship wasn’t very good.

We leave churches because of the “worship style”.

Worship s a huge thing. 

 

Have you ever wondered if we’re more concerned with what worship does FOR us

And less concerned with the Object of our worship?

It seems like it’s more about what we GET not what we GIVE.

It would be like taking a gift to a friend’s birthday party, but keeping it for ourselves.

 

Worship is all about GIVING our lives (again) to God. 

Worship is not about the feeling we receive when we sing.

Worship is not about convincing God to bless us.

Worship is not about whether or not the guitar is too loud.

Worship is not about what’s happening on the stage.

Worship is not about entertainment, lighting or sound.

 

Worship is not about us at all.

IT’S NOT ABOUT US.

It’s about Him.

And we enter through the gateway of the cross.

At the cross, we surrender, love, cry, dream, give up, shut up, kneel, confess.

We look to God, and place Him about all else

Because He is worth it! 

 

Live gets crazy and painful.

No one can deny that.

Job stress, divorce, death, addictions, parenting, loneliness.

No one is asking you to pretend that those things aren’t affecting you.

DON’T PRETEND.

You’re just being invited to bring that stuff to the cross, and to simply gaze at Jesus.

And as you look at Him, allow your response to be

Worship 

 

-unknown

 

 

now HE is BIG

I love cool stats. It’s weird, I know. Sometimes, I remember stats that are just plain stupid. Like, last year only 12% of americans bought cars with stick shifts. I drive stick, but who gives a rip.

I was attracted to this set of stats today:

If you were to hold out a dime at arms length, the coin would block out 15 million stars from your view, if your eyes could see with that power.

To help us grasp the vastness of our galaxy, one scientist suggests we imagine a smooth glass surface. Shrink the sun from 865,000 miles in diameter to two feet and place it on the surface. Using this scale, Earth would be 220 paces out from the sun, and would be the size of a pea. Mars, the size of a pinhead, would be 108 paces beyond Earth. But to reach Neptune, youd need to step off another 6,130 paces from Mars. By now you would be five miles from the sunbut there still wouldnt be room on the glass surface for Pluto! And you would have to pace off 6,720 miles beyond Pluto to reach the nearest star. Yet, this glass model represents only a tiny fraction of the universe.

WOW, my God is BIG. Though He is BIG, and when I think about this I feel small…He still cares for me more than all His creation. Glory to God!!!

 

A Fitting Worship Song

The splendor of a King, clothed in majesty 

Let all the earth rejoice 

All the earth rejoice 

 

He wraps himself in Light,

and darkness tries to hide 

And trembles at His voice 

Trembles at His voice 

 

How great is our God,

sing with me How great is our God,

and all will see How great,

how great is our God 

 

Age to age He stands 

And time is in His hands 

Beginning and the end 

Beginning and the end 

 

The Godhead Three in One 

Father Spirit Son 

The Lion and the Lamb 

The Lion and the Lamb 

 

Name above all names 

Worthy of our praise 

My heart will sing 

 

How great is our God 

How great is our God,

sing with me How great is our God,

and all will see How great,

how great is our God 

 

Behind the Song:”Another simple song that started from the thought of Gods greatness and presence. I love how Psalm 104 writes that he wraps himself in light My hope is that it is simple enough to sing, yet profound enough to cause the heart and soul to stand in wonder. Ive already been overwhelmed from the response Ive seen from this song.” – Chris Tomlin

love

Today is the famed day of love. Valentines Day. I cannot help but think of the One who created and defined “love”. I read somewhere that the words to this song were penciled on the wall of a narrow room in an asylum by a man who supposedly was demented, and they were discovered after his death. He was not demented at all. He had learned one of the most precious truths of all time, that God’s love is infinite. We can no more exhaust it than we can empty the ocean with a bucket. And we are invited to keep drawing from His inexhaustible supply. To do so will enable us to keep extending love to those around us even when our love is not returned. F. M. Lehman, The Love of God, 1917  The love of God is greater farThan tongue or pen can ever tell;It goes beyond the highest star,And reaches to the lowest hell;The guilty pair, bowed down with care,God gave His Son to win;His erring child He reconciled,And pardoned from his sin. Refrain:Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!How measureless and strong!It shall forevermore endure—The saints’ and angels’ song. When hoary time shall pass away,And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,When men who here refuse to pray,On rocks and hills and mountains call,God’s love so sure, shall still endure,All measureless and strong;Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—The saints’ and angels’ song. Could we with ink the ocean fill,And were the skies of parchment made,Were every stalk on earth a quill,And every man a scribe by trade;To write the love of God aboveWould drain the ocean dry;Nor could the scroll contain the whole,Though stretched from sky to sky.

     

 

1,000 Tongues

Have you ever had an amazing time of worship while driving in the car, standing in the shower or mowing the lawn? I love finding the unique and simple ways to worship God. I had one of those moment today while cleaning my house. Crazy, I know, especially when I despise dusting, mopping and doing the dishes.

 

I cranked my Passion ‘06 CD and scrubbed-scrubbed-scrubbed all the while belting out praises. I wish I could sing. Someday I will sound like Josh Groban!?

 

Anyways, the CD ran out of tracks. It didnt loop so I started singing songs off the top of my head that I knew enough from memory like…All in All, You Are Holy, Famous One, It Is Well, etc. But one song made me think…O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing.

 

This is a standard hymn written by the ol’ Charles Wesley. I sang this a gajillion times in church growing up. There is nothing impressive about the number 1,000. I mean a thousand is not that big. I have been in churches where there have been a few thousand singing. Sure its awesome, but nothing compared to the millions and millions of voices before the throne of heaven. So I did a little research on the song with the help of modern day worshipper Matt Redman.

 

The phrase, “O for a thousand tongues to sing” doesn’t refer to 1,000 individual singers, but A SINGER who desires to have 1,000 tongues to sing praises to his redeemer. Wow, this truth has given a whole new meaning to this song for me.

 

“Hear Him, you deaf; His praise you dumb, your lossened tongues employ;

You blind behond your Savior come, and leap you lame, for joy!”