God has called us to worship Him and to serve Him. Though these may appear to be separate actions, the bibles shows us that they are closer then we think.

Download Handout: PD 09 – Worship and Service

WORSHIP:

God has called us to worship Him. He has given us directions on what is acceptable worship and what is not.

To worship God is to ascribe the proper worth to God, to magnify His worthiness of praise, or better, to approach and address God as He is worthy. He is worthy of all the worth and honor we can give Him and then infinitely more.

Old Testament Worship: God has called His people to worship and expects us to worship Him. Psalm 95:6 It is our purpose, privilege and calling.

New Testament Worship: We are to offer our lives as an act of worship. Romans 12:1

Vain Worship: To be present but not engaged. Matthew 15:8-9

‘Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
Hebrews 12:28-29

Worship: Focusing on and Responding to God
John 20:28 Revelation 4:8-24 Revelation 5:12-13

The more we focus on God, the more we see how big God is and how small we are.

God reveals Himself through, Creation, (Psalm 8: 3-4), His Word, (2 Timothy 3:16), Most clearly through Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 1:1-2)

The Higher the view of God, the higher our view of worship, the greater our worship will be..

Worship: Done in Spirit and Truth
True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. (John 4:23-24)
We must have the Spirit of God in us to be able to worship Him is in Spirit and Truth. (John 14:17)

Worship: Expected Publicly and Privately
Public worship is a time the body of Christ comes together to Worship God, and to encourage and edify the saints.
For us to have acceptable public worship, we must first have extensive private worship.
Private worship fans the flame for public worship.
Worship: A Discipline To Be Cultivated
A daily time of worship will propel you in to a life of pleasing worship to God

SERVING:

For the Purpose of Godliness.
“Ministering hearts are disciplined to labor, for they regularly move beyond their comfort zones, they put themselves in vulnerable spots, they make commitments which cost, they get tired for Christ’s sake, they pay the price, they encounter rough seas. But their sails billow full of God’s Spirit. R. Kent Hughes

Serving God is a not a casual job. It is a costly service. God asks for our life. Our service must become a priority not a past time.

In the book “The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer declares “ When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die”

Serving is not always glamorous, many are called to serve where no one ever sees what they do. Some are called to serve inside the church walls others are called to serve outside the church walls.

“If we don’t discipline ourselves to serve for Christ sake and His kingdom and for the purpose of godliness, we’ll “serve” only occasionally or when it is convenient or self-serving”

We long to be more like Jesus but there is this pull to selfishness in our hearts…this is why we need to discipline ourselves to serve. serving will lead to spiritual growth.

Every Christian is expected to serve:
“How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” Hebrews  9:14

Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Psalm 100:2

What motivates us to serve?
Obedience: Deuteronomy 13:4, Gratitude: 1 Samuel 12:24, Gladness: Psalm 100:2, Forgiveness, Not Guilt: Isaiah 6:6-8, Humility: John 12:12-16, Love: Galatians 5:13.

Every Christian is Gifted to serve.
God has gifted every member of the body to serve. Though there are many gifts, we all serve for the edification of the church. 1 Corinthians 12:12-27

Serving is hard work:
Disciplined service to God is work – hard and costly labor sometimes – but it will endure for all eternity!!

Worship empowers serving; serving expresses worship. Godliness requires a disciplined balance between the two.

A.W. Tozer puts it this way… “Fellowship with God (worship) leads straight to obedience and good works. That is the divine order and can never be reversed.”