rich’s blog

another outline, rather than full manuscript. peace.

Introduction:

• Last message of this “Talk Amongst Yourselves” series
• After this 5 or so messages: “Wider Embrace”
  • Series that takes an expansive view of what it means for us to act like Jesus in a world that is so connected, global, etc, and we’re aware of so many needs.  How do we live now.
• Then onto a series on Revelation, which will take us into the season of preparation, Advent, and Christmas & “to infinity & beyond.”  It’ll be great.
• But today, we’re talking about worship.  We’re talking about worship.
• Things we’ll do:
  • We’ll define the term a little,
  • Talk about a problem or two
  • Be reminded of some things
  • Only Read Core Value if I am simply boring you to death.  Better not to respectfully pay attention or something; I won’t be hurt.
• Let’s Pray

 

Prayer: 

Lord, clear the table of our hearts.  Spread your arm wide, and wipe off the mess of things that sit heavy on us.  Wake us up to your presence that you promise us when two or three or forty of us gather together in your name.  Set us aside again for you glory. Protect my tongue, protect our hearts; don’t let me mislead us.

 

Whaaa???

• Let’s be straightforward: Worship can be confusing
• What do we mean when we talk about worship?
  • Communion, special sort of things that happen when two or three are gathered together in Jesus’ name?
  • Music? Song?
  • Acts we do in Jesus’ name out in the world, in service to others?
  • Every single thing we do.
  • It’s not clear: and the way we use the word points this out.  “How was Worship this morning?”–what do you mean? The music? The very fact that we joined together?
    • “How was it?” “It simply was, right?”  When we start saying it was good or bad we’re straying into the realm of sensibility, and preferences, and aesthetics: Dangerous ground.
  • So this can be messy.
  • It would be easier just to spend this morning talking about, like, “Why it’s theologically appropriate to have praise songs & hymns.”
  • Blah blah blah.  Easier.  But incomplete.

 

 

 

Basics:

• There’s a word in the New Testament that is scattered everywhere: Proskenew
• Means “Bow Down To” : to take a posture of kneeling or bowing before a person, and we aren’t “proskenewoing” because, you know, we dropped our pen down by someone’s feet
• We’re bowing down in worship, in reverence, in acknowledgement that whoever we’re kneeling before is better than us, bigger than us, and deserves or demands that we acknowledge it.
  • In the King James Version of the New Testament, the word “worship” shows up on every page, it’s all over the place.
  • In our standard Evangelical issue NIV’s, we see “bow down to” or “kneel before” and occasionally “worship,”
  • Honestly, the KJV is a little truer in this regard, I think, points out the way this word was used.
• So this word worship; in the New Testament it’s not just about the posture we take before God, not simply about bowing down before God–
  • but about anything we do, in word or deed, that acknowledges who God is, what God deserves & demands as God, and at the same time, reminds us that we are not God, not at all.
• To worship meant to acknowledge the worth & value of the one we we are worshipping, it means to acknowledge that we are not as important as the one we’re worshipping,
• And at the end of the day, God demands that we don’t split this acknowledgment with anyone else.
  • We could talk this entire morning about Jesus’ declaration that people’s loyalty and acknowledgement of his worth needs to be so strong that their love for their family looks like hate.
    • • Think about how much we love our families, and then think about how much love for the Lord would have to look like to make your love for your family seem like hate.
      • We’ll talk about love & worship later.  They blend.

 

Caveat: 

• Boundaries
  • Talking about Christians worshiping God this morning.  I just wanted to toss this out there.

 

 

Three Ways:

• Three Common references for this “worship” that we do
• Song, Music, Speech: Worship by Word, by tongue, right?
  • This is what Paul’s talking about in Ephesians, for example, 5:17ff.  He’s talking about the Christian life; and says, “Hey, don’t get drunk; that sets you up for bad things. “Instead, be filled with the PSirit, speaking to onea nother with psalms, hymsn, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart ot hte Lord, always giving thanks to God for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus christ.”
  • Colossians 3:15, Paul says similar things: “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns and songs form the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”
  • This is what the author of Hebrews is talking about when he says “Through Jesus let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise–the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.” He goes on to say “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” We’ll look at that in a minute.
  • But “worship”: it has to do with speech, right? With speaking.
• Also with “doing,” with acting:
  • Just saw this, in the Hebrews passage “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
  • We saw this in the passage from Romans 12 that helped form the reading this morning.  Paul says that “true worship” is “to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy, pleasing.” That our lives, and our behaviors are to please the Lord.  And God receives pleasing behavior as worship.
  • And the passage from Micah highlighted this too: worship that counts as “good,” worship that the Lord “requires of us” is to “act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God.”
  • And Jesus didn’t negate Micah’s call; over and over we see him reinforcing it as he interacts with the most faithful, “worshipful,” religious people around him.
• When we Gather Together:
  • And although it’s sort of, not completely, false: there’s this other side to this “doing,” these “pleasing acts” that is simply what happens when Christians gather together.
  • Paul especially seems to see the things we do, when we are together, as worship, as explicitly an acknowledgment of what God deserves & who God is & where we’ve come from.
  • So big ticket Christian things like Communion & Baptism & other, everyday things like singing all those hymns & songs together, right?
  • What we do, when we gather in twos & threes & fifties, in the name of Jesus as his body on earth; it’s worship too.
  • Hence the whole “worship service,” right?
• Summary:
  • Speech & Actions
    • Action Internal & External
    • Underlying thing:
      • Motivation is what was noted before: What God has God done.  Who God is.  How much God deserves.
      • We’ll look at specific things in a minute.

 

Going Back To Hebrews: 

• Let’s go back to that small Hebrews couplet again:
• “Through Jesus therefore let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise–the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
• I love this because it’s so clear this double-sidedness of worship as speech & act.
• sacrifice of praise: “sacrifice” was, before Jesus, how God’s People acknowledged that God was God & we needed God to take care of our sin & our troubles.
  • offerered sacrifices for all sorts of reasons
• some people argue it’s bloody, it’s primitive
• Honestly, I’d say “yeah & yeah,” right, at least, if we assume primitive implies not thoughtless, but ancient.
  • But at least sacrifice isn’t subtle.  Is it? It’s public & big & messy.
• and I 1000% think it’s good that God ended that system & moved us into one where our “sacrifice” our pleasing worshipful act is service to others & praise spoken boldy.
  • But we lost something, maybe, in the fact that “a sacrifice of praise,” it doesn’t have to be all that messy, or big, or public.
  • It’s hard to imagine killing something lacadaisically, right?
  • But we easily say “Jesus you’re so great. You’re so great you blow my mind. Hey Jesus” and just move on.  What’s the deal?
• God is not demanding we do everything like a peppy cheerleader; but God wants us to still worship with as much of ourselves as we can muster. Or so it seems to me.

 

Our Core Values?

• Was going to discuss it, decided not to.
• You can read it sometime: please, please not now.
• When you read it, think a little: how does what we’re talking about today line up?
• If it doesn’t, you know: room for discussion

 

Something Else: 

• There’s something else, though
• Worship–and remember, we’re talking about God–is required of us
  • Not Just Christians
  • Remember when Paul writes that hymn in Philippians.  He’s talking about how Christians are supposed to be like Jesus.
  • Phil 2:6-11
    • Knee will bow & tongue confess: this is worship, right? action & speech.
    • One really popular, although not the only, understanding of this passage, is to see these lines as suggesting that everyone will be forced, basically, to worship God. Popular understanding here.
    • People will be forced to worship God. No one’s going to get around it.
    • What’s ideal; if we’re shooting for ideals in our lives, and I’m just going to pretend that we all agree Christians have ideals & standards they want to live up to:
    • Is it ideal for us to be forced, if that’s what this passage is talking about, forced to worship God?
    • wouldn’t it be nicer if we in fact decided we wanted to bow our knee, confess with our tongue–show by word & deed–that God is bigger than us, worthy of our acknowledgement, and worthy of other things: gratefulness, honor, our respect, our emulation,
    • Christians being forced to worship God isn’t maybe an ideal we should set ourselves up for

 

Better Option:

• There’s a better option
• God seems to care about our attitude
  • with happy hearts, etc.?
• Our attitude & understanding of what God has done positions us for a different sort of worship.
• Worship that isn’t forced, for any reason, right?
  • A worship that acknowledges some key things

1. • Especially that God loves us
   • God values it most when we worship–whether that’s singing & praising, making music & song, whether that’s behaviors that please him externally or internally–God values it when we worship with hearts that are willing & open & aware of his goodness.
   • God values the attitude we take when we worship.
     • I think of the real life example Jesus’ commented on, with the man of bad reputation who cries out “Lord have mercy one me, the sinner that I am” when he comes to the Temple, contrasted by the Pharisee who shows up, and proclaims loudly how thankful he is that he’s not like that sinning loser.
     • Lord have mercy on me” beating his breasts?
     • the one who goes complaining all the way, verses the one who said I’ll go, I’ll go, but never cared enough to get his butt in gear?
   • We can’t always have this attitude, right? life gets in the way. Sin & Pain & exhaustion wear us out.
   • But we should do what we can to position ourselves to worship willingly, freely, aware of who God is and what God has done for us, for people.
   • And at least part of that is remembering what God has done; only part, but at least part.

 

Remembering: 

• So let’s do this:
• Do we remember what God has done for us, or is it old news?
• Remember, for a moment: Close your eyes.  Put in the old VCR tape, read through your old IMs, open your journals, your photo albums, your slide case: whatever: Has God been good to you? Has God been faithful to you? Has God been kind to you?
• And remember, for good or ill we’re having an insider conversation here; we’re talking amongst ourselves.
• We need reminded occasionally:  We need reminded.
• So let me just pile up some passages of scripture.  I hope by sheer weight of force they, knock our hearts over, spill us out, you know?
• 1 Peter 1:3-5:
  • thoughts?
• Ephesians 2:4-10
  • thoughts?
• Romans 8:31-29
  • Do we remember how deeply we’ve been pursued & tied to love?
  • Over and over these same things come up that are true of us, true for us, point to what God has done and is doing in our lives
• We could remember that what is true of Christ Jesus is true of us as far as God is concerned
  • We could look at Ephesians 1. 
  • I won’t read it.
  • But we are reminded that we are chosen people, we’re the object of God’s pleasure, we’re inheritors in God’s family, we’re the recipients of God’s grace, that is “lavished upon us,” we’ve been given the Holy Spirit as a promise of our resurrection.
  • eph 2: We could remember that in the Lord we are more than conquerors, that we have been predestined, called, justified, and our glorification, our resurrection, is such a certainty if we hold this course that Paul can talk like it’s already happened.
  • pet 1:
  • rom 8:
  • “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, taht we should be called children of God.”  None of us are without a name, without a place, without a home: Jesus is readying one for us, and in the meanwhile, we are immigrants in this world, banding together for Kingdom Come. We’ve been given calling & purpose & meaning in a world whose main function sometimes is to strip us of all of this.
• And this is just general things, right?  Things true of each of us. What of the particular things God has done for us?  The food & shelter, the friends & moments of mercy & power & awe that are catalogued in our hearts.  It’s a catalogue that needs dusted off and reviewed.
  • Jesus tells us that in comparison to God’s love, our love is evil, and yet we give and give and give to our children; and as God’s children we’ve been given to, and given to, and given to,
• SO again:
  • Has God been Good to you?
  • Has God been faithful to you?
  • Has God been kind to you?
  • Does God deserve to be worshiped?
  • Do we know what David knew, when danced before the Ark of the Lord, in his underwear, embarassing his wife, because he knew, that God was good to him, faithful to him, worthy of all the praise & joy that he could deliver.
• And worship, in it’s best, truest form: mouths full of praise & hands full of good deeds, all for the Lord: it’s the thing we’re about, that no other people in the world are about, none:

 

Worship isn’t an option: 

• I mentioned that worship isn’t an option; that we’ll all acknowledge who God is, kneel & confess that Jesus is Lord
• But there’s something else, here.
• In the meantime, until that day comes & it’s coming, listen: People were made to worship.  We’re made to worship.
• Made to honor something else bigger than us; praise something bigger than us; say & act in a way that honors someone or something bigger than us.
  • maybe some people shut this off, numb & kill it, and simply have no desire to honor & respect anything bigger than they are?
  • Maybe.  pain & hurt & sin can do all sorts of things to a soul.
• But the reality is that we people are predisposed to worship–
• We pretend that only little kids are, though, right?  “Hero Worship?” They want to be Dora the Explorer, Indiana Jones, Lance Armstrong, A Jonas Brother, or Hannah Montana.  Aren’t they cute!
• What is a hero, in this world, in our society, except someone who we really praise & honor because we think they deserve it.
• And sometimes, we are far more quick to praise and act in ways that make happy whoever we’ve got a grown up crush on, than we are to praise & act in ways that make happy God, who, if we remember: is worthy of our worship.
• And this matters, especially, especially, because God does not want us to share our worship with anyone other than him.
• And it’s not because he’s greedy, right?  I mean, part of why God deserves worship is because God ain’t greedy: God gives, and gives and gives, even when we abuse & push away.
• But God knows, I think, something we don’t: which is that we become what we worship. We become what we worship.
• In some strange adolescent way, whatever it is we really worship–give time, service, praise & spoken honor to–we begin to reflect it.
  • This can be dangerous, right? We do some thing, say some thing, that we know pleases someone we want to honor, someone “bigger” than us–but we know it’s not good, we know it’s not right? Maybe a few of us were able to cut this out when high school ended, but nearly every one of us caves now and then.
  • And this can be dangerous when we decide, for any number of reasons, that we, in fact, are worth the most honor.  When we become the target of our own disposition to honor someone.  And so we act in ways that please ourselves.  We confess with the words of our mouth how good we are.
    • And the God who made us, who allows rain to fall on the righteous & unrighteous, who gives and gives and gives, becomes eclipsed by our own shadow.
    • And we caught in a trap of self worship
• Watch who you seek to please.  Watch who you would praise.  It may be no big deal; I may be making a mountain out of a mole-hill.  Or we may be giving to another–some great person who did some great thing, or maybe just ourselves–something–honor, praise, esteem–whose target can only be God, and was only ever meant to be God.

 

Conclusion: 

• We will worship no matter what; worship isn’t an option.
• We can worship the lord with acts that please him in the church and outside it
• we can sing songs that praise who God is and what he’s done for us, declare loudly unashamedly God’s worth
• but what God wants most is for us to worship with all of ourselves
• We will bow down someday, like it or not.
• But we can start practicing for that someday right now
  • By acknowledging through pleasing acts of service, through the things we say & do, through times like this, that we set apart for holy things, That God you are worthy, God you are worthy.
  • And we don’t forget it.
• We have got to take worship seriously.  It is our job.  In word & in deed, in pleasing act of service & free, unashamed speech, we have got to take our call to worship God seriously.  God does.

 

 

Prayer:

 

God: get us out of our own way.  Get us out of our own way.  We find ourselves stuck in this present moment, with these present hang ups: and what we need is your presence, here, your SPirit filling these bones, this minds & hearts.  We need you rpower,  WE need your wisdome.  We need your glory.  Help us to act in ways that please you.  Help us together together, in your name, for your purpsoes.  Help our mouths to be broadcasting your goodness & worth.

 

God give us memories burned, sizzled & stained with all the things you have done because you have never wanted anything more than be ours, and bless us with yourself & one another.  We need, we want to worship you.  To live for you; speech & act, unified & directed on your glory.

 

Protect us from the evil one, who wants our worship.  Let us resolve to do no thing that pleases him, say no word that honors evil & its works.  And clothe us, too, with humility, temperance, and peace.  Amen.