Sunday Series
Happy Sunday. As promised, I want to bring you Part Two of a Five-Part Sunday series entitled Five Pillars of a Firm Foundation. To give you a little background, I have reflected on those moments when I felt closest to Jesus over the years. What really stands out is congruency in five areas. To be clear, we are not saved by works. Salvation comes by transferring your trust from whatever it was that you trusted in and putting your trust entirely in the finished work of Christ. There’s nothing we can do to save ourselves. It’s only because of what Jesus has already done that we can begin this new life in Christ. Please understand that this message series is for those who already know Christ as Lord and Savior, and now you desire to grow deeper in your faith. If you had a chance to read Part One, the focus was on prayer. Today’s post is about worship, so let’s dive into the scriptures.
If you have ever been to a college football game in a non-COVID year, you’ll see a stadium filled with passionate fans. People are screaming, clapping, dancing, shouting, and lifting their hands in celebration of the performance of a bunch of 18-22-year-olds. Don’t give me wrong. I’ve done the same thing. This type of celebratory activity is widely recognized as acceptable and routine, and if you show your affection in this manner, you are called a fan. But on Sunday morning, if you exhibit the same passionate energy in church, you are no longer a fan. Instead, you are called a fanatic.
Here are three truths about worship straight from God’s word.
TRUTH #1 God Made Me from Him.
(Genesis 1:11) Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land…”
(Genesis 1:26). Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image…
TRUTH #2 God Made Me To Be with Him
(Ephesians 5:31-32) For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery–but I am talking about Christ and the church.
(Revelation 21:9-10) One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. (Revelation 21:19-20) The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.
TRUTH #3 God Made Me to Express Love to Him.
(John 4:23) Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.
My pastor, Chris Hodges, the senior pastor of Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Alabama, says this. “We should really consider why we’re willing to give praise to a team of athletes who don’t even know us but stay silent before the God who created us. It all comes down to worship.”
I hope you received value from this post. If you want to take a deeper dive into why passionate worship is important to God, check out this article called Four Reasons Why Passion Is Important.
God bless!
Bill
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